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."
At best, this could be a hint that a bit of metal was found in the shot officer that they hope to match.
On the other hand, fishing expedition? As various bits of slugs and bullets get handed in, if it even looks slightly like it came from a now verboten gun, raids will follow on the homes of the very people that found them.
Then maybe the public will wake up and demand Cops with a Clue
At best, this could be a hint that a bit of metal was found in the shot officer that they hope to match.
The idea being, to plant rounds fired from the confiscated guns in the area, to "keep" them confiscated, I suppose.
The incident was the first shooting of an Oshkosh police officer in 21 years.
Do inner city PDs, that suffer a higher frequency of shot-at officers, routinely go this SWAT rabid on a whole community after such an incident? I don't recall a lot of reports about such a thing.
I think so.
"the police were doing their door-to-door search "
Is this legal? I thought unless they saw a fleeing felon they couldn't enter a house without a warrant.
"Now if a cop knocked on my door asking for information to see if I've seen or heard something suspicious. Then it's another story and I'll cooperate 100%."
Apparently they used the excuse of evacuating several blocks worth of homes. That must be the new technique now, is to make people leave their homes and then they can do whatever they want when they are gone.
"Although it is unusal to evacuate everyone from their homes for six blocks, it wasn't excessive or in violation of anyone's rights."
Baloney. You evacuate people from their homes when there is a flood or a hurricane in order to protect them, you don't evacuate them in order to make doing routine police work easier (yes, I know a cop was shot but this is still routine police work). There was never a mention of danger to a resident of that area.
I seem to recall random sweeps of public housing complexes when a major crime takes place.
I surely hope not.
r9etb /#160
>>The authors of the original piece would be well advised to STFU.<<
ARE YOU AFRAID OF FREEDOM OR ^AFRAID OF^ DEFENDING YOUR RIGHTS?
nothingnew
>>DEAR SAY WHERE IS THE INFAMOUS ACLU?
ooooOOOOppPPPSSSss, I forgot, their at the DNC convention!<<
179/ Smartass
Freebird Forever
>>You have implied that anyone who opposes this egregious action by the Oshkosh police, in violation of the letter and spirit of the U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions, as well as the principles of limited government and individual liberty upon which this nation was founded, is a murderer and a criminal. This is a tactic worthy of the average denizen of DU,<<
Wallace T.
nothingnew
>>I have updated my FMCDH sign-off with the addition of (BITS).....Blood In The Streets, which I foresee coming soon, due to the enormous increase of the communist progressive movement being shoved down the throat of this failing REPUBLIC through the Judicial tyranny of fiat law, and the passing of unconstitutional laws by the Legislative and Executive branches of our government.<<
This would have caused an immediate revolution in Oshkosh forty years ago.
(In fact, it was Democratic former president John F. Kennedy who stated that when the government makes peaceful revolution impossible, it makes violent revolution inevitable.) Today he sounds like an arch conservative compared to today's Democrats.
The smell of sheeple is as offensive to you as it is to myself.
A Strong Winds A Gonna Blow it seems . .
Wow. Thanks for the bump.
But for the wrong reason. The offended will be after financial rewards, they will not demand that the City of Oshkosh explain on TV and in the newspapers how the Constitution was violated by their police officers and why this should never have happened.
Mr. Mayor, keep your money, educate your citizens!
And, as someone else pointed out, what damage will have been done to their guns?
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