A Houston man has been charged with alleged "unlawful carry of a weapon" after he and his girlfriend were pulled over by Houston Police earlier this month. Stark gun rights advocates, the Houston couple decries the treatment they received by public servants despite doing absolutely nothing wrong. Supporters of Congressman Ron Paul during the 2008 presidential campaign, Matt and Lisa are wondering if they ought to move to New Hampshire to join the free state project.
The evening started innocently enough, with an uneventful trip to Walmart. The family dog, a three month old terrier named Ginger, was sick, and they went to pick up some suppplies. Almost as soon as they hit the street, the police turned on their lights to stop them; Matt pulled over in a hospital parking lot off Hwy 59. The officer didn't tell the couple why they were stopped, but he made the driver get out of the vehicle and conducted a body search. The officer then found a pill on the driver's seat.
"The big, fat sweaty cop flew off the handle, screaming "what is this, what is this?" & told me to put my hands on the dash, in fact screamed it", Lisa recalled. "Needless to say, the guy is a complete **** . I put my hands on the dash because I didn't want to get shot, not tonight anyway."
In reality, it was a prescription pain pill for a leg injury Matt had, so the drug bust of the century was not to be found in this car. Matt recalls, "the cop found the pill on my seat and was going to charge me with that. After searching my car, he found the prescription bottle for it in my center console so his big "drug case" went to hell."
A second officer arrived on the scene and tried to make small talk with Lisa, while Matt was placed in handcuffs and put in the squad car. The first cop then came back and asked Lisa where the couple had been going. She told him she didn't have to answer any of his questions, and was subsequently placed in handcuffs herself and removed from the vehicle. Police searched her purse without cause and then proceeded to search the car without consent from the occupants. Standing approximately seven feet away, Lisa saw the officer find the loaded gun under the seat.
Matt recalls, "that's when he found my gun and claimed that it was "out in the open" as if placing a handgun UNDER THE SEAT is out in the open."
Title 10 of the Texas Penal Code, Sec. 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS, states: "(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not: (1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or (2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control". The statue also states that the person 'commits an offense' if 'the handgun is in plain view'.
While being detained, Lisa recounted a third officer, a Sergeant, approach her to make small talk. "Sergeant Nice Guy felt bad for us but did nothing to stop what was happening. He asked me what I thought of cops mostly. We talked about anarchy & the corruption of the government. I hope everything I said comes out in court. I told him he was a nothing but a revenue agent & that he wouldn't be able to b.s. me like he could with most of the people out of uniform he deals with. He called our situation "unfortunate".
Lisa was not charged with anything and was released; she drove the car home by herself, but not before being immediately pulled over again by Houston Police with no probable cause. "I asked him, shouted, in fact "why are you pulling me over?" The cop wouldn't tell me why he pulled me over, but the Sergeant did drive up & tell that cop to let me go. We are talking about an area that is not even 1 square mile that I was pulled over in in addition to the stop where Matt got arrested."
Matt was held in custody for 18 hours before being released. After being released from jail, Matt said "it was an ego of a cop being damaged because he lost his drug case since I'm prescribed medication... HE MADE UP A CASE. HE LITERALLY MADE UP A CHARGE and I just spent the last 18 hours being treated as a sub human not even being recognized when I asked questions."
Lisa recalls the frustration of not knowing where Matt was for so long after she got home. "He was dropped at an annex & not even booked until 10-12 hours later. We couldn't even find him & he got no phone call alerting us to where he was. That fat cop was *** with him. Probably jealous of the "cute" girlfriend & nice gun. He really wanted to get him some arrests that night."
Lisa pointed out, "it's not illegal in the imaginary "State of Texas" to have your gun in your car, concealed. Oh, but the cops, they just do things however they want to because the costume that they wear, you know, it makes magic things happen. So big fatty added another charge to his list of trumped up charges & boy was he happy. Had he not gained so much weight over those long years of ******* people over, he may have even been able to jump up & down for joy. I really think he would have liked to."
Interestingly, the arresting officer reportedly made comments aludding to the fact that he had been shot before. Asked why they think police would react in such an extreme manner to a legal firearm, Lisa said "Matt has one charge against him, UCW (unlawful carry of a weapon) with a maximum jail time of 1 year. I think the cop thinks that if you're not wearing a uniform you shouldn't get to own a gun. I think he's just a petty control freak. I think he's been shot--he alluded to that at one point--& is afraid of being shot again (in the severely out of shape condition his body is in, he probably wouldn't survive an abdominal wound such as a gun shot) so he thinks all guns should be confiscated. He's a cop. Of course he wants to control what other people can & can't do. Why do you think he went for that job in the first place?"
Matt added "The definition of tyranny is authority figures being able to do what they please. This cop made up a charge, he found my gun while SEARCHING my car, and decided that since he wasn't getting his big drug case that he had to get something. The worst part, the part that brought me to tears today, is that I used to have that mindset. I actually wanted to be one of these people when I was young. Thank God I realized what I was getting into before I joined the army or the police force - before i put on one of these costumes and had my mindset finalized for good. So now I'm charged with "Unlawful carrying of a firearm" despite having QUOTED the statute that specifically protects that right to the cops at least 4 times."
We will bring you further updates on this case as it develops.
PENAL CODE / TITLE 10. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND MORALS / CHAPTER 46. WEAPONS
Title 10 of the Texas Penal Code, Sec. 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS, states: "(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control at any time in which:
(1) the handgun is in plain view; or
(2) the person is:
(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic;
(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm; or
(C) a member of a criminal street gang, as defined by Section 71.01.
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Excerpt of discussion from Gunownersresource.com:
Carry in Vehicles
"In Texas, non-permit-holders may possess a weapon that is concealed in any fashion, including on their person, when in a motor vehicle. This is based on a law enacted in 2007 amending Section 46.02 of the Texas Penal Code to state specifically that the therein-defined crime of Unlawful Carry of a Weapon does not apply to someone who is inside or travelling directly between their home and a vehicle they own or legally possess. The exceptions are if the weapon is in plain sight (violating an outright ban on open carry in the state), or when the person is a known gang member or cannot otherwise legally possess a weapon.[15] [18]
.... This doctrine is often called the "traveler assumption" in states which have it because an officer must assume a person carrying a weapon in their car is transporting it, pre-empting all but probable cause on the part of the officer that the person has or intends to commit a crime. Previously, states such as Texas specified that a person traveling is exempt from the statute, but the definition of "traveling" was vague and based on case law, allowing officers to arrest those found with handguns in their vehicles as an intimidation or discrimination tactic, thus forcing the accused to defend their actions as legal instead of the State being forced to prove the action was illegal. Firearms Laws for Texas NRA-Institute for Legislative Action
"...increased passage of "Castle Doctrine" laws allow persons who own firearms and/or carry them concealed to also use them to protect property, and/or to use them without first attempting to retreat.
Even given these relaxed restrictions on use of force, using a handgun must still be a last resort in some juridictions; the user must reasonably believe that nothing short of deadly force will protect the life or property at stake in a situation. And even with Castle Doctrine laws in place civil liabilities for errors that cause harm to another still exist, although civil immunity is provided in the Castle Doctrine laws of some states, e.g, Texas.[14] Sec. 83.001. CIVIL IMMUNITY,
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Comments
No such thing as a "good cop" anymore. If any of the cops involved had been "good" they would have stopped the bad cop from committing his act of aggression. Even if they were forced to use deadly force to stop him. They did nothing helpful or right.
They sure are cracking down these days. Police state is here. How do you feel when a cop pulls you over, do you feel safe as you should or do you feel like what the hell is he or she going to do to me today? It is a shame but I think most people feel danger from these so called to protect and to serve types. Best of luck with your case, and let freedom ring no matter what it takes.
Kidnapping by the fat cop. Presumably the fat cop has a loaded weapon, so AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING.
I have lived in Houston for 46 years. My dad was a sheriff deputy for many of those years for Harris County, the county Houston sits in. I also have a few friends that are in the police force, not Houston, and in the county DA's office. They will all agree, in general, Houston cops are a-holes with extremely large egos.
<em>"The cop found the pill on my seat and was going to charge me with that."</em>
Here's one reason why they should move to New Hampshire: Free Stater Joel Winters, an elected representative in the NH House, got the legislature to pass a law, which the governor signed, repealing restrictions on where and how you are allowed to possess prescription drugs. In most states having a pill outside its original container is illegal - often a felony offense!
Sooner or later, all libertarians will come to the realization that the Free State Project is their only hope. Search for PorcFest2010 at Flickr to see photos from the FSP's latest event.
My brother is a retued PA trooper. I fought with him for years on the rights of civilians to arm themselves. He never wavered. He then spent 2 years in Kosovo working with their police forces. After witnessing what happens when "authorities" are the only ones with weapons he has changed his mind. He is now a proud memeber of the NRA.
My brother-in-law (NOT a Texan originally) had his baby temporarily confiscated because a Houston social worker managed to get a doctor to falsify a diagnosis. He got the baby back and charges dropped after filing but then dropping a lawsuit that would have tied the hands of the state had it prevailed. Social workers broke many, many laws. As the harm they inflict on families increases, more laws are written. The problem is there are no consequences whatsoever if they break the laws, so they do whatever they want to do. Court hearings were routinely delayed because one or another social worker had to deal with personal matters on "company" time. Consequences? Wait longer to get the state out of their lives. There was no neglect whatsoever, just a cute little white baby that would have been a great prize for some barren Texas couple.
Directly because of the Free State Project, my girlfriend and I are moving to New Hampshire in 3 weeks! We're coming from Southwest Florida. Almost all of my friends are saying things like "congratulations", "good for you", or "this is what you've wanted to do for a while, go for it!"
Go to freestateproject.org and read "101 Reasons to Move to New Hampshire" (it's a short read). You'll be convinced. It took us 3 years to decide to move. Others have said it only took a few days. Think it over. You'll know when the time is right to move, everybody's different.
PS: New Hampshire has the 4th lowest unemployment rate right now (behind North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska).
The arrest was a travesty of justice. The charge is beatable. The cop had no probable cause for the search to begin with, a violation of federal civil rights. The arrest being bogus is a tort under Texas law. The cop cannot reasonably be granted authority because he could not reasonably have believed that the state of the allowed him to do what he did. Matt and Lisa should be hiring a good civil rights attorney to put the officers involved into the poor house, and to make an example of the jurisdiction that failed to properly supervise and train its employees.
In Pennsylvania, that would have been unlawful arrest, and the victims should sue the arresting officer for no probable cause, and the other officers as aiding and abetting. Once a few enforcement officers lose their homes and worldly goods for unlawful arrest, perhaps they will consider acting as lawful peace officers instead of enforcement officers.
i think as long as we the taxs payers let this go on we are all fool we pay them to treat us like dirt we pay them if we dont turn this around soon we are in big trouble
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