Lawsuit against Barnstable challenges seizure of guns

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"Centerville man says police search, revocation of license to carry violated his rights.

On Dec. 21, 2018, three members of the Barnstable Police Department — Eugene Desruisseaux, Corey Frederickson and Mark Delaney — and a Cape Cod Hospital security director went to Gargano’s home for a well-being check and to serve a no-trespass order on his son, Paul N. Gargano, who had been involved in an argument with hospital staff, according to the lawsuit.

They asked the younger Gargano about a Twitter feed that allegedly depicted him holding a firearm, and he said the gun belonged to his father. According to the suit, one of the officers demanded the elder Gargano produce the handgun, a .25-caliber Beretta, and two officers, whom he says he did not give permission to accompany him, followed him upstairs to his bedroom to retrieve it.

Once Gargano produced the gun, one of the officers asked him to unlock and open a closet and safe where other firearms and ammunition were stored, the suit states. Gargano was then told that because of improper storage of the Beretta, his license to carry was suspended pending further investigation, and all his firearms, including a Smith & Wesson revolver and a Glock G17 pistol, had to be surrendered to the police, according to the suit.

Gargano initially refused to surrender the firearms but eventually did after being told he would be placed under arrest if he did not, according to the complaint."

Rest here:

Should be interesting, was the gun being stored or was under his direct control and thus not required to be secured?
 
"Later that day, an officer returned to the residence to present Gargano with a written notice of suspension from Sonnabend.


“On December 21, 2018, the Barnstable Police Department followed up with an investigation that revealed you had improperly stored a firearm and ammunition in your home,” the notice said. “Additionally, it was confirmed that the unsecured firearm had been accessed by an unlicensed person.”

So apparently the son had taken a selfie with the Beretta and posted it on Twitter. Must not have been licensed.
 
Did yall notice that they brought a scumbag from the local hospital with them ? For a supposed wellness check. Red flags and Medical joining together to get people.

No but I was on the mass.gov page that incorrectly cited a case about the constitutionality of storage laws, it should have referenced Heller but conveniently ignored that argument in favor of a different and lower case.
 
I'm probably going to take flack for this, but BPD is awesome. Great guys. It's a green town. I'm sure there is more to this story. Barnstable is not the type of town where the police are just going around trying to strip rights. There's a lot of reading between the lines in this post and I'm sure there is a reason for what transpired.
 
I'm probably going to take flack for this, but BPD is awesome. Great guys. It's a green town. I'm sure there is more to this story. Barnstable is not the type of town where the police are just going around trying to strip rights. There's a lot of reading between the lines in this post and I'm sure there is a reason for what transpired.

Not the type to do that until they do which they did. A+ for saving that dresser, closet, whatever from that awful gun. 🙄
 
"Centerville man says police search, revocation of license to carry violated his rights.

On Dec. 21, 2018, three members of the Barnstable Police Department — Eugene Desruisseaux, Corey Frederickson and Mark Delaney — and a Cape Cod Hospital security director went to Gargano’s home for a well-being check and to serve a no-trespass order on his son, Paul N. Gargano, who had been involved in an argument with hospital staff, according to the lawsuit.

They asked the younger Gargano about a Twitter feed that allegedly depicted him holding a firearm, and he said the gun belonged to his father. According to the suit, one of the officers demanded the elder Gargano produce the handgun, a .25-caliber Beretta, and two officers, whom he says he did not give permission to accompany him, followed him upstairs to his bedroom to retrieve it.

Once Gargano produced the gun, one of the officers asked him to unlock and open a closet and safe where other firearms and ammunition were stored, the suit states. Gargano was then told that because of improper storage of the Beretta, his license to carry was suspended pending further investigation, and all his firearms, including a Smith & Wesson revolver and a Glock G17 pistol, had to be surrendered to the police, according to the suit.

Gargano initially refused to surrender the firearms but eventually did after being told he would be placed under arrest if he did not, according to the complaint."

Rest here:

Should be interesting, was the gun being stored or was under his direct control and thus not required to be secured?


Example 1,000,001 why the cops are pieces of feces. It’s pretty God darn funny watching some of the freedom loving patriots on this page still support the jack booted tyrants after incidents like this.
 
I'm probably going to take flack for this, but BPD is awesome. Great guys. It's a green town. I'm sure there is more to this story. Barnstable is not the type of town where the police are just going around trying to strip rights. There's a lot of reading between the lines in this post and I'm sure there is a reason for what transpired.


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Barnstable is not the type of town where the police are just going around trying to strip rights.

News flash: ALL of them are.

I do agree with you that there might well be more going on. I also think it's likely he actually was storing the Beretta illegally, which is indeed a violation of the law. I personally don't feel anyone's even slightly safer as a result of the BPD's actions, but I'll be a little surprised if this suit goes anywhere even in a free state.

If he was, indeed, violating the law, and he did, indeed, allow the cops into his house without a warrant, I doubt he's got a leg to stand on legally.
 
News flash: ALL of them are.

I do agree with you that there might well be more going on. I also think it's likely he actually was storing the Beretta illegally, which is indeed a violation of the law. I personally don't feel anyone's even slightly safer as a result of the BPD's actions, but I'll be a little surprised if this suit goes anywhere even in a free state.

If he was, indeed, violating the law, and he did, indeed, allow the cops into his house without a warrant, I doubt he's got a leg to stand on legally.

That brings up another excellent point. Never let the jackbooted thugs into your house without a warrant under any circumstances. Wellness check on the son? We’ll have that right on the porch here
 
And, on the idea that the hospital guy was there with the coppers? I don't think that was part of the "wellness check," partly because I suspect the wellness check was a pretext for hassling the dad while they were serving the no-trespass order on Sonny Boy.

My read of the article is that Sonny Boy posted a pic of himself with daddy's gun, which the hospital interpreted as a threat due to Sonny Boy's earlier argument with hospital staff. My read is that the hospital guy was involved because he's the one that went to the cops in the first place.

Now, why'd they let him actually come along on the made-up "wellness check?" Maybe he was a retired LEO, or a cousin of one of the cops, or something. But, again, Daddy shouldn't have let them in. At all.
 
an 82 yr old retired lawyer........
& HE let them in w/o a warrant

son should have told them it was a replica
Of course only if it was....[banghead]
 
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Example 1,000,001 why the cops are pieces of feces. It’s pretty God darn funny watching some of the freedom loving patriots on this page still support the jack booted tyrants after incidents like this.
That brings up another excellent point. Never let the jackbooted thugs into your house without a warrant under any circumstances. Wellness check on the son? We’ll have that right on the porch here
Might want to install heavy steel security doors on all entry/exits to the home. You can see through them and have a conversation through them. Wellness check can be conducted without entry into the home. A lot of police departments have doors and lobbies with heavy glass pass-through windows to deny public access to the inner parts of the station while still allowing business to be transacted.
 
Best bet is to exit the house in a way that entry must be obviously without consent. If you have a garage with a door to the house, exit to the garage, lock the door, then open the garage door and meet the police outside. Be polite, do not disobey any orders, but under no circumstances to anything that could be misconstrued as consent. Keep the line handy "I will comply with the surrender order, but that order is not a warrant, and I do not consent to you entering my house".
 
I am concerned particularly with the "Surrender Immediately" language. What if he transferred the firearms to a bonded warehouse, or better yet out of state, to a free state?

In the eyes of the law, does private property such as firearms become state properly when LTC is suspended or revoked?
 
Best bet is to exit the house in a way that entry must be obviously without consent. If you have a garage with a door to the house, exit to the garage, lock the door, then open the garage door and meet the police outside. Be polite, do not disobey any orders, but under no circumstances to anything that could be misconstrued as consent. Keep the line handy "I will comply with the surrender order, but that order is not a warrant, and I do not consent to you entering my house".
Good advice, but I have doubts that this will make it into the police report!
 
I am concerned particularly with the "Surrender Immediately" language. What if he transferred the firearms to a bonded warehouse, or better yet out of state, to a free state?

Police don't care. I purchased a set of guns from a ffl, I got a call and threats from the police to turn them in as the prior owner sold them before his ltc was revoked for a non violent crime. EFA10's on all arms showing ownership were worthless.

This is one of those philosophical "let the court figure it out" issues to the tune of about $40k
 
"The defendant officers did not produce a search warrant to enter and search Gargano’s residence for weapons"

Case closed .......judgement is for the plaintiff!!!!!!!!!
 
All I know is there is going to be a lot of wasted money had the owner only obeyed the law. Seems like the Twitter feed did him in and as far a warrant yes should of had one but one way or the other he was doom.
 

read through this thread. seems to be some conflicting opinions...
 
i didn't realize a regular patrol officer could suspend a ltc on the spot.....
Legally speaking we've been told forever that only the issuing authority can suspend/revoke/change restrictions on a LTC. However, a phone call from one town's dispatcher to the issuing PD would probably be sufficient for a MA marsupial judge to justify a suspension on the spot.
 
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