bnhcomputing said:
My suggestion:
1. File a FOIA or "Open Records" request for all information related to the incident.
2. File an official complaint against the officer(s) involved.
3. Contact Nik Clark of WCI (Wisconsin Carry, Inc.)
To try and answer your question:
No, without probable cause, the mere presence of the firearm should not be sufficient for a stop and frisk.
In the future, this is what I would do and what I would have done:
So I was attacked by LEO for no reason. LEO eventually lets me go, and with my gun.
1. Call 911 immediately after the encounter. Report the truth, you were just assaulted by a police officer. That way they WILL have records.
2. Get the officers name/badge number.
3. File an official complaint against the officer for assault.
4. Contact the DA's office. I was assaulted by LEO. I am the victim of a crime. I wish to make a statement and file a criminal complaint. (This should get an investigation going).
Yes. All of that.
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OC for ME said:
Is OC lawful in WI? Is the mere sight of a holstered firearm RAS in WI?
Yes, and no (unless in a school zone, taxpayer-owned building, or company which sells alcohol for on-site consumption).
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James Halford said:
The officer said he received a call from a concerned resident about a "kid" carrying a gun.
Could be a lie, and even if it were true, it's not illegal for a young adult to possess a firearm in public.
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Although I'm 23, unfortunately I look a bit younger and for some reason can't grow a beard... I could see that I may appear "suspicious" because I wear tighter pants than a normal person (skinny jeans) and wear a flat brim hat occasionally backwards. That still does not give them any reasonable suspicion of me committing a crime, that would be considered profiling.
No, that does not make you appear "suspicious".
Some might consider it poor fashion sense
but it's hardly suspicious.
Suspicious would be walking slowly in the rain, looking into people's houses. Or wandering a parking lot, looking into cars. Or jumping out of a stolen car & running away from police.
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As I walked up he grabbed my left arm and told me to put my hands up as he started to disarm me of my firearm. At this time I notified the officer that I do not consent to any search and seizures and asked if I was being detained as he then stated that I wasn't.
So, they didn't say anything to you at first, just grabbed you & started stealing your property?
And you were just walking down the street?
And the officer told you that you were not being detained, even though he'd grabbed you, told you to assume the felon position, stolen your property, and other officers were arriving to reinforce his non-detention?
Any reasonable person would have felt they were being detained, so you were detained.
BTW, why did you let this person get so close to you?
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James Halford said:
I did not have my wallet on me and they asked if I had my CCW [sic]. I told them that I did not have any identification on me and they told me I needed my CCW [sic] even though I was open carrying, also that it was my duty to have identification and I must have it on me.
Were they stopping other pedestrians, stealing their wallets, demanding that they show a driver's license, hassling them, telling them that they had to have a driver's license on them even though they were walking?
No, you are not required to carry ID.
No, you are not required to carry your CCL (concealed carry license) if you're not:
a - carrying concealed off your own property
b - carrying a firearm in a taxpayer-owned building
c - carrying a firearm within 1000' of the edge of a school property, on taxpayer-owned property
d - carrying a firearm in a business which serves alcohol for consumption
And even then, if you don't have it the worst that can happen is a $25 fine, which is thrown out when you show up within (IIRC) 24 hours (might be 48... don't quote me on that) to the LEA that issued the ticket & show your valid CCL
(it's not a CCW; that's a crime - illegal concealed carry of a weapon).
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I just wanted to know that if this occurs again, what actions I should take during and after the incident. I think I have the answers for the most part.
During? Get film or audio if you can. Keep telling them you do not consent to any seizure or search. Keep asking why you're being detained. If they say you're not being detained, take your property and leave. If you can't take your property & leave, you're being detained.
After? File complaints with the Chief / Sheriff, IA, DA, etc.
Do FOIA requests for all documentation relating to the harassment: radio traffic, video, call logs, audio of phone call(s), copies of paperwork, emails, memos, training relating to open carry, anything you can think of that's relevant.
Get a lawyer. In the SE WI area, the most well-known & experienced in firearm rights are
Mastantuono & Coffee (414-276-8662) and
Tom Grieve (262-786-7100).
As someone else already said, contact Wisconsin Carry (become a member). Nik Clark, specifically. Nik @ WisconsinCarry . org
Also call in to his radio show tonight: Well-Armed Radio on BlogTalk Radio.
Find both WI Carry & WAR on Facebook, or just Google / Bing them.
We might need to have some OC walks or picnics or other educational activities in Hales Corners.
People can act on their own to do those, but Wisconsin Carry has numbers and can contact the Chief as an organization to point out that officers are putting the department & city in legal jeopardy, and get the bad acts stopped quickly.
You might also consider the following statutes, and re-think your decision not to do anything "this time".
If you don't do anything this time, they think that what they did was OK, and there will be a next time, and another person whose rights are violated.
BTW, these are just the WI laws. Federal laws also make it a felony to act "under color of law" to infringe someone's civil rights.
940.30 False imprisonment. Whoever intentionally confines or restrains another without the person's consent and with knowledge that he or she has no lawful authority to do so is guilty of a Class H felony.
946.12 Misconduct in public office. Any public officer or public employee who does any of the following is guilty of a Class I felony:
(2) In the officer's or employee's capacity as such officer or employee, does an act which the officer or employee knows is in excess of the officer's or employee's lawful authority or which the officer or employee knows the officer or employee is forbidden by law to do in the officer's or employee's official capacity;
Here's where you can look up WI laws:
http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/prefaces/toc