Posted on 07/27/2004 9:46:21 AM PDT by JOAT
TYRANNY ALERT!
OSHKOSH POLICE CONDUCT DOOR TO DOOR GUN CONFISCATIONS
Shooting of Oshkosh police officer results in knee jerk neighborhood gun grab
Oshkosh, Wis. -- Following the shooting of an Oshkosh police officer Saturday night, area residents were forced from their homes, their lawful firearms being confiscated by police.
The Oshkosh Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics Unit responded to the area, with a K-9 police dog in pursuit of the perpetrator who was reported to have fled on foot.
Citizens' guns were seized through searches of area homes. The police promised to return the firearms after forensic tests proved they were not involved in the crime. The injured officer's name was withheld, but media reports indicate his condition is not life-threatening.
"The message is: Hand over your guns, now!" said Corey Graff, executive director of Wisconsin Gun Owners Inc. "This is a blatant case of guilty-until-proven-innocent and an abuse of police power."
Still, residents in the area are furious about the home invasions by police and what they see as theft of their property. Although early reports are unclear, they indicate a search warrant was issued for two homes, yet additional home owners also had firearms confiscated.
"We want the perpetrator of this crime caught and brought to justice just like everyone else," said Graff. "But that doesn't mean the police should trample citizens' 4th amendment protections, steal lawful private property and enter the home without reasonable suspicion or warrant."
One homeowner in the area said his guns were taken by police, guns that hadn't left his gun safe since last hunting season. Another victim of the police searches -- an elderly women -- reported waking up to officers' searching her home in the early morning hours.
The Oshkosh Northwestern reported, "Residents were not being allowed to return to their homes by press time."
From post 107 link:
The ongoing search for a perpetrator continues to prove frustrating for residents of the otherwise quiet neighborhood near Smith Elementary School. Residents of the 1700 block of Minnesota Street had mixed things to say about the methods police used in searching homes Sunday morning in the aftermath of the shooting.
Terry Wesner said “a couple of shotguns and a rifle” were removed from his home by SWAT Team members after he consented to a search, though officers did not tell him they removed the firearms after they completed their search.
“That’s what makes me so mad,” Wesner said. “They had no reason (to remove the firearms) without a warrant. … I didn’t know they removed anything until my buddy, who’s staying with me, noticed they were missing. I thought you had to have a warrant to take someone’s guns.”
Oshkosh Police Capt. Jay Puestohl said officers “don’t go into houses without consent or a warrant.” He acknowledged consent to search does “not necessarily” mean officers have consent to remove property.
Puestohl also said nothing illegal was done by removing the firearms and that investigators needed to examine them. He declined to say on what grounds officers had the right to remove the firearms, though.
“We’re getting into a lot of legal details if there’s evidence that can be seized. They (the firearms) could be,” Puestohl said. “As far as I know there was nothing inappropriate or illegal done.”
OOPS, bad link to post number sorry. should've read From post 112 link:
Mr. Wesner should have filed theft charges, because he wasn't issued a reciept and was not told they were being taken.
See#117 and #122.
Oshkosh Police Capt. Jay Puestohl said officers “don’t go into houses without consent or a warrant.” He acknowledged consent to search does “not necessarily” mean officers have consent to remove property.
There's a few things wrong here:
That's Ice T. He's an infamous former rap artist. You may recall the dust up that occurred over a tune he put out in the early 90's.
Now he's a multimillionaire actor who apparently got bought off, as he hasn't recorded anything inflammatory in years.
He stomped on a lot of toes with his tune "Cop Killer" and many took offense.
But it's an interesting study to deconstruct the character portrayed in that song and understand how those feelings developed.
I look at it this way. If a person gets kicked in the teeth long enough one of two things can occur. They can roll over and do the refugee thing (like those souls on the Sudanese border) or you can step up (like Paine, Adams, Washington, etc).
Ice T's tune depicted the mindset of the later (in a very violent urban way).
These folks in Oshkosh just got their first kick in the teeth (if the facts presented are correct). It'll be interesting to see how they play it.
Why does being a "suspect" have to be "legally binding". If they were sure of who did it, they wouldn't be a suspect, they would be a perpetrator. What's with all of the requirements to suspect someone of something? Some amount of evidence pointing to someone should be enough to suspect someone of something. It's newspeak.
That's correct.
"# consent to search does not automatically confer consent to remove property."
It does if they consider it evidence.
Looks like a Barney Fife dept, but then what do you expect from a corrupt local gov. I couldn't help notice the local politicians in trouble written up on the same page as this incident.
This is from post #91. Oshkosh Northwestern.com This sounds to me like they confiscated guns without permission and improperly!!!!!
Adolf Hitler would love them
No Dramaqueenage please.
Get together, get a lawyer and then get the police department.
Easy as 1,2,3.
IIRC, the legal requirements pertaining to "people of interest" is different from that pertaining to suspects. Can't recall the details (which probably vary from place to place anyway).
Ah, but refusing to be an obedient little serf and barring entry for the cops is nowadays likely enough probable cause to think that you are harboring, aiding and abetting. All they need to do after that is concoct some story about "exigent circumstances" (someone's life in imminent peril is the stand-by, and with a cop-shooting it wouldn't be tough). Now they don't need to worry about the 4th Amendment.
I commented on that in #117, #122 ansd #127. If you let them search, they can take anything they think is relevant to the crime. They need to leave notice and a receipt for what was taken, or it is theft. I'm sure they issued those after the complaints, but the consent was given and they now have evidence to examine.
And exactly how long could that take? years??
On CSI it only takes about 10 minutes.
The Jackboots will be here defending this.
The Jackboots will be here defending this.
Nope; they had the owner's permission. He just was too dumb to understand what giving that permission meant.
Good faith.
Winnebago County, where Oshkosh is located, has had numerous scandals recently. Their former DA recently pled guilty to federal bribery charges, and is awaiting sentencing.
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