Pa. Patriot ARRESTED at the OC dinner @ The Old Country Buffet in Dickson City 5/9

[normanvin]

Will they replay the segment?

[Michael_in_Ohio]

Originally Posted by larrymeyer

your Officer Mariano stated he knew the law when I tried to give he a pamphlet which explains Open Carry is legal in PA

Bingo.

Whenever something like this happens, the first thing we assume is that the cops were ignorant of the law, that they need to be trained, etc. I do not believe this is usually the case. Most of the time when something like this happens, I believe the cops do know the law. The problem is that they don't care about the law.

This case is a perfect example. Was Gallagher ignorant of the law as it pertains to OC? I don't know. But one thing is for certain... it can be safely assumed she was NOT ignorant on the laws pertaining to search and seizure, disorderly conduct, and the Terry frisk. She simply chose not to care about those laws.

Here's another case. A buddy of mine was OC'ing and got harassed by the cops. They never called and talked to a supervisor. After a good grilling & lecture the cops let him go. Afterwards my friend and I talked about it:

My friend: "Those cops must be ignorant of the law as it pertains to OC."

Me: "I wish that were only the case. But it sounds like they knew OC was legal from the very beginning. Unfortunately no amount of training can fix a badge-heavy demeanor."

My friend: "How do you know they knew OC was legal?"

Me: "If they truly thought OC was illegal, they would have either called their supervisor and asked about it, or they would have arrested you. The fact that you're not being detained is proof they knew it wasn't illegal."

My friend: "Wow, you're right."

[JoeWilliams]

Originally Posted by PisnNapalm

The www.dicksoncityambulance.org website is still working. They may be on different servers though. I suspect though that the site was taken down by them.

I suspect their darn server blew away with these storms we've been having!!

[Bmaninmifco]

Originally Posted by JoeWilliams

I suspect their darn server blew away with these storms we've been having!!

The web site is back up and running

[Kumarian]

Originally Posted by headcase

I wasn't there, but it seems to me that if three or four out of eight officers are engaging in illegal activity and trampling on citizens rights, right in front of the rest of the responding officers, and these other officers let it go on, they are as guilty as the rest. I don't recall in all of the posts here about the actual events, any officers stepping in and saying," Hey, stop that!", to any of the other officers. It seems like a case of, we're cops and your not, so anything done wrong will get sorted out later. Chatting amicably with you guys, while standing idly by and watching their fellow officers roust you, does not make them less culpable, IMO.

I wasn't there either, and I don't want people to think that I am bashing LEO (god knows how hard the job is), but I agree with headcase here. To paraphrase: "Evil only exists when good people do nothing." Regardless of how friendly individual LEO were, I'm not sure that they should be let off the hook, as they didn't assist you in any way. It sounds like (and forgive me if I am wrong) they were only there as back-up and no one was ready to step up and do their job .. enforcing the law.

[headcase]

Originally Posted by schr8er2000

WELLLLLL.. I see some problems with the perception of the police. I WAS ( many many years ago ) a Sheriff Deputy. When called to assist another department we were told that it is 'THEIR TERRITORY"... we were only to assist if things got out of hand. We were not to make any decisions, make any arrests ( unless individually assaulted, etc ) and were only there to be part of the "show of force". I understand where you say this officer should have done this, and that officer should have done that, when obviously the DC LEO's did'nt know what they were doing... but that was NOT their function.

They were there simply to even out the odds. Two officers responding to a report of " group of armed men" will ALWAYS call for back-up.... HELL we would too....

Give those other officers the respect they deserve by "putting their lives on the line "against an UNKNOWN number of armed individuals.

Please do not think I am condoning the actions of the two DC LEO's.. I AM NOT.... just give the others a break. They were doing their job.

I will say again that I have the utmost respect for LEO's who do their jobs properly. It is a damn hard job. I will also say again, that these officers who were called as back up, stood by and allowed this travesty to occur. Just seeing a fellow officer getting ready to jack you and pulling you aside to deflect him, is not the same as stepping up and enforcing the law, which is their job. Enforcing the law. Law Enforcement Officer. Officer who enforces the law. That is the job. If you put you life on the line to do it, kudos. If you are put in harms way while doing it and still decide to do it, kudos. But wearing a badge does not make an officer any better than the average Joe he serves. It should not be equal to a get out of jail free card, or allow a person to make any law they feel like making. Can you be accommodated when you commit a small infraction, well hell, sure. Got nailed speeding, slow it down and stay off my radar, ok. Thanks for coming into my coffee shop on a regular basis, here is free coffee, thanks, ok. Stealing a firearm from a citizen you know is guilty of nothing, cuffed and stuffed is what you deserve. These other officers stood by and allowed it to happen. I don't care what their buddies in blue protocol says about them staying out of it. They wear a badge, they are law enforcement officers, they enforce the law, no matter who is breaking it. If that is LEO bashing, then I am and will always be guilty of it.

[schr8er2000]

I agree with you to a degree.. you must remember that the backup officers were from ANOTHER jurisdiction..... and have NO police authority IN ANY OTHER..... so they could not step up to the plate... they were simply BACKUP.....to assist the JURISDICTIONAL officers in case of a major flare up.....

THAT IS ALL............

[normanvin]

Originally Posted by schr8er2000

I agree with you to a degree.. you must remember that the backup officers were from ANOTHER jurisdiction..... and have NO police authority IN ANY OTHER..... so they could not step up to the plate... they were simply BACKUP.....to assist the JURISDICTIONAL officers in case of a major flare up.....

THAT IS ALL............

So as back up they are expected to support the JURISDICTIONAL officers right wrong or otherwise? When I was trying to correct the JURISDICTIONAL officers about the gifting laws, the backup officers were jumping in to the JURISDICTIONAL officers defense telling me I was wrong. When I tried to tell them the registration system was illegal as well as incomplete the back up also jumped in to tell me I was wrong.

[JoeWilliams]

If Officer Mariano stated flat out that he knew the law, then by his own admission he as met one of the requirments for an Official Oppression criminal complaint.

Originally Posted by larrymeyer

Letter sent to the Mayor and Chief of police in Dickson City

Chief:

My name is Lawrence Meyer and I was one of the people who were illegally detained by your officers, Anthony Mariano and Karen Gallagher, removed us from the Old County Buffet in Dickson City on 5/9/2008.

I was embarrassed and humiliated to be treated like a common criminal when I had committed no crime other then having dinner with my friends and their families. Your officers were totally out of line people were looking at us like what did they do. Your officer refused to be video taped as they knew they were wrong. As a matter of fact your Officer Mariano stated he knew the law when I tried to give he a pamphlet which explains Open Carry is legal in PA. When we were removed from the vestibule of the restaurant and moved outside in the rain, about eight to ten other police cars showed up. Were they looking for a gun fight ?

Your Officers violated not only my civil rights but my honor as well. I had friends and family that died for my rights and those rights were trampled on Friday night by Anthony Mariano and Karen Gallagher Dickson City Police Officers.

[headcase]

Originally Posted by schr8er2000

I agree with you to a degree.. you must remember that the backup officers were from ANOTHER jurisdiction..... and have NO police authority IN ANY OTHER..... so they could not step up to the plate... they were simply BACKUP.....to assist the JURISDICTIONAL officers in case of a major flare up.....

THAT IS ALL............

I am really not trying to be combative, but listen to yourself. They were there with no official function and had no authority to do anything, but if the other officers got into trouble, their police powers suddenly flare up like a superhero? They have the power to stop a law from being broken anywhere in PA. if they are certified to be a police officer. In any circumstance, they do not give up their ability to intercede in the same manner as a regular citizen may intercede when a law is broken in their presence. They let it happen from cowardice, or agreement, or a brotherhood code, but they let it happen and having done so are just as culpable as the others.