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."
That's because tyranny is easier to try out on poor people first. Now they've moved to the middle-class burbs.
Unless there is a strong reaction, this sort of B.S. becomes the norm.
And what's to keep the cops from firing an extra slug through one of the confiscated guns, and dropping it where ever they want it to be "found" in the neighborhood?
The ultimate insult is that the taxpayers are paying the police to break the law.
I understand and agree with your practical suggestions. Obviously freedom lovers have to prepare for the worst, and that includes instructing our children and grandchildren what freedom means. We live out the principles in our daily lives and teach them how to shoot, banter ideas around, expose the lies they hear on TV and at school.
We can't surrender the Constitution and Bill of Rights however, even if in practical terms they have been voided by the Feds. So long as we are willing to fight for our rights those documents mean something. There are far more of 'us' than 'them' and they know it.
Nothing.
That's why these 'consent' searches are so dangerous. It's like inviting the vampire in. Even if a person was foolish enough to consent to a search, they should do so only on condition that the officers never leave their sight. There have been numerous instances where corrupt police have planted evidence in a home.
The inviting the vampire in analogy is very apt. Once you open the door, nothing will stop a dozen or more cops from flooding in, making it impossible to watch them all. Make them return with a warrant, and get your lawyer there.
BTTT
Did you ever think you would live long enough to see us protecting ourselves from the LEO's?
I sure didn't!
OSHKOSH M'GOSH!!!!!
If mine were confiscated by the police and returned, the first thing I would do is strip them down and inspect.
Not that I don’t trust our law enforcement personnel, but from force of habit.
Honestly? No.
The speed of the transformation is what is hard to grasp for me. Not that long ago a police officer wore a blue dress shirt and would stop and aid motorists in trouble.
Contrast that to the current full-on military appearance and attitude. We are now referred to as 'civilians' and many departments get surplus equipment from the military, much like the National Guard used to.
I used to think it was odd when I saw news photos from Warsaw Pact nations where the police looked just like soldiers. Now it is 'normal' here.
I think that would be prudent for these folks too. Especially if the weapon could be easily converted to full auto, such as simply replacing the fire control trigger group...
You just say no. The others will either learn the hard way, or never learn. I'm sure the folks involved in this sit were just trying to be helpful, since a cop was shot. They probably would have said OK if their neighbor was shot out of nowhere too.
" How many citizens will have the nerve to refuse to grant "consent" under these highly coercive conditions?"
Roughly 35% and within that 35% are the ones that will back them up.
I don't see this as about guns. It's about Freedom. It extends from seat belts and all the other nanny rules, to searches for other things like your DNA, so they can eliminate you as a suspect.
What I noted about this town was corruption, socialism and of course the jack booted PD. It's unlikely any of these neighborhood folks took a shot at the police. Especially the guy with the pot plants, unless he's suicidal. If anyone did, it was someone with a grudge against one of them. Maybe the cop was pokin' the shooter's OL, arrested a head case that's now loose, or one of the clowns at the broken up drinking party was ahead case. There's also the possibility he was not shot by firearms. Now, did they examine the guns of the 2 cops that were shot at? Hmmm, or is it too late to do that?
I for one would not rule out the chance of blue on blue. Cops who have shot themselves through negligence have reported being shot, there was a thread on a police chief who did this about a year ago. He had an entire PD on the warpath, looking for a nonexistent badguy shooter, when the shooter was himself.
How's about this alternative: I don't trust people who spout propaganda and expect me to swallow it whole. If you choose to do otherwise, that's your problem.
A policeman in my home without a warrant is a criminal.
Criminals in my home will be shot.
End of discussion.
Forcing people out of the safety of their homes while an armed criminal is running loose in the vicinity. Isn't that endangerment?
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