Why am I in a hand-basket?
In what is a hideous incident, Jason and his wife detail what happens when you try to obey gun laws in Spokane, Wa. Give it a read then come back. You back? Are you good and pissed off? If so, contact the sheriff’s department:
Or call them:
Crime Check 509-456-2233
Crime Prevention 509-477-2592
And if you know a good lawyer, let Jason know.
It’s amazing to me how a police officer with something to prove can, essentially, ruin somebody’s life.
December 21st, 2004 at 1:20 pm
[…] me=”4435″>
Why am I in a hand-basket? (follow up)
|By SayUncle|
In an update to the arrest of Jason, a reader who has been in contact with the Spokane Co […]
January 8th, 2005 at 10:25 pm
[…] ad applies is to rush to their defense without knowing all the facts, as countless pro-gun bloggers did after hearing only Randroid Jason’s side of the story […]
December 20th, 2004 at 11:59 am
From Jason’s post it certainly sounds like the cop had a bad attitude, but I’m not sure that Jason didn’t have a bad attitude, as well. Challenging cops and defiantly asserting your rights – immediately after the cop has spied your gun – is not brilliant. Cooperation and a courteous attitude work a lot better, especially when guns enter the picture.
Read some of the other posts on Jason’s site. He carries his gun in the open because he doesn’t want to pay the fee to get a concealed carry permit:
Jason isn’t the only one. There are some gun bloggers (including one or two on my own blogroll) who are just a little too eager to rebel against the state.
Open carry makes people nervous as hell. Open carrying to make a political point – especially in a state like Washington where permits are available on a shall-issue basis – is stupid, in my opinion. This guy seems to have wanted to stand up to The Man and make a political statement. Now he’s getting to make his political statement, but I don’t think he likes it.
December 20th, 2004 at 12:09 pm
I don’t disagree with some of your points but I expect cops to obey the law and not allow their personal vendettas to get in the way of doing their jobs.
December 20th, 2004 at 12:21 pm
SA,
I’ve got to agree with Les on this point. True, cops should obey the law, but they are human and not robots, and as such, have normal human faults. When the ultimate risk of loss in court falls on Jason’s shoulders by way of his freedom, perhaps he should try to become “part of the system” and work to reform it from the inside.
His attitude reminds me of what you often see with idealist and myopic college students. Sorry if the real world doesn’t work that way, but its something everyone comes to terms with eventually when they grow up. Change is desirable, but its not worth the risk to your family to fight it in the manner Jason has chosen.
That said, I wish him luck. While I know a number of attorneys in Seattle, I don’t know any pro RKBA attorneys out there. Maybe he should conact a local advocacy group?
December 20th, 2004 at 1:01 pm
I think Jason is picking the fight that OUGHT to be picked, and ought to be supported 100%.
December 20th, 2004 at 1:07 pm
Waiting for Publicola to weigh in…
December 20th, 2004 at 1:25 pm
Oops, I guess he has. It sounds like Jason was legally in the right, but I fail to see what he is hoping to accomplish. Rather than expect every cop to know the legal definition of “loaded” off the top of his head and not freak out upon seeing the gun, he should get a concealed pistol license and be done with it.
December 20th, 2004 at 2:45 pm
He should contact the ACLU đŸ™‚
December 20th, 2004 at 2:45 pm
Ok, whether or not we agree on the wisdom of this guy’s choice to carry openly, the alleged behavior of the police officers is simply uncalled for. Assuming Jason’s story is true, the police lied about the facts of his arrest and mocked him for being a “Constitutionalist.” There’s no justification for that.
December 20th, 2004 at 3:03 pm
Thib: the reason for the stop was unclear, according to Jason. From the cop’s point of view it might have been very clear. There are always two sides to every story.
The reason for the arrest, however, was abundantly clear: there was an outstanding warrant for Jason’s arrest. Even without the gun, he would have been arrested once the cop ran his driver’s license.
I had a roommate who paid a speeding ticket one day late. As soon as it became late a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was never notified, and the warrant wasn’t withdrawn when his payment was received. The next time he got pulled over for speeding the cop ran his license, saw the outstanding warrant, and took him directly to jail. No guns were involved.
So as much as I think Jason was asking for trouble by open carrying and being argumentative, and as much as anyone sympathetic to him thinks that’s why he’s being Harassed By The Man (TM), that isn’t what got him pulled over, and it isn’t what got him arrested. He was pulled over for some reason that made sense to the cop at the time, and he was arrested because there was an outstanding warrant on him.
Some of the statements the cops allegedly made probably were caused by the presence of the gun and Jason’s attitude, but that’s very much at the periphery of the event.
December 20th, 2004 at 3:26 pm
I’m not sure if you’re disagreeing with me or not. I’m saying (assuming everything in Jason’s post is true, which I will stipulate is a big if) that one or more police officers behaved in an unprofessional manner, as follows:
1. Telling Jason he was arrested for “being an asshole.”
2. Calling Jason a “Constitutionalist” and “Rambo” as an insult and saying “I just love getting guns away from guys like you.”
3. Admitting to lying about Jason’s reckless driving.
4. Lying about what Jason’s wife said about whether the magazine was in the gun.
5. Claiming that Jason said he “wanted to shoot an officer.”
6. Taking Jason’s glasses away. This one is particularly worrisome to me, as I can’t see more than 6 inches away from me without my glasses. I don’t give a damn if it’s standard procedure; that’s just wrong.
7. Keeping his handgun. What do you bet he never sees it again?
Now, you may say that this is all standard police procedure, and that he was asking for it anyway by not being nice and polite and saying “yessir, nosir, thankyoumayihaveanothersir” to the police and he needs to quit being a crybaby and just get a CCW since he’s lucky enough to live in a state that allows it.
Fine. I still say there’s no excuse for that kind of behavior by the police.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:31 pm
Thib: I agree with most of what you just said. I was just pointing out that the outstanding warrant was probably enough to land him in jail.
December 20th, 2004 at 8:16 pm
“he should get a concealed pistol license and be done with it. ”
so in other words he should sell out.
i just applied for my CCW today in TN. I paid 115 dollars (and i am pissed about that 115 dollars is enoght to feed starveing kids in downtown memphis, but instead the money probably goes to the general fund. And lord knows after that.).
Jason stood up for this rights and the police took him to jail.
I would also like to point out that they arrest warrent is from him standing up for his rights in the frist place (according to what jason said).
I feel almost the same way that jason does, but I sold out, just because it was the path of least resistance.
December 20th, 2004 at 8:29 pm
Thib needs to add having lazers on the back of your head to his list. And what’s the deal with the sleight of hand over his wifes DL?
Looks to me like every canary is graveyard dead.
January 8th, 2005 at 6:25 pm
Right to Keep in Line, or Bear With Assholes
Publicola takes issue with Connie du Toit’s response to Randroid Jason, a.k.a. FishOrMan’s recent attitudinal arrest (which Jason has since had the good sense to delete from his blog). Connie’s position, in a nutshell, is that gun owners have a hei…