Posted on 11/17/2017 11:56:53 AM PST by Vigilanteman
A Buffalo Township couple is suing the township police and the Nationwide Insurance Co. after, their lawsuit says, hibiscus plants growing in their backyard were mistaken for marijuana plants.
In a lawsuit, Edward Cramer, 69, and his wife, Audrey Cramer, 66, claim that Buffalo Township police handcuffed them both and made them sit in the back of a police car for hours last month as police ransacked their house looking for marijuana.
But rather than running a pot-growing operation, the Cramers say they grow flowering hibiscus in their backyard.
The Cramers were not charged.
They filed a civil lawsuit Thursday in Butler County Court against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Nationwide agent Jonathan Yeamans, Buffalo Township and three of its police officers.
Among the allegations are use of excessive force, false arrest, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
“Nationwide is not in a position to discuss the matter at this time,” company spokesman David Gilligan wrote in an email.
Buffalo Township police did not immediately return a request for comment.
The trouble started when a neighbor's tree fell on the Cramer's property in September.
The lawsuit states that Yeamans came to the property on Oct. 5 to investigate the insurance claim.
But the suit claims that Yeamans surreptitiously shot photos of the flowering hibiscus growing in the Cramers' backyard and sent them to police as evidence of a marijuana grow operation.
(Excerpt) Read more at triblive.com ...
You need to read the entire article. Their Nationwide Insurance agent “found” the “marijuana grow,” photographed it, and turned the “photographic evidence” in to the cops. He was there investigating an insurance claim.
This is why cops have a bad name. They are not here to serve the aims of justice, but rather than to try and make arrests at all costs.
A few million dollars from the city and Nationwide, plus having some people in both agencies loose their jobs will help to alleviate the homeowners pain.
There is way, way too much of this sort of lawlessness on the part of the cops. Just glad they didn’t decide to shoot these people too.
Oops, perhaps they need a course in correctly identifying the hemp plant structure. 8>)
I suppose they don’t have a dog. ;-)
Looks very different to me. Pure stupidity.
I do not want any government to have the power to arrest people because a plant is growing on their property. That is pure fascism, which our government is now, and has been.
Actually, it sounds like malicious siccing the police if this is true: (insurance agent )Yeamans “intentionally photographed the flowering hibiscus plants in such a manner as not to reveal that they had flowers on them so that they would appear to resemble marijuana plants.”
Also idiot and malicious police, two of who allegedly claimed expertise in identifying marijuana. Marijuana does not have large colorful blooms, and hibiscus does not have a resinous smell.
“Sitting there on that sack of seeds.”
Just glad they didn’t decide to shoot these people too.
Highbiscus?
Maybe they could have just done an image search of what an actual marijuana plant looks like?
Our house was once raided by the King County Swat team. It too was a mistake. We never got a reasonable sounding explanation. It is disconcerting to have a team of armed marauders running round your house making a mess while their idiot buddies hold you at gun point and threaten to shoot your 3 Weinerdogs. We did not sue them because there was no lasting damage.
A civil forfeiture is still in order.
I hope they get enough to move to Florida and live out their lives in amongst hibiscus year round!..................
After dropping a dime on these 'potheads', agent Yeamans is eager to get to work for a HOA.
A person would have to be extremely ignorant or simply an idiot to mistake hibiscus for marijuana.
Do I look like a hibiscus to you? Meow.
It will only get worse as the common IQ of government employees gets closer to room temperature....................
Idiocracy, the movie, was prescient...............
If it were my place and my dog was shot, it would be the last act of the cop who shot her!
Did they check property values first?
I'll get that is intimidating.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.