Constitutionalist blames police for fatal shootout (shooting in Massillon, Ohio)

The Canton Repository (Ohio) ^ | August 13, 2002 | ED BALINT

[ResistorSister]

CANTON — Dwight Class said it didn’t have to end this way for Donald Matthews and the Massillon police officer whom he shot and killed.

Class said Patrol Officer Eric Taylor and the other officers and state trooper who were part of a fatal police chase Friday night did not have the authority to pull Matthews over on a traffic stop.

Or to pursue and attempt to arrest him.

Class attends the meetings on constitutionality that Matthews used to lead before he died in the shootout with police that started with a traffic stop on Route 21 in Doylestown and ended at First Street NW and Cherry Road in Massillon.

Matthews was president of the National Constitutionalist Academy and studied the U.S. Constitution. He held weekly meetings at the Denny’s Restaurant on Tuscarawas Street W in Perry Township. About 15 to 22 people usually attend, Class said. He said Matthews also held weekly meetings in Cleveland.

STRONG BELIEFS. Dwight Class and his wife, Sárra,
stand outside Reed Funeral Home after attending
calling hours for Donald Matthews of Jackson
Township on Monday afternoon. Police shot and
killed Matthews after he led police on a chase and shot and
killed Massillon Police Officer Eric Taylor on Friday
night. Class said the shootout wouldn’t have occurred
if the state trooper who pulled Matthews over on a
traffic stop had shown proof that he had an oath of
office and a bond. Repository / Michael S. Balash

Class attended calling hours for Matthews at Reed Funeral Home on Monday. Visitation was held from 3 to 5 and 6 to 9 p.m.

The first session appeared to be sparsely attended. Roughly 12 to 20 vehicles were parked in the funeral home lot. Visitors trickled in during the two hours. Family members and friends occasionally gathered in the parking lot or near the entrance of the funeral home.

Class spoke strongly about the events that unfolded Friday when a state trooper pulled Matthews over for driving 12 mph over the speed limit.

If the trooper could have produced proof that he had taken an oath of office and had a bond, “it would have been a nice, simple conversation (and Matthews would have said,) ‘I recognize you as an officer now.’ ”

That would have prevented the gunshots, Class said.

“I don’t think it had to have happened at all,” the Canton resident said, citing constitutional issues.

However, his wife, Sárra Class, said Taylor “should have been shot.”

Dwight Class disagreed and told his wife to stop making the comment.

“I thought he was a good man,” he said of Matthews. “He tried to get things done; he tried to get them done peacefully. That’s what he taught in class.”

Matthews taught other constitutionalists “to get the ‘paper trail started’ ” by filing cases in court, Class said.

Class said he has filed lawsuits over traffic violations involving himself and Rodney Class. One of the cases involves New Philadelphia police, he said.

Dwight Class also said he’s filed a lawsuit in federal court in Akron over alleged civil rights violations.

He said he’s planning to take legal action this week against Massillon Municipal Judge Edward J. Elum in the Ohio Supreme Court. That complaint involves a warrant issued against Class — he said he doesn’t know what for.

Dwight Class, 51, said he retired after working 30 years at the Timken Co.

He gave a reporter a “notice” of “civil rights violations by Ohio police and (the Ohio Highway Patrol).”

“Ohio is a home-rule state,” it says. “Chances are that if the brothers and sisters are stopped by any local police, they do not have an oath of office or bond to hold a position as a civil servant.”

Without the oath or bond, an officer doesn’t have the power to arrest a citizen, Class says.

Standing outside the funeral home, he said, “We don’t have a police force in the state of Ohio; we have private, at-will employees.”

A bumper sticker on a pickup truck at the calling hours carried the slogan: “I love my country but I fear my elected officials.”

Class said he expects Friday’s incident to boost attendance at the National Constitutionalist Academy meetings.

But not everyone who attended the calling hours shared Class’s point of view.

John Newlund, 49, of East Liverpool, said Matthews was his wife’s brother-in-law.

“He gave me a card one time,” Newlund said of the academy, “and I just blew it off. I believe you should pay your taxes.”

Newlund said he would “absolutely” pull over for a traffic stop.

“He should have stopped,” he said of Matthews. “It was only a speeding ticket — it happens thousands of times a day.

“You go by the law, the law of the land.”

You can reach Repository writer Ed Balint at (330) 580-8315 or e-mail:

ed.balint@cantonrep.com

[exodus]

To: exodus
Why not examine that quote in context? Here is the information needed to evaluate it:

Dwight Class, 51, said he retired after working 30 years at the Timken Co. He gave a reporter a “notice” of “civil rights violations by Ohio police and (the Ohio Highway Patrol).”

“Ohio is a home-rule state,” it says. “Chances are that if the brothers and sisters are stopped by any local police, they do not have an oath of office or bond to hold a position as a civil servant.”

You are quoting an associate of the deceased who handed a notice of alleged "civil rights" violations to the reporter. First of all, a police officer being bonded or not ain't a civil right violation. Second, the statement says "chances are" - which means he hasn't done any more research into the assertion regarding the lack of an oath than you or I have. My knowledge regarding oaths for police officers comes from having taken one; first as a police officer and then twice as an attorney. Would you believe they basically the same oath?

My evaluation of his knowledge of the law, based on other statements he made to the reporter, is that he knows very little.

I'd be willing to bet that any law enforcement officer in Ohio is required to swear an oath to uphold the laws of the State, the State Constitution and the Constitution of the United States.

Until I see a link to the Ohio code where it says they don't swear an oath then this guy Cass is just another nut.

Try another point.
# 613 by Abundy

*************************

I realize that, Abundy. I am very good at understanding the context of what I read.

I'll go over this point again.

I took exactly the opposite stance from yours. I assumed that even a nutcase would have enough sense to be able to back up his facts, when the people he's trying to recrute could easily find out if he's wrong.

Their organization has been operating for years, and what they lack in brilliance would have been made up for in trial and error. I believe that they would have worked out most of trhe bugs in their presentation by now.

The statement “Chances are that if the brothers and sisters are stopped by any local police, they do not have an oath of office or bond to hold a position as a civil servant.” tells me not that Dwight Class doesn't know what he's talking about, but instead that taking an oath is a voluntary decision left up to each individual officer. That would also explain why Matthews would ask officers if they had proof that they had taken an oath.

Until I see a link to the Ohio code saying that officers are required to take an oath of office, I'm going to assume that the oath is voluntary, and that Matthews had a legitimate complaint.

[Kevin Curry]

I am quite surprised I haven't seen postmen shot by some of these people because a)they are government employees, and b)they are trespassing on the land.

When I was in college, I worked for the Post Office one summer as a part-time employee. On day while on a route I was cornered by an aggressive German Shepherd owned by a government-hater who urged his dog on against me for the very reason you listed and then snatched his mail from the mailbox where I had just deposited it. He wanted his mail service (except for the bills, which he left in the box) but wanted to attack and curse the employee who provided it.

Weird.

[exodus]

To: exodus
"...a police officer being bonded or not ain't a civil right violation..."
# 613 by Abundy

*************************

That's true, and Dwight Class would agree with you. He said that they might not have sworn an oath to hold a position as a civil serant. He ddn't say that was a violation of anyone's civil rights.

Their point is that without a sworn oath to uphold the law, a policeman is nothing more than an ordinary citizen, with no more authority than any other citizen. It would be like me walking up to you and demanding to see your license, or telling you to get out of your car.

You would be fully justified in telling me to mind my own business.

[habs4ever]

What Matthews believed, and how he lived those "principles" are two different things,and for you to still spin a fantasy that Matthews didn't murder Taylor because you can't accept it, is irrelevant.You convince no one but yourself that this charade is a dispassionate exploration of the 'facts'.The facts are clear, and you gloss over them because you are trying to square them with your ideology.

You do have a talent for cutting and pasting, exodus, but not for rational debate.

[exodus]

To: exodus
"...the fringe movement and acts of people like Matthews jump all over these and make Holy Crusades over them. This is what gets my goat.

I believe we should question the government on questionable acts. Waco is a perfect example. However, there are others that question every single action and see every act as a pervasive invasion of privacy and violation of personal rights..."
# 617 by RabidBartender

*************************

Every fringe movement has some truth to it. Matthews isn't as far out as you would believe. Most people would agree with most of his ideas, but they would think he was a fool for making such a big deal out of it.

While it's true that he worked with little things like fighting to have government officials sworn in and taking city government to court on "frivolous" Constitutional grounds, he and his organization didn't have the money or support to operate on the national level. He couldn't even operate effectively at the State level. Lack of money limits what you can accomplish.

At the local level, a lot can be accomplished just by having a car and a lot of time on your hands. Very little money is required, so that's the level where Matthews worked. You won't accomplish much because city and county government officials have a stake in keeping things as they are, and the judges who hear your cases have both interests to protect for themselves, and the interests of their friends in government to protect as well.

While you won't produce much change in the way things are done, you at least keep your Constitutional principles in the public eye, and you have the hope that maybe something you do will make a difference.

[exodus]

To: exodus
"...I am quite surprised I haven't seen postmen shot by some of these people because
a)they are government employees, and
b)they are trespassing on the land.
# 617 by RabidBartender

*************************

I firmly believe that is the reason that the Postal Sevice officially decided not to participate in President Bush's domestic spying plan.

Postmen have enough problems without being officially labeled as government spies.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Ah, the elixir. Went to the Huron, Oh. Irish festival last weekend and had me a few. Very entertaining Irish bands and dancers. Even bought me a Guinness ball cap, which I wear proudly.

Slainte!

[lavaroise]

labelling Constitutionalists the next terrorist group in America.

It's because the media never makes an issue of the beliefs of drug gang bangers who vote democrat and for welfare. THey all live in HUD projects, and I've been there done that, these people are politicaly active.

By the way, if it is illegal for cops to stop illegal alliens from entering the community and pushing them back into Mexico, why is it illegal to drive one's car fast?

The Massillion shooting was totaly uncalled for. However if the issue is constitutionalism, then why don't we talk about the other nut jobs.

[DonQ]

It is standard procedure everywhere in the US, that law enforcement employed by the govt at any level - whether traffic cops, federal agents, park police, etc. - take an oath and otherwise qualify before they get their badge, gun, and training. Even if this is somehow overlooked in recruiting one cop, it is legally presumed because it is SOP. That policeman's badge (not to mention the cop car) is sufficient proof to all the world that he is validly a law enforcement officer. If Matthews wanted to quibble about the legal details, the appropriate place was in a courtroom.

By the way, even the crime of impersonating a policeman does not get the death penalty.

[Shooter 2.5]

My son had a great time in Ireland. He said the pubs were a lot of fun so he tries to find one here when he can.

Might as well write about Irish drinking. This thread should be good for something.

[Shooter 2.5]

Ignore the little troll. He's just looking for some attention.

Did you go on vacation this summer?

[exodus]

To: exodus
My argument is counter to yours. I believe what the police and reporters have put out.

I am not supportive of the villification of betty boop (who I am not even familiar with) or labelling so-called 'Constitutionalists' as nutjobs.

But we have to recognize that there is a problem here in this situation, and it is not with 'authority'. It is with the outright determination to instigate conflicts with what these people view as a 'tyrannical' government.
# 617 by RabidBartender

*************************

In most cases of reported news, I always consider the chance that the politicians are lying, the reporters are lying, or both are lying.

In every case where violence occurs, I view news reports with a great deal of directed, purposeful skepticism. I have no reason to trust them, and a great deal of reason to distrust them.

No one wants a conflict with the government. We want the government to base it's laws on the Constitution, which government now does in word only.

Everyone knows that we have a limited, Constitutional Republic. That means that government can't do anything that it's not permitted to do by the Constitution. Even so, everybody knows that the government can do anything "that's not prohibited by the Constitution," as was posted several times on this very thread. I find that a Constitution both limited and permissive to be an oxymoron, but then I'm just a nutjob who doesn't understand anything.

Hardly anybody thinks about what the Constitution means anymore, and even less talk about it. Anyone who actually does talk about what the Constitution means, and what it requires, is labeled a "nutjob," just as you pointed out above. It's gotten so bad now that quoting the Constitution to a government official is strong evidence that you're a domestic "terrorist."

[Cap'n Crunch]

Guess I've been missing all the discussion. Yesterday my wife and I were out at the Lake Erie Islands celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary. How she's put up with me for that long I will never understand, but I'm grateful.

I heard on the news here (and I don't know if it's been posted by someone else) that this Matthews may have been a part of some "militia group" out of Michigan. Apparently some woman in this organization, who signed her name "Captain Such and Such" sent a nasty gram to the site where Officer Taylor got shot. The note said that the police should prepare themselves for more shootings and they deserve to be shot.

Anyway, I believe our government is getting more intrusive. I believe it started happening before I was even born and is probably going to continue on. I don't think anyone who is concerned about government tyranny should be out blasting police officers for making traffic stops. I think they should be working to change people's minds and the laws and to most importantly start voting all these rats out of office who are socialists and destroying our way of life.

If that don't work, and it gets worse, well then I'm willing to pick up my gun and do my duty. It may well get to that point but I hope we can change things before it does. Seems to me we are in the midst of a storm right now and we could go either way.

I don't know all the facts of the shooting but had I been there I would have been pulling out Ol' Bess and had that double ought and slugs going downrange.

I like Oneupsmanship.

And in the words of the great sage and soothsayer Forrest Gump: "that's all that I have to say about that."

[lavaroise]

What change of subject? Or was that slander?

[Shooter 2.5]

Cool.
All I did was go to Chicago for a wedding.

I think it's time everyone ignored the troll. He has nothing but lies to say and it's making FR look like a tin hat convention.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Well you know God invented Whiskey so the Irish wouldn't rule the world.

I love the songs and the beer and the dancing, tis how I met me bride, she was teaching Irish dancing, and was dancing at a festival we have here.