Posted on 07/01/2014 7:29:53 AM PDT by circlecity
From a news release:
Indianapolis - The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf of a woman who was pulled over and interrogated after her bumper sticker caught the attention of Indianapolis police officers, violating her First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights.
On June 17, Pamela Konchinsky of Indianapolis was turning into the Merchants Garage on South Meridian Street in her silver Toyota minivan when two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers entered the garage immediately behind her. One of the officers told Konchinsky that she was being detained because of a bumper sticker taped to the rear window of her minivan, which read: "Unmarked Police Car." The officer told Konchinsky that people would think she was impersonating a police officer and that someone might shoot her. After reviewing her license and registration, Konchinsky was ordered to get out of her car and remove the bumper sticker.
IMPD officers' subjecting Konchinsky to detention, questioning, intimidation and harassment over the message on her bumper sticker violates two constitutional amendments: the First Amendment protecting free expression and the Fourth Amendment prohibiting unreasonable and suspicionless seizures.
"We contend that the police officers who detained and interrogated our client without legal grounds to do so violated her constitutional rights, said ACLU of Indiana Staff Attorney Kelly Eskew. "The promise of our Constitution is that these lines cannot be crossed."
The lawsuit, Pamela Konchinsky v. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officers John Doe I and John Doe II, Cause No. 1:14-cv-1078,was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, on June 27, 2014.
I’m liking it!
You could also write a book called “How to Turn Into a Liberal Left Wing Nut Case.” You could sell it to middle schoolers.
It’s nice to see you. :)
You are a Hoot!
You made my day.
The middle schools are already doing that. I believe without books.
It should have been settled by reasonable-thinking cops who realized it didn’t fit the law.
You too dear lady. Kinda hanging around waiting for Jim’s first ‘thon thread.
Me too.
Just a few days ago we saw the sign that said "Drugs this way" scrawled on the side of a house.
It’s indicative of the low intelligence of the officers if they cannot comprehend a very simple paradoxical bumper sticker.
Not only are they stupid, but they also display humorlessness and below average language skills since they took the sign literally. If English is their first language, they are very dumb indeed, to misunderstand such simple irony.
I was thinking and going to comment exactly along those lines, only you summed up my own thought in a much more pithy manner than I would have, great job.
You’re missing the larger picture here. A cop will get backup to ORDER you to do something because they don’t like what you’re doing regardless that it is fully legal. These cops claim someone might shoot at her in the minivan? How about the Obamatons that were vandalizing vehicles with Republican bumper stickers. Are cops to order those removed because something ‘might’ happen to her?
If English is their first language
This shows an alarming racis tendency on your part. While true that many Affrimative Action Appointees have a shaky grasp of English, pointing it out could also cause these armed LEOs who hold your life and that of your dog in their hands, a loss of self esteem. Pre-PTS could result, with the unwanted consequence of inappropriate behavior.
I hope you understand why I am taking your keyboard away.
cops have the excuse of “let the judge prove me wrong”.
There is no penalty for cops who use power with no legal support.
Well, at least you understand why this is a different story altogether.
As opposed by the cops who were fooled by a "marked" unmarked police car.
For the same reason that I drive a gas-sucking SUV and carry a .357 magnum -- because I want to and its my right.
Your confusing freedom of speech with the practical rights of citizens in a crisis to clearly know who is and isn’t a law enforcement officer.
Your freedom of speech does not include yelling “Fire” in a crowded theatre. Common sense has to have a place here.
How ‘bout all these T-shirts and baseball caps that have FBI emblazoned across them ... worn by people who have nothing to do with the FBI?
Do you not understand irony, that you would take such a bumper sticker literally?
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