Bandoliers? Not in the video linked at the source. There were the grey/red backpack straps and nothing else.
Posted on 10/17/2013 1:16:18 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
The fate of a Fort Hood soldier who was arrested in March while openly carrying an AR-15 rifle down a road in Central Texas is now in the hands of a jury. The trial of Christopher Grisham has drawn the ardent interest of gun-rights advocates nationwide.
Grisham, an active-duty Army Master Sergeant, was accompanying his 15-year-old son on a 10-mile hike back in March. The hike was part of the younger Grisham’s Boy Scout activities.
Grisham and Christopher Grisham Jr. were walking along Airport Road in West Temple, Texas, when they were approached by police officer Steve Ermis.
The police had received a call from someone alarmed by the sight of a man walking in public carrying a military-style assault weapon.
When Ermis confronted the elder Grisham, the soldier protested. Shortly, the teenage Grisham whipped out is cell phone and recorded the incident. That video can be seen in its entirety below.
At trial, which concluded this morning, Oct. 17, Ermis testified that he did not know why Grisham was carrying the high-powered weapon and that aspects of Grisham’s behavior were troubling to him.
Grisham faces a misdemeanor charge of interfering with the duties of a police officer. According to court records cited in the press, the soldier resisted when the cop tried to get him to put his hands behind his back. He also refused to hand over his rifle.
It is not illegal to carry a rifle in Texas.
Gun rights advocates have taken up Grisham’s cause. Blue Rannefeld, lawyer for the National Association of Legal Gun Defense, gave the defense’s opening statement and blasted Ermis for going “above and beyond to control and intimidate” Grisham.
When the younger Grisham testified on his father’s behalf, he said the rifle was for fending off feral hogs that had been spotted in the area.
He also said that Ermis drew his own gun and aimed it at the back of the senior Grisham’s head when the solider refused to surrender his rifle.
You start out by misrepresenting Grisham’s circumstances, then lie about facts you supposedly have “inside” info on, this despite the video being pretty clear about whats happening...
All over one guy who was completely within the law to be doing what he was doing.
And you are so vehement about it. Kinda gives your agenda away.
If the dispatcher determines that the complaint is simply that someone is "keeping and bearing arms", then I do think that the police should ignore it.
If, as is happening nationwide, more and more people are carrying firearms for protection, does this mean that we must hire a significant number of additional police officers to check them all out? I don't think so.
My bad. My desk faces South...
Bandoliers? Not in the video linked at the source. There were the grey/red backpack straps and nothing else.
Ehhh. I know that if DC is getting his panties in a wad over what I FReep - then all is good.
Nice "If" there. But that's not the case here. Grisham was not carrring this firearm for pretection, but for a confrontation.
Ping for later.
It is difficult for law enforcement to ignore complaints about an armed man walking down the road. The fact remains, the cop should have pulled up and kindly introduce himself. He was never in any danger, at least from what it appears. The officer made a HUGE mistake by saying the law didn’t apply to them(paraphrasing).
I remember when this first happened. The guy acted like an idiot looking for trouble.
Grisham was not carrring this firearm for pretection, but for a confrontation.
Care to elaborate?
At trial, which concluded this morning, Oct. 17, Ermis testified that he did not know why Grisham was carrying the high-powered weapon and that aspects of Grisham’s behavior were troubling to him.
Ugh. The ignorance, it is painful.
Funny that you should use that word since being ready for confrontation is exactly what the Heller decision included in the protections of the Second Amendment.
Since you are convinced that Grisham planned this, just exactly how did Grisham trick the police into participating in this "confrontation"?
In 1965 I occassionally carried a WWII era military rifle slung on my shoulder as I walked across town to a friend’s home. As I walked along the sidewalk next to a U.S. Highway, the state police officer drove by. I waved hello to him, and he waved back hello to me. Some law enforcement officers and departments exercised commonsense and respect for citizens back then. Others did not, like the time when about ten Lousiana state police officers had nothing better to do than hang around the gs station as the waited for an oportunity to arrest out of state youngsters on phony charges. The gas station attendant deliberately pumped the gas tank full and continued to pump gas to make the fuel overflow, run down the hill, and overcharge for the fuel. The Lousiana state police officers watched in great amusement to see our reaction. Anticipating an arrest at the first sign of a complaint, we told the attendant that was enough fuel, paid the bill, and left without making a complaint, which highly amused the police officers watching the whole affair.
It appears very clear there is a major problem with the Temple, Texas police department lacking respect for the 2nd Amendment and any citizen who would dare to complain or protest any of their illegal acts. The video makes it very clear that regardless of the aresstees motives and actions, these Temple police officers arrested the man to demonstrate their extralegal ability to punish behavior they did not like.
Care to elaborate?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sure. See the link in post 1. Plenty of elaboration in hundreds of previous replies. Sorry, but there ya go.
One of you is a John McCain republican, the other is a Ted Cruz conservative. The E-8 wasn’t ready to bend over but he was more than ready to defend his rights and he did. I was arrested in Belton, Texas by an off duty soldier pretending to be a cop. If you think this guy was belligerent you should have heard what I told that lying sack of sh7t cop who arrested me for the same reason this guy got arrested. BTW I was found not guilty and the Vichy soldier playing cop was dressed down by the Judge after he was caught lying.
You cannot know that. Even if you could know that, it makes no difference; because the Temple LEOs did not have to exceed their lawful authority and defy commonsense norms of respect.
Is it against the law to open carry a long gun in Texas? If it isn't, there was no call of duty.
More like the story of a cop with no common sense on a power trip and looking for trouble. Its legal to open carry a rifle in Texas period.
>> Grisham faces a misdemeanor charge of interfering with the duties of a police officer.
Petulant statists.
That basically defines the poster in question.
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.