Posted on 01/31/2012 10:11:22 AM PST by servo1969
A Montara man walking two lapdogs off leash was hit with an electric-shock gun by a National Park Service ranger after allegedly giving a false name and trying to walk away, authorities said Monday.
The park ranger encountered Gary Hesterberg with his two small dogs Sunday afternoon at Rancho Corral de Tierra, which was recently incorporated into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said Howard Levitt, a spokesman for the park service.
Hesterberg, who said he didn't have identification with him, allegedly gave the ranger a false name, Levitt said.
The ranger, who wasn't identified, asked Hesterberg to remain at the scene, Levitt said. He tried several times to leave, and finally the ranger "pursued him a little bit and she did deploy her" electric-shock weapon, Levitt said. "That did stop him."
--snip--
The ranger was trying to educate residents of the rule, Levitt said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
bump for later
SOP by the Gestapo is to shoot the two little dogs.
Are there any disproportionate/unnecessary force statutes in Kalifornia? This is sickening!
"Am I free to go? Am I under arrest? Am I being illegally detained?"
This is gonna cost somebody, big time.
This guy needs to get a good PI lawyer.
I was going to say that this was a “He said, she said” situation. But the account by the eyewitness is totally credible, and damning to the ranger. She should be investigated and, if this holds up, FIRED.
Note to self: Do not give false information to a federal law enforcement officer and then attempt to walk away when being detained.
He should have turned Obama “occupier’ and shIt on the cruiser. He would have been let go.
“...and provided her all his personal information.” Did he? Thought he lied to her. I think both parties are wrong here. But ignorance of the law is no excuse. Perhaps a simple sign noting the new leash laws would’ve been useful. And if the sign was posted, just issue the ticket or warning. Dude, if you are detained, don’t try to walk off.
“Dude, if you are detained, don’t try to walk off.”
No folling. See what happens if you drive away in the middle of a traffic stop...
Duh - “fooling”...
“The ranger was trying to educate residents of the rule”
He should have said he was just occupying the park.
Just a small question: How did she know she got false information ,if he had no ID.
Good thought... not going to happen.
Too bad the eye-witness account doesn’t back that up.
One day, one day I believe that this is going to happen to the wrong person at the wrong time and a bunch of people are going to end up dead or badly injured. And you know what? i think that is precisely the reactions that the ‘powers-that-be’ are hoping for.
And we all know what will happen then. Massive overkill on the story by the MSM and ‘new’ Even more restrictive laws will be enacted, and so the process to tyranny and slavery will be accomplished.
Example of why we need less government. The man may have been using the trail for years to walk his dogs. As soon as the federal government takes over, they bring more rules, less freedom and he is tased.
No, charged with multiple felonies, tried and imprisoned if found guilty. If the laws that limit The Great Unwashed are to be equally applied to Law Enforcement, we have Kidnapping and Assualt with Intent to cause bodily harm; if the warning of a heart condition is upheld, I see Attempted Murder.
I cannot, under threat of weaponry - detain you for my amusement. I cannot fire a Taser upon you, maliciously, either. This is exactly what she did; so why not make her pay the same price you or I would pay?
Funny thing about doing this - I'm sure that other Law Enforcement Officers would see that they can't be thugs hiding behind a badge - if they decide to engage in thuggry - then they can got to jail like any other thug.
Hell hath no fury like a woman (in a paramilitary uniform) scorned!
And we all know what will happen then. Massive overkill on the story by the MSM and ‘new’ Even more restrictive laws will be enacted, and so the process to tyranny and slavery will be accomplished.
Your post is very prescient. The govt. wants a violent reaction and then their reaction will be oppressive. Will they enjoy the counter-reaction? I doubt it. That's why their gaming the situation is so frightening. The scripted response from the MSM may not fly as well as either the media or the government had hoped.
TS
She should be investigated and, if this holds up, Tazed, then FIRED.
Sounds like he deserved it... if not for walking the dogs unleashed then certainly for attempting to leave when told to stay put. This guy has (had?) a problem with authority.
How would the eye-witness know if the man had provided false information? Also, the witness doesn’t dispute the fact that the man walked away when being told to stay. If a law enforcement officer tells you to wait, you wait.
What if she were loaded into a cannon, then FIRED?!?
The govt. wants a violent reaction and then their reaction will be oppressive. Will they enjoy the counter-reaction? I doubt it. That’s why their gaming the situation is so frightening. The scripted response from the MSM may not fly as well as either the media or the government had hoped.
I hope you are right about the counter-reaction.
It’s an interesting facet about humans and our behavior. As long as the loss we experience is less than value of what we keep then we will complain bitterly and then go no further, (Usually!). But when we feel that there is nothing left to lose then we will turn and fight until only we or our oppressor is still amongst the living. The question here of course is at what point does fighting back overcome the fear of losing everything?
We get to know the citizen’s name but not the bureaucrat’s. Typical.
Note addendum: Lick Ranger’s boots.
What legitimate cop detains someone for a dog off a leash and then tazes the heart patient?
Owners like that are the worst.
/s
Kinda. Throw out the Taser.
This is getting ridiculous.
“The ranger, who wasn’t identified, asked Hesterberg to remain at the scene, Levitt said. He tried several times to leave, and finally the ranger “pursued him a little bit and she did deploy her” electric-shock weapon, Levitt said. “That did stop him.”
—snip—
The ranger was trying to educate residents of the rule, Levitt said.”
Education by cattle prod always works for me!!! Comply or fry (or die in some 400+ cases).
So do I, Sparky.
Arrest me, cite me, or let me go.
Period.
Sounds like he deserved it... if not for walking the dogs unleashed then certainly for attempting to leave when told to stay put. This guy has (had?) a problem with authority.
Comment on the story from another forum:
“Ironically, I’m pretty sure that in 98% of all tazings, there’s a douchebag on the end with the prongs.”
Note the locale, San Francisco - home of fruits, nuts, and flakes and “that law doesn’t apply to me” Obama supporters.
Well done, Ranger.
Who do you think you are - a free man?
Walking is a privilege. Breathing park air is a privilege.
Being left alone to mind your own business - not allowed.
I just get a little shocked, still, to see a long time Freeper carry water for excessive policing and Police State techniques.
To a point. At some point, it becomes, “Arrest me, cite me, or let me go.”
You mean kinda like what was (and is still being) attempted in Fast & Furious?
Excellent point. Some folks wonder why cops pull people over for burned out license plate lights. The answer is, that’s how they find wanted criminals. This guy giving the ranger a false name was a big red flag and a loud alarm bell, indicating that further investigation was necessary. She would have been wrong to let him go. Imagine the headlines: “Park ranger failed to identify notorious rapist before he killed Oakland cheerleader.”
It sounds like Mr. Hesterberg wasn’t the innocent angel he was made out to be:
“The incident occurred around 4:45 p.m. when the man was walking two dogs near the southern edge of McNee Ranch State Park. A ranger working for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area stopped the man for having one of his dogs off-leash, which is restricted in certain areas of the Rancho Corral property.
An escalating argument ensued, according to John Barlett, a nearby resident who was walking in the area. The dog-walker was “defiant,” Barlett said, daring the ranger as he began walking away, “Are you going to arrest me?”
That’s when the ranger pulled out her Taser, according to Barlett.”
Yes, That is one example and a good one. The shooting incident with Congresswoman Giffords is another example.
You might laugh at me but there are times when I think that Ayn Rand was very prophetic in Atlas Shrugs. The goal was to have every man, woman and child in an assigned place with no hope of leaving it. In other words a universal medieval Serfdom for the masses and a very few nobles to enjoy the fruits of their labors.
From the comments after the article:
“The comments here are a very good example of the divide between Americans and Authoritarians. Authoritarians of course believe that citizens should submit to the authority of government where as Americans think it is government that should submit to the authority of We The People. I’m not saying citizens should have the right to run wild as of course we have laws for a reason however an American would recognize that there are two types of laws, ones that protect us and others that enslave us. The litmus test for identifying which category a law falls into is simple. That test is if a victim be identified.
Let’s take the law that requires supposed free citizens to give identification when approached by a government representative. When I was a kid we used the scene of a Nazi Gestapo agent approaching a person and asking for papers to scare people into thinking how close we came to living in a world with that type of government abuse. Let’s set aside the obvious fact that our Constitution forbids government from infringing on our right to remain silent or our right not to incriminate ourselves and just focus on the fact that there is no victim. Who did this guy hurt? Some people say he could have been a criminal however anyone walking down the street could be a criminal thus is this justification for government agents to tase us at will?
Think about it and also ask yourself if you like the direction our country is heading. Are you willing to give up the Constitutional protections that so many have fought and died for because you’re afraid of some perceived terrorist threat? Do you think those who fought and died we afraid when they were being shot at and bombed? Of course they were but they died giving us all the gift of freedom. Don’t spit on their effort by condoning such governmental abuse.”
Hmmmmm
She was not a "federal officer" She was a park ranger who found a guy with his two dogs off-leash and made it a major crime. She is an idiot.
If you can't see the overkill because of a leash offense then I can't help you.
Semper Fi,
TS
See my new *tagline* :)
The subect was either under arrest or he was not. If he was under arrest, the officer erred in not telling him so; if he was not under arrest, the officer’s “command” was not lawful. She can’t have it both ways.
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