The NOPD is confiscating guns from otherwise law-abiding citizens? The hell you say.
From reports I get here, and here, they're taking firearms as part of the general emergency order from the Governor and specific orders from the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police, a Mr. Compass, has made a decision that may affect the rest of his career. Especially when his order has been found to be in violation of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution, not to mention numerous portions of the Louisiana Constitution and Louisiana Revised Statutes.
To those residents who are being affected, take names. Get the names of the officers and their department affiliation. Don't be rude, don't be threatening. Let the officers do whatever it is they might do. If you resist, all is lost.
Remember the words of Robert E. Lee: "No gentleman is rude accidently." There will be plenty of time to be rude later, when you are garnishee-ing the paychecks of everyone involved. The judgements are going to be huge, and those cops will be working for you for a long, long time. Not to mention the considerable cash that you get from the city.
Attend to your safety. Make the officers carry you to a place of safety. They are there, after all, to evacuate you. Don't do anything to jeapordize your safety. Stay safe. You'll soon be rich, and able to buy any gun your heart desires.
Then, as soon as you are able, find a Federal Courthouse. Go there and talk to a US Attorney. Tell him you want to file charges for violations of your civil rights. Give him your list of names of the individual officers. Then, go find a good plaintiff lawyer. There are hundreds of them out of work from New Orleans alone. Get one with the demeanor of a bulldog, the fortitude of a snapping turtle, and the personality of a rattlesnake. Tell him you want to sue the officers involved for violation of your civil rights. If that lawyer doesn't swoon, or get an erection, you have the wrong lawyer. You should be able to see the dollar signs roll in his eyes. Sue those bastards for everything they are worth. Sue them in state court for violating your rights under the Louisiana Constitution, sue them in Federal Court for violating your civil rights. Sue them till their noses bleed, and be rude about it.
Have your lawyer pester the living hell out of the US attorney until he arrests those bastards. Officers acting under color of law understand that they cannot break the law to uphold it and that the US Constitution forbids certain actions. Officers that commit criminal acts cannot hide behind the orders of superiors. That defense died at Nuremburg.
I am saddened and horrified at the actions of the NOPD, both during and after the event that Katrina became. There have got to be some good officers in that department, but news I read from the city and first hand accounts from officers I have talked with lead me to believe that the NOPD is in a crisis of its own making.
In my career as a cop, I have personally arrested three bad cops. They sullied the uniform I wore and corroded the trust that has to exist between a police department and the citizenry we protect. The oath we take requires us to protect the law as much as protecting the people and we are not above the law. Our oath requires us to uphold the law in the face of danger to our persons or our career. I have threatened to arrest other cops, and I have protested orders when those orders seemed to violate state law. Any cop who violates the rights of citizens while acting under illegal orders is a criminal and should be treated like one.
Communists will use every excuse to side step the constitution.
ReplyDeleteI'm just glad the NOPD are back to doing what they do best-- bullying honest citizens-- and taking a break from eating their guns/looting/walking off the job.
ReplyDeleteOhmylordy. No, I AM an LEO. The idea that sueing a cop will get you assigned special treatment is false at best. Cops know about restraining orders and the last thing any cop wants is a restraining order placed against him or her. Harassing a plaintiff is a sure fire way to lose your job and your suit.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, good cops don't defend bad cops. You won't find me defending bad cops here, and you won't find me defending them on the street.
Remember, your safety comes first. You can't win if you are dead. Everyone has a "line in the sand" they will not cross. Make sure you pick yours well.
Good luck, I here that Lon Horiuchi is still walking around free though, so don't expect much.
ReplyDeleteSueing, even if not successful in the court will accomplish one thing: The names of the guilty will be publicly available. We can hope that if the courts fail to do the proper job then someone else will -- with extreme prejudice.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is 2005 in America. Cops can get away with literal murder (remember Waco?), and courts pack juries via "voir dire". Good luck convicting any of these thugs.
ReplyDeleteHowever look at the bright side. At least some people will attempt it, given the broad extent of the violations. And even if they don't get convictions, it will be a thorn in their side for a long time, and their uniforms will be (if possible) even less welcome in the communities in the future.
And there is always that other thing. If justice is not to be had via the courts, some will decide to take it into their own hands. People with nothing to lose, people who've been wronged - lots of them around. Compass may not have only to worry about losing his job.
It certainly will be interesting to see how this develops. We already have massive gun buying in the South as a result of the mess.
I think PawPaw is on the right track here. As for the rest of us, the chance that lawsuits will succeed is closely related to the amount of noise we make outside our own community; letters to the editor, letters to our Senators, etc. A few will be ignored, but myriads will not.
ReplyDeleteI dont see one good thing to come out of this. Yes they are wrong to confiscate these firearms. But, in sueing every cop involved will lead to bad things. Yes it may seem the right thing to do. I can only see more people taking the law into their hands. I can only see this as a start of things to come. I see it affecting no only the NOPD, but every PD around the country. I dont agree with what Chief of Police is doing, but all it takes is one simple move to create a lifetime of mistakes.
ReplyDeletePawPaw,
ReplyDeleteThis is the best damned article I have read on this matter yet! My hat is off to you!
I’m going to make this anonymous. Being a Vietnam vet I can guarantee that at the moment of truth I will not hesitate to pull the trigger. Before NO I would have been in shock and disbelief that the constitution would be so blatantly ignored. After-when the JBT's come there will be gunfire. I may die but so will others kevlar or not.
ReplyDeleteI leave you with
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!