Radnor Lake OC “Activist” to Sue
You’ll recall some guy strapped on an AK pistol with the tip painted orange (so it would look like an airsoft toy) and went walking around a park. The police detained him trying to determine if his weapon was legal or not. And, since it was a pistol, it was. Anyway, the guy is now suing claiming the park rangers were unfairly harsh:
A Middle Tennessee man has sued a Nashville park ranger, alleging the officer was unfairly harsh when he saw the man carrying a large handgun in a park.
Leonard Embody says he was within his rights to carry an AK-47 handgun at Radnor Lake Park on Dec. 20. He has a permit to carry the weapon, according to the federal lawsuit.
He did not break the law. But his actions, from carrying an AK pistol with a bright orange tip to look like a toy to wearing BDUs, were not smart and not helpful. Here’s the complaint.
February 11th, 2010 at 9:54 am
I’m not comfortable with folks being detained and harassed for doing non-harmful dumb things.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:21 am
He was detained for two hours, while the rangers ran down the serial number with the manufacturer to make sure it was, in fact, a pistol.
None of the officers had ever seen or heard of an AK Pistol, so they thought he was toting an SBR. And he was intentionally acting fishy. He WANTED this to happen so he could sue.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:35 am
I understand suing when it applies as such but I think this one is a little over the top, there a couple of things wrong with this one. First, if he was legally armed (which it appears he was) then why did he phony it up too look airsoft, bad idea right fro mthe start, if its legal then simply exercise your legal rights and act accordingly. Second, as much as like the idea that you can legally carry that animal as a concealed handgun, it does look so ominous and the fact that most officers(much less park rangers) have so little education and almost NONE of them keep up with CCW laws, that it was probably a little bit of a knee jerk reaction and in the end it appears that he made the right decision, detention for a length of time longer than needed for a particular stop can be a violation as it is considered tantimount to arrest(defacto arrest for being detained too long) but in this situation public safety was parimount and there was a legitimate question of legality so the officer did the right thing by holding on to the guy until he knew what to do. The onlly other issue would what the individual was doing at the time and how the officer treated him(if he was mistreated or manhandled unnecisarially)then there may be other legal ramifications that could play in. I think in this one I would settle for a proper appolagy and ask the officer to brush up on his TCA code about the carry issues. In this particular situation a lawsuit does not serve the greater good(carry rights) but in the end may yeild him some personal satisfaction of a little money. BUY MORE AMMO
February 11th, 2010 at 11:14 am
This is the same dumbass who walked down the street in Belle Meade TN with a colt navy pistol IN HIS HAND and bitched when he got stopped by the cops.
http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=415750
and there seems to be no bounds to his dipshittery:
http://www.thehighroad.us/showpost.php?p=5224472&postcount=84
February 11th, 2010 at 11:15 am
What do you mean “non-harmful”?
I’d suggest that scaring the p@#s out of joggers and hikers at Radnor Lake might be doing just a smidge of harm. Same standard applies to his stroll down Belle Meade Boulevard. He’s not hurting anybody (gun owners argue) until this dips#@t pulls a Plaxico Burress and lets his gun discharge putting a cap in his a#@ (or somebody else’s).
Like many gun owners, this guy is using the nastiest weapon he can lay his hands on to compensate for his own feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy. If you want to exercise your individual liberty, do it in your basement, pal.
February 11th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I am all for open carry and concealed carry. His poor judgement came from painting the tip orange. The orange tip is a feel good thing for toy guns that the government wants put to keep jumpy cops from shooting children. Police these days seem to think everybody is out to get them including children.(There are good pills for that.) Why else would you need an orange tip. My guess is that he considers his pistol a “Mans toy” so hence the orange tip. Before anyone says pistols are not “toys”. Ask yourself how many guys have cars and trucks as “toys”. We all know they kill far more then guns yearly. How about the Ford Earthfucker article is that a practical vehicle save for blasting through a swamp or a “toy”? For the guy with the huge pistol he should not file a lawsuit. We have enough of those. He should just be content challenging the status quo without breaking the law. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Whatever you do somebody will not like it or agree with it ,but that does not make it wrong/illegal.
February 11th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I won’t defend this jerk.
OTOH, how would you feel about somebody arrested because he acted strangely and was dressed in a do-rag, a sports jersey five sizes too large, and jeans with a crotch half as long as the thigh?
Would you say it’s OK to arrest that guy because of what he was wearing?
February 11th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
If there were a law that said that the crotch could be no more than 51% as long as the thigh, then I would take issue with the law, not with the officers who are compelled to enforce it even if they disagree with it.
February 12th, 2010 at 1:29 am
Hey! I see no reason entrapment cannot become a tool in our toolbox. It is about time we played the same rules “they” do.