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."
Buy
Lots
Of
Ammo
Today
As usual, it looks like a lot of people on this board seem to think the Constitution and Bill of Rights actually are still in play. Shake it off. We haven't lived by the Rule of Law in this land in a long, long time. Deal with it. Buy guns. Teach your kids. Pray. Prepare for the purge. It's coming.
Depends, are you on local time?
You have chosen a very poor name for your FR handle. "Vulture Licensed by the Powers that Be" would be more fitting.
I'm not sure I'm even logged in.
A cop was shot and in the area, it certainly sounds like probable cause to me. Although it is unusal to evacuate everyone from their homes for six blocks, it wasn't excessive or in violation of anyone's rights. I am highly skeptical of the woman who claimed to wake up to police searching through her house (most likely, the press release failed to point out that someone ELSE in the home allowed them in).
I'll just have to be one. People who don't insist on their constitutional rights lose them, and deservedly so.
Perhaps you should stop and take 10 slow breaths before believing the original article, which appears to be a hysterical and propaganda-laden screed written by whackjobs. Despite the heavy hints dropped by the news release, the cops didn't charge through the neighborhood demanding guns.
Instead, based on the news article (posted above), it appears that the police entered one (1) house, after having obtained a warrant to do so. If the article is accurate, it appears that the cops found what appears to be the weapon used in the shooting.
The real story is probably far closer to that in the news article than in the original shriek-piece.
The authors of the original piece would be well advised to STFU.
BTTT
You are right. Thanks for posting the real reports. It was only the pot grower's house that contained the brass in the back yard that was searched, and that was done with a warrant.
No one elses guns were taken and no one elses houses were searched. This is the second time this WI Gun Owner's assn has shown itself to me to be a clown outfit, unworthy of support.
Bravo Sierra. Unless you see the perp run into my yard/house, then you better have a Godd*mn search warrent. Period.
At least we aren't using you for a "reasonable man" standard.
"Bordering?" This crap is straight out of the Josef Goebbels Correspondence Course.
I have read the proffered articles, and the facts get even cloudier...
The police went on a door to door search armed with 'a' search warrant? No judge in his/her right mind would sign a warrant that had a whole nieghborhood as the location. It wouldn't stand up in court.
Further, the police admit that without the bullet, they have no case against the suspect from whom they seized three rifles. What was their reasoning for suspecting him? Because he had rifles? Did someone see him shoot at the officer? (No, the officer wasn't sure where the shot came from. So where did someone get the bright idea to execute a search of his house?)
This whole case stinks from top to bottom. Something funky going on in Oshkosh.
They had a "Godd*mn search warrant."
I don't care what silly uniform they have on. If they illegally break into my home, they will deal with the consequences.
Thanks for those links. I read them all. None of them mentioned door to door gun confiscations. Hyped press release? Sounds like it.
It would be nice to think that they would press it all the way, but the reality is, they probably won't. Too many people these days accept and do whatever they are told...they fall into this "well, it's an inconvenience, and it's wrong, but as long as they catch the guy, they are making me safer" trap..
Did the search warrant authorize searching all of the homes in the area? Were they searching for weapons, perpetrators, or both? Is there such a thing as a blanket search warrant that allows police to search all the homes in a 6-block area? That seems awfully broad. How could there be probable cause to search individual homes in this manner?
Outside of all the illegal activity by the police in this story, I'm sick of these stupid politically correct euphemisms. What ever happened to "suspect"?
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