PJM Exclusive: Marine Vet Arrested at Wisconsin Labor Rally Speaks Out
This disturbing video shows the arrest of a man who has done no apparent wrong. He attended a public rally in Wisconsin on Friday carrying an inoffensive political sign, encountered many who opposed his views, and was arrested by police.
It turns out that the man, David Willoughby, is a veteran of the US Marine Corps. Today he has released a statement about his arrest.
It begins: My name is Dave Willoughby. I am the one in the video.
Without being told what I had done, I was handcuffed and escorted off premise. Placed in a squad car and taken to a police station. I asked if I should have my rights read to me and was told “You’re not being arrested.” My personal property was taken from me, I was fingerprinted, mug shot taken and locked in a dark jail cell (lights off) still handcuffed.
I sat in that jail cell, looking out of a meshed wire window, at a large American flag flying in the background. Where am I? How can this be happening? What did I do wrong? I prayed for strength.
When I swore the oath to protect and defend the Constitution, I never realized until recently, how vulnerable our precious freedoms actually are.
I did nothing wrong. There were literally hundreds of cameras at this event. I challenge all media to find one shred of evidence, which would support the actions of the Milwaukee PD officers.
Does Mayor Barrett approve?
In an interview with PJ Media today, Willoughby said: “I went to this rally on Friday. I stood my ground. I was poked, prodded, cursed at, every nasty word that could be thrown my way was thrown my way. I stood in the same spot for the entire time. As I was walking, I felt this arm grab me and I felt this fist and I turned around and it was a cop! He told me ‘You’re gonna get your ass kicked.’ All the while I was asking the police officer if he was going to uphold his oath to protect and defend the Constitution? He never answered me.”
Any lawyers going to step up and defend him?
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
Wishful thinking I’m afraid. Cities and states all over this country routinely wipe their behind with the 2nd amendment, no surprise that one’s added the 1st.
Everyone knows (or should, by now) that the 1st-A has no standing in the State of Wisconsin when it comes to Public-Employee Unions.
Where do those “constitutionalists” think they are?
America?
I don’t think that’s it; I think police enforce the peace rather than the constitution. It is not uncommon for the smaller / more peaceful group to be removed by the police for their own protection. (Ask any pro-Israel protester.) That is, I think, the meaning of the weasel-worded charges.
Of course, I still think the officer should be jailed.
This is not a 1st Ammendment problem, it’s criminal maleficence of office which should land the cop(s) in jail and on trial.
They are part of the city’s police force public union which has come out solidly against the governor and or the mayor (cf. FOX and other interviews with the president of the city’s cop union).
They used their uniform and their arms to falsely imprison a citizen decrying their abuse of power through so-called “collective bargaining” with the public.
Bingo.
And if Romney (should he be elected) had any guts, he’d direct his Attorney General to initiate a federal prosecution of every officer involved for violation of civil rights.
He won’t, of course.
It’s been a long time (the 60′s?)since I’d thought of the word “Pigs” re the police, but the shoe really fits here. Happily I no longer live in Milwaukee.
“Pigs” is still around, just uncommon. There are two kinds of police. The first kind take their job seriously, enforce the law equally and justly, can’t be bribed, etc. Then there is the second kind which includes those looking for a paycheck, were bullies before joining up and are worse after because they have a badge to hide behind, climbers who use the job as a stepping stone to higher office, and just plain thugs. The first are police. The second are pigs.
This vet had a run in with pigs. If they were police officers concerned for his safety, they would have stated so and only moved him away from the mob of union thugs. They would not have dragged him away in cuffs and locked him up in a cell.
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242
Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law
This statute makes it a crime for any person acting under color of law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to willfully deprive or cause to be deprived from any person those rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the U.S.
This law further prohibits a person acting under color of law, statute, ordinance, regulation or custom to willfully subject or cause to be subjected any person to different punishments, pains, or penalties, than those prescribed for punishment of citizens on account of such person being an alien or by reason of his/her color or race.
Acts under “color of any law” include acts not only done by federal, state, or local officials within the bounds or limits of their lawful authority, but also acts done without and beyond the bounds of their lawful authority; provided that, in order for unlawful acts of any official to be done under “color of any law,” the unlawful acts must be done while such official is purporting or pretending to act in the performance of his/her official duties. This definition includes, in addition to law enforcement officials, individuals such as Mayors, Council persons, Judges, Nursing Home Proprietors, Security Guards, etc., persons who are bound by laws, statutes ordinances, or customs.
Punishment varies from a fine or imprisonment of up to one year, or both, and if bodily injury results or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire shall be fined or imprisoned up to ten years or both, and if death results, or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
Of course you are right and that law has been used to protect blacks years ago. Today we have a black president and a black attorney general neither of which has any more respect for the law than bull Conner did then yet the law you cite is a federal law under their jurisdiction by these two serial criminals. USC is an abbreviation for United States Code.
Do what they do — file a huge lawsuit against the city. If he wasn’t arrested, how they heck do they take him, in handcuffs, across town against his will and toss him in a cage without charges?
Cops routinely tell people they can be arrested and thrown in jail for 48-72 hours without charge. It’s a bullying tactic and most people backdown not wanting the hassle.
I used to trust cops, but I don’t anymore.
See it works like this, when a cop sees you, you are the subject and when he talks to you, you are the suspect. No exceptions got it!!
Your wrong I’m a retired police officer with 35 years of service. I have talked to thousands of people with out arresting them, most common are people who are witnesses. However in this case I believe the police were in the wrong. If he was being threatened verbally or physically it was their job to protect him not arrest him. When there is a protest it is the job of the police to protect both sides. You know the officer will probably agree with one side or the other but he has to put this aside and protect both sides. I know this because I have been there, done that and didn’t like it.
Because they can.
One of many lessons here is that the police are not your friends. They do the bidding of their overlords and if it’s a fascist, they will gladly support him. Next up for Walker – eliminate bargaining rights for these thugs.
We need to call for the immediate removal of these officers certification and sworn duty responsibility. They obviously have no judgement or knowledge regarding constitutional rights and have become the new SS for the liberal reich.
Ironically, this is the same issue Occupy protestors have been dealing with (and far worse) for months. Your site trashed them up one side and down the other. Now you are outraged when someone experiences a far less heinous violation of their constitutional rights than being beaten and gassed in the streets of an American city?
Kudos for waking up a bit, but it seems you are not grasping the larger picture and still buying into some kind of divisive ideological tripe fed to you since birth.
BTW as far as lawyers that will represent the guy without charge, check into National Lawyers Guild. They’ve been quite helpful in reducing or getting charges dropped in regards to wrongful arrests at political demonstrations over the last 10 months.
Are you serious? The OWSers routinely engaged in violent and illegal activities, which the police eventually couldn’t continue to overlook. They did so for as long as possible, though. The National Lawyer’s Guild is a thoroughly communist organization which would never defend an American against intimidation for merely exercising his God-given, Constitutionally-protected rights.
Rubbish. One guy standing in the park holding a sign isn’t the same as hundreds of people permanently occupying a park, leaving trash and human waste everywhere, blocking traffic, allowing drugs, rape, and other crimes to occur, etc., etc. This man was much less of a public nuisance then any gathering of OWS.
I’m sorry that you’ve been misinformed. The NLG is a Communist organization – I mean that literally – and has been for a long time.
I wish I was still licensed. I hope when he’s done he sues the cops, the city, and whoever was holding the rally for every penny they’ve got!
Where is the piece of garbage, Obama.
Why has he not offered to buy the cop and Marine a beer like he did the Black a** hole that gave the cop a bad time.
Sarah Palin is right about the “Lame Stream Media”
Have not head anything about it on the news.
.
Sounds like Willoughby has the makings of a lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department for illegal detention and violation of his civil rights. And the eventual settlement will be coming out of Milwaukee Mayor Barrett’s budget.
After Walker is reelected, perhaps he should consider extending his reforms to cover the police departments.
The police and fireman’s unions were given a pass the last go round on the “tit for Tat” theory they would support Walker. Since they have not there is no logical reason for not passing another Act 10 that includes them.
not to mention kidnapping !
The citation should have the (non)arresting officer’s name on it — I hope this veteran files a complaint with every local authority he can find.
I should have just been a summons/bench ticket etc..Like a parking ticket. Printed & caged sure sounds like “under arrest” to me. How long was he incarcerated? Until the agitators left town?
This is not legal advice.
If you do some research, you might find that being detained ripens into arrest in many jurisdictions (if I recall correctly, its after 45 mins in Nv).
Given the prevalence of detention by the police, if there is no primary authority on this point, there is always persuasive authority from other jurisdictions…
Regardless, this shameful conduct by the police must be met with an answer.
I’d say consult a lawyer, both to answer the charge, and for the potential deprivation of your civil rights under color of authority. You might google s. 1983 claims…
How about a Federal civil rights suit while you’re at it. Local DA’s always love going to Federal court.
If the cops had been doing their job, they’d have turned to his tormentors and advised them of ‘their’ rights- to leave him alone. His protest didn’t seem provocative but it was at the ‘enemies’ rally. So What! These bitches screamed at Sarah Palin and none were driven to a holding ‘cage’. Unions are making me sick. Especially the public ones. (Why weren’t they at work?)
The far-left actually has to deal with this sort of treatment quite often. The ones just short of full anarchist violent criminals are often arrested on very incredibly thin ground, for things like public safety concerns, non-existent permitting requirements, disturbing the peace, etc.
It’s too bad. There’s no need for it anywhere. The really brave protestors like this veteran are the ones most often shocked to learn that police routinely and without reason violate core rights protected by the US Bill of Rights without thinking.
The tendency to side with the police is an unfortunate side effect of our current Conservative majorities on the court. No matter how flimsy the reason for detention, the Supreme Court for example just determined that Mr. Willobouy could have been repeatedly, intrusively, completely strip searched up to an including a cavity search and it would not violate the 1st or 4th amendments.
The best response is massive civil disobedience.
Look up Officer Bubble on youtube. That guy’s a real piece of work. Attacked by bubbles.
The cops were ticked about the uniform, and acted like the tyrants and Democrats they are.
He wasn’t in uniform at this rally. The top pic shows that he was in civvies. The uniform pic is from an earlier rally, just to show that he’s a Marine vet.
See my below
My bust, he wasn’t wearing the uniform (and really, he shouldn’t). He was arrested for the sign and/or fears of heckler’s vetoes.
Funny, I don’t remember a lot of arrests of anti-Walker folks last year when they disrupted events, including the time at the Special Olympics.
It isbecoming increasingly clear that we can’t trust the cops to play fairly in domestic politics. They will in the end act as Democrats. Thus, I fully support the limitation of police pensions to what military personnel *currently* get, with mo grandfathering. A lot of trouble and fake charges and perhaps police brutality will happen before that occurs, but it will occur, because of the various pension crises looming. And I have no desire to work to support in retirement those who cannot treat all parties equally in political arguments. And they can’t, or won’t.
If the police wish to lose their credibility, they need to understand that when it happens–and that appears to be certain–it will have been “suicide by cop”.
No cops are any better than the worst officers they allow to remain on the force. The so-called “blue wall of silence” that protects corrupt cops and those who illegally use excessive force tains every officer in that department, no matter how stellar his/her individual performance.
Public service unions and arrest power build KGB thugs.
Shouldn’t the cop be arrested for unlawful arrest. Hope the Marine takes the city to the cleaners.
I’m assuming this surprises absolutely no none.
I was a volunteer firefighter for 7 years and I would bet dollars to donuts that Union members will put Union ahead of everything else pretty much every single time. ‘Union = I Get MINE!’
Thugs in uniform are still thugs. And should be treated as such.
Orion
Even good ol’ left/liberal-beloved Franklin Roosevelt thought public-sector unions were bad idea and shouldn’t happen, for a reason.
18 USC § 242 just about covers it. If you’re not arrested, nobody has the right to cuff you and imprison you. It was an illegal detention and there’s a fine and federal jail time associated with the crime. You might want to time this so that the next administration deals with it. I’m not entirely sure I trust the current one where political acts are concerned.
I read 18 USC § 242 and it seems to imply the issue is deprivation based on color or creed:
“Whoever … willfully subjects any person … to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States… on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both”
Am I reading that wrong? The citation seems to indicate the cause was how the sign itself was being handled (which is BS, of course … I doubt that standard is applied equally).
IANAL. I believe in my state (not WI) that a citation is an arrest, and if signed an automatic release on recognizance. But a citation only gets you hauled to the station, printed, and put in a holding cell if your identity is not confirmed, usually by a driver’s license.
The correct section is 242 USC 1983, deprivation of civil rights under color of state law
And the crowd cheering on the thuggish behavior by the police. Guess it’s ok if they’re on their side.
Brutish misuse of power will be with us always, but the jeering approval of the crowd speaks volumes about the Barrett crowd.
On the other hand, it’s possible they thought they were actually doing him a favor by getting him out of there for his own good… I suppose the charges will be dropped. Still, I don’t like to hear of the police taking sides politically.
I thought about that too, but the citation plus the loss of personal property suggests that they were taking sides.
Now, tell me again…police unions are good for whom?
That cop was just a union aparatchik looking out for his own interests, as usual.
Leftist thugs who care only about themselves.
When the police lose the respect of the citizenry, we’re in real trouble. And these cops were worthy of no respect.
No – THEY are in trouble if they lose the respect of the public. We outnumber them tens of thousands to one.
I say it’s time for a Second Amendment Party/Army. It is becoming quite apparent that the police are another arm of the Dem party. Sure there are some good cops but the more we read about them abusing private citizens like this man, or MURDERING citizens-als Eric Scott in Nevada means we need to defend ourselves. We need to arm ourselves, get trained and be prepared.
The left has chipped away at the Constitution and the only thing holding them from a coup is the Second Amendment, which they want to destroy on their way to destroying America. And the cops are right with them. Cops know the only things stopping the left and them from turning America in Nazi Germany is the armed citizenry. Cops hate the Second Amendment and have chosen which side they will fight on.
Check out Oathkeepers. What you’ve mentioned is exactly what Oathkeepers is all about.
No, Oathkeepers is NOT about a check on or opposition to the cops, it’s about persuading cops and soldiers to uphold their oath. There’s no violence express or implied. Oathkeepers are NOT a militia.
That’s funny, most of the cops I know *love* the second amendment. It’s their political police chiefs who pay lip service to gun control.
There was a time when police officers were mostly political conservatives. Their unions usually supported Democrats for pay and benefits reasons, while the officers themselves looked the other way and voted Republican. This situation changed about 15 years ago as city and county personnel boards allowed politically correct guidelines to influence their hiring and promotion decisions.
The law enforcement profession has fallen to a disgraceful new low. I’m glad I retired when I did.
When the public employee unions are broken, every member should be fired and barred from future public employment. Especially in law enforcement.
God willing, sir. God willing.
I’ve read many fatuous statements in the past few years to the effect that “if illegal orders are given, if illegal laws are passed, the police will never stand for them; they will stand up for the Constitution, America, and freedom.”
This video is only one example, among many others, of why that is nonsense.
I’m sure many police and prosecutors do, in fact, disregard illegal orders or laws.
You just can’t count on it. Even if 95% of police are fully ethical and don’t bow to potentially career destroying peer pressure, that means a significant number of people are still being wronged.
The law is a sledgehammer; it has its place, but it should be used sparingly.
Correct. In my experience, the cop’s version of the story is always taken at face value and the judge just want get through the docket as quickly as possible. Your lawyer knows the score; his job isn’t to “defend” you – it’s to help you maybe not get totally railroaded and hopefully leave court with a minimal amount of damage. No one has the time nor the inclination to examine every little detail and nuance of your case. Get caught up by the justice system and you will NOT feel you received justice – you’ll feel you were “processed” by some sort of machine running on automatic. The experience is the same whether you’re a defendant or a complainant.
Please. When there is wide-spread civil disobedience and unlawful orders come down from Those In Charge, a policeman will be thinking “H’mm. Disobey the order and I’ll lose my pension. Cracking heads and herding the masses into the trucks is wrong! What do do… what to do…! PENSION!” He will then be a good little prole and do as he is told.
The police will follow the orders of whomever is in charge. They are not your friends and they don’t care about the constitution. When the order comes to collect all of the guns they will gladly do so. Remember how they acted during Katrina?
“During a political rally, subject raised a protest sign above his head in a manner that created danger to the public. Subject’s actions caused a disturbance during a political rally.”
Translation:
During a political rally, subject raised a protest sign above his head in opposition to people whose political views we favor and to spoil a photo op for our supporters. This pissed off a lot of people so we hustled him out of there to shut him up and keep people from trying to beat him up. It was a lot easier to do that than to attempt to protect his rights – even though the latter is the whole reason we HAVE a government.
For that charge to stand up in court, that (non)arresting office better have photographic evidence of the crime he is charging, or there will be a lawn-mower coming through.
Fat Chance
Cops and Judges are cut from the same cloth…they are both the enemy.
All the cop has to do is claim he saw it, and thats the end of it as far as the judge is concerned.
If its not on tape, all that means is what he saw didnt *happen* to get capture by the camera…because the Cops dont lie right?
Pretty broad condemnation. In my experience, there’s a lot of difference between big city, Democratic machine cops and those in smaller jurisdictions. For one thing, in smaller towns and rural areas, there aren’t the union politics involved.
I don’t think so. I think he was detained for his own protection. That is the “danger” caused by the sign; that others would attack him. This happens all the time. Ask any pro-Israel protestor.
If so, this is pretty much perjury; the officer should be tried criminally.
I am not in favor of the police officer’s action here.
That said, I think Mr. Willoughby could have made a stronger case by keeping his voice down and not make motions with his hands. Yes, I know he has the right to yell or point … but two things: (1) a completely passive Willoughby being arrested would have been far more damning, and (2) NOTHING pisses a liberal off like a conservative being the soft-spoken, reasonable party in an argument. They hate that.
Agreed…. especially the last part. Ask questions, control the conversation and you will have liberals foaming at the mouth in minutes. The best question (and answering a question with a question). Is to ask “if the individual can be prosecuted before committing a crime?” The answer is of course no, in which case the lefty agenda can be brought down.
You did read that he is a former United States Marine? No Marine I know goes quietly in the face of injustice.
I am inclined to disagree. After the thug, er, uniformed police officer laid hands upon him, aka “assault”, Willoughby should have butt-stroked the cop with the sign. Laid the SOB out cold.
All caught on video. Remember, if you lay hands upon a police officer, they’ll haul you off to jail for assault. Goose, gander, etc.
I do tend to get rather cranky about stuff like this though…
The cops in Wisconsin are not enforcing the laws of the United States, they are protecting the Unions. This is why it’s unlikely that Scott Walker will win tomorrow. Cops protect their “brothers” at the expense of everyone else. They only represent the US citizen interests when they align with their own.
Then they aren’t cop anymore. They are an illegal secrurity branch (hire muscle) of the unions and should lose they badges and pensions immediately.
Shoud have a few less kindly things happen before then, but I’m afraid to get too specific just now….
Thirsty trees and all that…
Anonymous says “It is becoming increasingly clear that we can’t trust the cops to play fairly in domestic politics. They will in the end act as Democrats.” Is it time to say “***k the police!” ?
Jeff P adds: “There was a time when police officers were mostly political conservatives. Their unions usually supported Democrats for pay and benefits reasons, while the officers themselves looked the other way and voted Republican. This situation changed about 15 years ago as city and county personnel boards allowed politically correct guidelines to influence their hiring and promotion decisions.”
This is a change of enormous consequence. I will look into it because I’m curious.
Defend him….. I am sure you meant to ask about his legal team for this civil suit.
It is too bad he did not videotape his encounter with the police.
I meant videotape it himself.
At least in my home state, videotaping the cops is considered a felony. Ah Maryland…we have crippling drug crime but the most important thing is gay marriage and giving instate tuition to illegals.
Anr fascist judges who conspire with convicted terrorists and openly disregard SCOTUS decisions. Lovely state.
May be time to start listening to Alex Jones.
This is obscene. And just another thing, just another day.
Stay on this please?
Thanks for the good reporting.
Alex is beginning to make sense to me too…
That’s why cops were called “pigs” in the ’60s. One difference between now and then is the people presenting that Democrat’s hollow and moronic argument about creating “civil unrest” were the Conservatives then. My how things have changed.
The Dem Party should just call itself the Double-Standard Party since that is its fundamental platform. The Dem Party had come very close to completely occupying the political space fought against only a few decades ago.
Are you serious? What HAVEN’T they occupied and taken over? Heck, libs are even the dog catchers now. Now we have pet rescues and adoptions. You can’[t go to the pound and pick out a puppy/dog anymore. NO! You have to pay hundreds of dollars for an adoption.
When they talk about sticing it to the man I laugh in their faces! They ARE the man. They have their slimy tentacles into every level of local, city, state and federal power. They own the schools.
How ironic that conservatives are overwhelmingly strong supporters of the law enforcement community. Maybe that support is being misdirected.
When the police begin following union dictates instead of the Constitution then they are clearly declaring which team they play on, and they lose my respect.
No, conservatives overwhelmingly support law and order. That’s not the same as supporting the law enforcement community. When we perceive that LEOs are doing their jobs correctly, we support them. When we perceive that they are not, we do not support them.
However, due to ideological differences liberals and conservatives define “law and order” differently. So a conservative may support the LEOs in situations in which liberals would condemn them, and vice versa. Obviously, to a liberal, gun violence is a perfectly valid reason for allowing the cops to fudge the 2nd Amendment and confiscate people’s guns. Conservatives would disagree. To a Conservative, much of the behavior of the OWS movement appears to be grounds for bending the 1st Amendment and chasing the participants out of town (or at least out of the park). To a liberal, for whom there exist no common-sense limits on how, when, and where political expression takes place, this seems like fascist bullying.
Each side accuses the other of trying to create a “police state.” In reality, each side is just using the power of law enforcement to get its way when persuasion doesn’t work fast enough.
Back in the old Soviet Union, the police could haul you off the street and take you to jail for the heck of it, and justify it by accusing you of “hooliganism.” Worked great against the odd dissenter.
Who would have thought that the same mentality would find its way here?
This would be a great opportunity for the ACLU to step up to the plate to, well, defend civil liberties. Not holding my breath.
The Marine in the accompanying photo dressed in his Dress Blues needs to be prosecuted for engaging in political activity while wearing that uniform.
He’s been out of the USMC for 12 years and earned the uniform. He is no longer subject to the UCMJ.
No one is ever allowed to engage in political actions while wearing a uniform. No one has earned that and anyone who has worn the eagle, globe and anchor should already know that. It is even more true if they are no longer in the USMC. It is unconscionable and reprehensible to use that uniform to imply that the USMC supports any political agenda.
Nobody else except Wisconsin cops.
And he need not be subject to the UCMJ. It is a federal law.
Especially given the recent rulings on the Stolen Valor Act, what you say is iffy at best.
I’ve served and am well familiar with the UCMJ. Perhaps you could point to the part of federal law you’re referring to so that I can look it up myself.
As usual doing the work the liberals, skyler, won’t do!!!
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/a/uniformwearmc.htm
It is a Marine Corps Reg MCO P1020.34G
Veterans. Former members of the Marine Corps who served honorably during a declared or undeclared war and whose most recent service was terminated under honorable conditions (this means an honorable or general discharge) may wear the uniform in the highest grade held during such war service only upon the following occasions and in the course of travel incident thereto:
(1) Military funerals, memorial services, weddings, and inaugurals.
(2) Parades on national or state holidays; or other parades or ceremonies or a patriotic character in which any active or reserve United States military unit is taking part.
Former Marines who are discharged honorably or under honorable conditions from the Marine Corps (even if it’s not during wartime service) may wear their uniform while going from the place of discharge to their home of record, within three months after discharge.
Wearing of the uniform or any part thereof at any other time or for any purpose is prohibited.
He should not have been wearing the uniform at a political function. I do however recall that there was an unspoken rule that wearing uniform items that did not have the Eagle, Globe and Anchor was acceptable. I wore my boots and utility trousers until they fell apart.
I did the same with my Air Force jungle boots. Those things made great work boots for a couple of years after I got out. The uniform thing is nothing but a distraction anyway. It’s not like we’re talking about John Kerry’s guys who wore their uniforms, staged mock invasions of the US Capitol and tossed their medals over a fence, right liberals?
It’s funny how people assign “liberal” to others with no reason whatsoever.
I’m not a liberal and no one says that to my face.
I’m a Marine and I jealously protect the apolitical reputation that we enjoy so that all Americans know we defend them.
My apologies. I should have said progressive pogue.
Go read http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/133401p.pdf. Here’s the pertinent section:
“3. POLICY
It is DoD policy that:
3.1. The wearing of the uniform by members of the Armed Forces (including retired members and members of Reserve components) is prohibited under any of the following circumstances:
…
3.1.2. During or in connection with furthering political activities, private employment or commercial interests, when an inference of official sponsorship for the activity or interest may be drawn.
3.1.3. Except when authorized by the approval authorities in subparagraph 4.1.1., when participating in activities such as unofficial public speeches, interviews, picket lines, marches, rallies or any public demonstration, which may imply Service sanction of the cause for which the demonstration or activity is conducted.
But as I said, he’s been out of the military for 12 years. “Retired” may be a key word here, since he is not retired, just separated and honorably discharged. The final clause of 3.1.2 is relevant too — who would draw an inference of official sponsorship from one guy wearing his uniform?
Except that he wasn’t retired. He did a stint and got out, so that part of the UCMJ, the one that applies to lawfully retired servicemembers, doesn’t apply in this case.
I’m a cop and have a few comments
* Under the law, if you aren’t free to leave, you ARE under arrest.
* If others were acting in a similar manner (ie rasisng their signs), the cops were wrong, should be sued and possibly lose their jobs.
* I’d be happy to have the same retirement scheme as the military. In my state, its 47% at 30 years. Not all law enforcement officers make huge salaries or have golden pensions.
You confirm my reading. If not free to leave, you are under arrest. Of course, there is no indication they questioned him, which is where the reading of Miranda come into importance. Otherwise, he should have been in the system for arraignment.
Also, it certainly appears they detained him longer than reasonably needed to issue the citation, not mention removing him from where he was lawfully allowed to be.
Remember, the important question to ask even before being handcuffed, “Am I free to leave.” If you are not, Miranda becomes an issue. If they say, “yes”, leave the officer’s presence peaceably but quickly.
Also, Miranda is a notification/warning. You have the right to silence and an attorney 24/7 from the day you are born to the day you die, they don’t have to provide a lawyer free of charge until you are arrested and often the free lawyer doesn’t happen until you appear at the bail hearing.
What an insult! There’s little I can do but I now realize that I will NEVER be a Green Bay fan again though I’ll try not to regret the wasted years. And by the gawdz… I will NEVER set foot in Wisconsin. Pathetic.
My sympathies for the honest citizens.
Maybe Gov. Walker shouldn’t have exempted the police unions from his public employee reforms. It surely did not seem to gain him anything.
The cop told him “You’re gonna get your ass kicked.” I do believe that this was the reason why the cop took him out of there, and the rest of the “arrest” was simply CYA on the cop’s behalf.
But this should be of no comfort to the lefties. None.
Why not?
There were many lib protesters who were far more disruptive, far more provoking, far more obnoxious and thuggish and antidemocratic at the earlier Madison protests, and at virtually every Walker appearance in the state for many months prior, who never got taken away by the police.
Because the police know that the pro-walker crowds are law-abiding, non-violent, democratically-oriented citizens who would not have attacked and injured or possibly killed such people. The cops knew that the thugs were never in any real danger from the pro-Walker people. The pro-Walker people are simply not thugs.
But put one loud fly-in-the-ointment protester in a mob of “progressive” thugs, and society’s rules of civility and freedom fly out the window.
The cop admitted that the crowd that day was comprised of thugs with no honor.
Willoughby WAS in danger that day, in a way no thuggish lib ever was when THEY were trying to shut down speech.
I feel for this poor cop, caught in the middle like this. Cops are, if anything, realists. A realist knows that thug mobs follow no rules, and would likely have assaulted Willoughby.
Completely agree, I thought I heard the Cop say “I’m on your side, your gonna get you #$$ kicked if you don’t leave”. Appears to me the cop was doing a good job of deescalating potential violence – apparently from the lefties to this marine.
If it’s an ass-kicking contest, my money is on the Marine.
And the people initiating the violence are the ones who should be arrested.
It’s disorderly conduct. He was disrupting a lawful assembly. He was asked by authorities to move. He refused. He could have relocated to where they asked and held up his sign but he didn’t.
I guess he never say the OWS coverage was. If you want to protest without a permit and disregard what law enforcement says then you can look forward to spending a day or two in jail.
At least he didn’t get pepper sprayed.
True, but so what?
What’s unacceptable about this situation is the double standard that allowed the libs the power to almost completely shut down Madison, while allowing for this “arrest.”
You do yourself no favors by setting up such transparent strawmen. I mean, c’mon, “Lefty”, you’re here arguing for scrupulous attention to the laws and statutes?
Look, I’m not setting up a straw man here. This is just the way things are on the ground.
The cops can and will shut you down if you don’t listen to them. I don’t have a problem with civil disobedience. If you think your cause warrants defying the authorities I’m not one to judge.
On the other hand, if a cop says move or don’t do x or y I don’t care if you’re OWS walking across the Brooklyn Bridge or this guy. You’ve just given them a reason to haul you off.
So do you have a constitutionally protected right to free speech? In theory yes, in practice no. But its absurdly naive to think that a cop is gonna sit there and argue with you about your rights.
It is disorderly conduct until you jack-tards do it then it is free speach.
A shaggy young road tramp (freight trains), I was visiting my mother when a cop plucked me out of a park for a line up in regard to a nearby liquor store robbery. I knew my rights but I also knew my hometown cops could care less. They once kept a guy in jail for weeks without any paperwork on him. So I didn’t protest. What annoyed me most was fingerprinting, and it made me nervous. Were they going to charge me with armed robbery? Then I heard a voice, “Hey, that’s Ogletree, he wouldn’t be part of this.” Hawkins, I rode motorcycles with his boys when I was 15. That was 1975. Cops still do whatever they want.
Exactly! Anyone who thinks cops are like Eagle Scouts is a fool. Cops do not tell on themselves or each other. Cops can do almost anything they want and get away with it. They get very used to this privilege. They will lie, hold you, lie, give their friends a pass on illegal behavior, lie, back up whatever another cop says, and did I mention lie about all of it. I’ve seen it up close. Sometimes it’s helped me and sometimes it’s hurt me. The old saw about absolute power is absolute truth.
The old saying is that power corupts and Absolute power corupts absolutly. It is close to right but closer still is immunity corupts and absolute immunity corupts absolutely.
Immunity = Power
Can someone explain to me how holding a protest sign “created a danger to the public”?
Let us hope that Mr. Willoughby sues the Milwaukee Police Department and the officer involved for unlawful detention and violation of his civil rights.
If he was issued a criminal citation..then at the time of his detention he should have been read his Miranda rights–he was not. He should have been informed of what he was being charged with. Instead, he was illegally detained and his property was seized illegally as well.
Judgment at Nuremberg. Burt Lancaster’s role as Dr. Ernst Janning.
Late in the movie, Janning is speaking of himself, reflecting upon what he’d done, and says something to the effect that, he’d turned his life into excrement.
In a very, very general sense, the ethical parallel is there. These policemen abused their office for, as they would undoubtedly claim, a higher good. (As Spencer Tracy says in the closing scene: “You did it the first time you sentenced a man you knew to be innocent.” Or words to that effect.)
If they were to watch that movie, I doubt the policemen would get the connection. It’s too subtle, but deadly to the soul. They are so screwed, and they have done it to themselves.
The “boot from behind” was very likely “baiting” by the police. If he had the bad judgement/misfortune of swinging back at the blow, the headlines would have read “Violent Walker supporter takes swing at police, held on assault charges”.
“Am I being detained?” “Am I committing a crime?” If the answer to either one of those is Yes, your next and last words to the officer should be “I want to speak with my lawyer.”
This is what democracy looks like?
If your a democrat, yes.
Actually it’s exactly what a Democracy looks like. In a Democracy what 50.0000000001% of the people wants carries the day. Democracy is mob rule. Democracies have no respect for minority rights because, again, the majority wins and the winner takes all. In a Democracy there is no respect for law or rule of law because it’s the law of the mob. What the mob wants, the mob gets. And all of that is why the Founders established a Republic instead of a Mobtopia.
Remember Obama’s words after the 2008 election – “I won”. That’s Barack’s understanding of how the country should work. That’s how he hopes to fundamentally transform the nation. Barack Obama, Mob Boss.
Same thing happened to a Iraqi vet just lately in Washington DC, whats going on? Below is the story in the Washington Times by Emily Miller. She followed the story up with another one where a vet’s guns were grabbed, didn’t read rights, broke into his dwelling without a search warrant. http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/guns/2012/may/28/miller-swat-rampage-destroys-iraq-vets-home-over-g/
What a horrible story. I live in this area and never hear about it.
However, they have routinely killed peoples dogs, so this guy got off lucky. They usually kill any pets in the vacinity.
They’ve also killed several vets in this country in cold blood.
Surely there is a Milwaukee lawyer who will take this case.
This outrageous circumstance does not surprise me at all!
I have lived in Wisconsin for the last 13 years. Despite Wisconsin’s history of “progressive” politics, this place is a police state. ANY deviation from a narrowly defined norm is considered a crime. And this fact never reaches the media! Any situation that can be construed to be a crime IS a crime.
The events in Madison last year (occupying the Capitol, defacing the Capitol, etc., etc., were a total anomaly. What happened to the Marine was much more consistent with how the criminal justice system works. The “disorderly conduct” statutes in Wisconsin cover any imaginable behavior. So that, in the end, it comes down to political judgments and we know who has made those judgments in the past. I believe that Governor Walker elected to maintain a “hands off” posture with regard to the occupiers of the Capitol because he knew that it would come to a recall. I can understand his rationale but I cannot forgive his decisions. He should have nipped it all in the bud.
Try sitting in NY or Philly with a division rivals NFL jersey on. It took balls to do what he did. His dad is a Tea Party bigwig so you can bet he will be well represented(and probably set for life with his settlement). Also, the chief of police seems to condemn the officers as well with this statement – http://city.milwaukee.gov/police (scroll down to the 4:50am comment about GOOD news). Can’t wait for tomorrow. the DOJ has now said they will monitor the election. Don’t know if they can interfere with a state election, but…
“… the DOJ has now said they will monitor the election.”
Dem strategy across the country is to get a Dem in the office of the state Sec of State. This way the Dems get to control the outcome of elections, if there is a dispute — and you know there will be a dispute.
Looks like it was sanitized. At least, I can’t find it. And the write up that is there does all it can do to paint the cops as the good guys in this.
Not arrested my ass.
Mike V. is right. The standard is whether a reasonable person would conclude he was not free to leave. Handcuffed, removed involuntarily, jailed and cited, but NOT ARRESTED? Gimme a break.
He needs a competent lawyer prepared to offend the cops. Prepare the case properly for trial, and during the process I have a hunch the prosecutor is going to get mighty discouraged. The video destroys the State’s case. But you might have to try it if they realize there will be a civil suit the day after a dismissal or an acquittal.
Then there should be a civil action, for which several causes of action appear to exist. In the process of discovery these officers’ work history and union activities should be thoroughly vetted. You never know where that stuff might lead.
Not being arrested ? Gee handcuffed , taken away in a police vehicle and locked in a dark cell . Sounds like an arrest to me and, an unlawful arrest at that . But then the Officers are good union members doing as the union heads bid . Regardless of who his dad is what was done was wrong .
Now the DOJ says they will monitor election in Wisconsin ? Sounds suspect to me . I have to suppose the fix is in
… I never realized until recently, how vulnerable our precious freedoms actually are.
It’s all a matter of opinion, including how certain opinions are treated. This arrest reminds me of a small group of protesters handing out fliers outside of a taxpayer-subsidized Islamic fair in. They were questioned by two Dearborn officers, who then told them they either leave or they’d be arrested for Distburing the Peace. They left. Job done.
I am not an attorney, but have seen the following successfully used.
In Hertado v. California, 110 US 516, the U.S Supreme Court states very plainly: “The state cannot diminish rights of the people.”
And in Bennett v. Boggs, 1 Baldw 60, “Statutes that violate the plain and obvious principles of common right and common reason are null and void.”
“The assertion of federal rights, when plainly and reasonably made, is not to be defeated under the name of local practice.” Davis v. Wechsler, 263 US 22, at 24.
“Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them.” Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436, 491.
“The claim and exercise of a constitutional right cannot be converted into a crime.” Miller v. US, 230 F 486, at 489.
“There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon one because of this exercise of constitutional rights.” Sherer v. Cullen, 481 F 946.
File a civil suit against the city…for the deep pockets, AND file a civil suit against Mayor, Chief of Police, and any officer involved in the [non]arrest, as citizens/civilians. If the Mayor/Chief/Officer decide to hire an attorney, they will be required to hire an attorney out of pocket, not on the tax-payer dime. Although, I imagine the union will pay for an attorney for at least the officer.
I hope he retains a couple of good attorneys, and can cause the city of Milwaukee so much legal expenses that they won’t forget this incident for many, many years.
You will, of course, have to wait a few months until we have a US Justice Department. At that point, Sgt. Schweinhundt can be incarcerated, and you and Mark Levin should own Milwaukee.
I hope you will allow me to visit.
From what I saw in this video is that his major problem was that he let his emotions get the best of him. With the way he was flailing his hands so close to the cop’s face, he’s lucky he didn’t face other charges. If you think it’s ok to act that way while speaking to a police officer you should think about going to Black Bloc meetings. As for demanding to be Mirandized, if you Same thing about this detain/arrest argument. One can be placed in handcuffs brought to a police station, held in a cell and only detained. ‘re demanding it you already know what your rights are, use your first one. With the way so many here are complaining about him not being read his rights and the detain/arrest arguments, it sounds like a whole wing of “jail house lawyers.” Who’s next going to suggest him sue for not being given a hug when he got released? If he stayed calm and his voice at a reasonable volume and was chased away by the police he’d have a better shot of saying that his rights were violated. I am not saying that the way other protesters were acting was right because it wasn’t but the way he was acting, he was in the wrong. He won the neither the battle nor the war.
So, his crime was “flailing his hands”?
The police officer was wrong. Period. All the officer could think of to charge this man with was “subject raised a protest sign above his head in a manner that created danger to the public”. Seriously? He wasn’t charged with first degree “hand flailing”?? I guess you suppose that they let him off easy.
And “he’s lucky he didn’t face other charges”? What other charges? Failing to lick the offending officers boots?
You, dear poster, are part of the problem.
From what I saw in this video is that his major problem was that he let his emotions get the best of him. With the way he was flailing his hands so close to the cop’s face, he’s lucky he didn’t face other charges. If you think it’s ok to act that way while speaking to a police officer you should think about going to Black Bloc meetings. As for demanding to be Mirandized, if you Same thing about this detain/arrest argument. One can be placed in handcuffs brought to a police station, held in a cell and only detained. ‘re demanding it you already know what your rights are, use your first one. With the way so many here are complaining about him not being read his rights and the detain/arrest arguments, it sounds like a whole wing of “jail house lawyers.” Who’s next going to suggest him sue for not being given a hug when he got released? If he stayed calm and his voice at a reasonable volume and was chased away by the police he’d have a better shot of saying that his rights were violated. I am not saying that the way other protesters were acting was right because it wasn’t but the way he was acting, he was in the wrong. He won the neither the battle nor the war.
The new America: act like a milquetoast when defending rights you hold dear, while standing in a public place exercising your Constitutional right to protest. Don’t dare raise your voice or act passionate or you’re off to jail while the Pharisees stand by the sidelines clucking and wagging their heads at your ‘impertinence’.
I would never get all meek just because I’m talking to a cop. I have as much right as the cop to assert my rights and last time I checked the first amendment is still in force – marginally at times it seems. And I’ve been in that position before. My friends and I were asked to leave the scene where a cop had been kicking some guy’s ass for no apparent reason. We saw it all – beginning to end – the cop pulled this guy on a motorcycle over right where a few of us were shooting the bull out front of one of my friends home. He asked the guy a few questions – the answers apparently didn’t agree with him so he started in with his baton – it got pretty brutal. The cop’s partner was all over the three of us to leave and threatened us with arrest. I held my hands out for the cuffs – he ignored that gesture and insisted we leave – NOW! I told him I wasn’t going anywhere — and since we were on private property already we stood fast. When the watch supervisor got there he promptly set the cop straight – then began asking us questions – many of them about the interactions with the cop who was trying to intimidate us. I gave a disposition several weeks later at the city prosecutor’s office but apparently the case never went to court since I never heard any more about that case. Don’t know if the guy got a settlement from the city or not. This was back in 1970′s.
Sorry but it is not a crime to raise your voice. It is a violation of police procedure in most cities to grab an individual by the arm when he has done nothing wrong. I suspect the officer who originally did this was trying to move him out of concern for his safety. Then the officer over-reacted to the protester’s response. The officer is supposed to be the trained professional who can keep his temper under pressure, and frankly this wasn’t very much pressure. There is plenty of legal precedent that police may not abuse their position of authority. So yes I suspect that if he sues, he will win. He has plenty of video evidence to document both his behavior and that of the officer thanks to the presence of the media at this event. The claim that he presented a danger by raising a sign in the air is clearly not true from the video and no jury would see that “danger” any more than any of the viewers here did.
If anything these officers did more damage to their cause with their actions. I’m sure many citizens in WI who saw this video now believes that union policemen don’t deserve the taxpayer funded benefits that they are trying to win.
I believe that the police violated Sec 1983 of the Civil Rights Act.. Mr Willoughby should sue the City of Milwaukee and the responsible officials for damage and other relief. After the City taxpayers absorb the losses caused by CRA violations thet will vote the responsible dipshits out of office.
I bet Holder is all over this one…
I want the name of that police officer who threatened violence and twisted Willoughby’s arm. That police officer needs, at a minimum, be removed from any position of power.
Criminals with badges.
Perhaps there needs to be a law that at least some percent of police officers are non union to guarantee that all people have fair protection under the law in case they decide that they are union members first. Or perhaps part of a competing union that belongs to the taxpayer.
I think the cops were probably right to move the guy out of the middle of the hostile crowd.
He should have just stood off to the side like the cops asked him to, instead of defying them.
Keeping groups of protestors separated makes good sense. Especially when one group is composed of leftists, who have repeatedly shown a tendency towards employing violence (for which see the Occupy protestors).
Seems the DNC has there talking points .. #44 and 45 seem identical. How odd.
I agree with the sentiment. And the LOCAL cops acted incorrectly. BUT, if I remeber correctly, we are NOT supposed to do this in uniform.
Unions – WRONG.
Arresting Police Officers – INCREDIBLY WRONG. (They are NOT MPs).
Sentiment – CORRECT.
Doing it in uniform – against the rules I think.
If you are enlisted (officers have a different set of rules) you do NOT give up your First Amendment Rights. However, when you where the uniform you do expose yourself to the UCMJ.
He wasn’t in uniform.
Remember, they’re union members first, cops second, and Americans third.
We had a saying in the fighter business: “There are two kinds of airplanes: fighters…and targets.” Apparently, to cops, there are two kinds of people: Other Cops…and perps.
If you’re not one of them, you are an “Other” and thus fair game for whatever treatment they deem appropriate. It’s called Tribalism and it is the lowest form of social organization…and the bloodiest.
His sign protested against union thugs. The cops made his point much more clearly than he ever could have.
The ACLU will step in and defend this man, for sure. Won’t they? What?? Won’t they???
Nothing new here.
In 1977 I was a 20-year old sailor stationed in GLakes with a girlfriend in South Milwaukee. We were In a public park at 945pm when we got rousted by South Milwaukee police for being in the park after closing (10pm). I happened to mention to the officer that it wasn’t 10pm yet and he pulled me from the drivers seat through the window by my hair. I got slammed up against my car, dragged to the front of the car, (whilst getting kneed in the ass) and then took a couple of nightstick shots to the kidneys and the Achilles tendons. I had $1200 of PCS cash (I was transferring to Scotland in two days) and a set of orders. My girlfriend objected to my treatment and got spanked by another officer while he held her hair. They took all my cash, arrested me for trespassing, breach of peace and resisting arrest and took me to night court. The judge said if I paid a $750 fine, he’d drop everything but the trespassing. I had to pay an additional $125 in court costs, plus $190 to get my car out of impound. When I picked up my car, the license plates were gone, the coil was gone and my under dash stereo disappeared.
I pissed blood for a week.
That was 35 years ago. My nephew is a Wisconsin highway patrolman. He says that’s still common practice in South Milwaukee.
Looks like I won’t be going on vacation to WI any time soon.
I doesn’t happen only in Milwaukee. Why do you think the Police are so against filming/dash-cams/vest-cams/video? The cops are used to doing whatever they want and then redefining what happened afterwards. If you have bruises they will say you got unruly, resisted, or you fell down. Juries practically 100% of the time believe the cop’s story.
Commie Thugs 4 Benefits & Power!
I watched the whole video and thought that the officer’s actions were nothing short of shameful, as well as unlawful. Since the passing of the law about making protestors and photographers and journalists stay a half block away from any event of any importance so that they have no chance of interrupting said event or person, the cops just push people around wherever you go. It is truly shameful, especially in light of the fact that they take an oath, just like military people do, to uphold and enforce the laws of the country and our constitution. I hope he sues them, especially the cop that took him in.
The Milwaukee Police Department has made a process available which allows Citizens to file a report when they witness a crime. The Citizen may choose to file either anonymously or by identifying themselves.
http://city.milwaukee.gov/Police/submitatip
Obama with the blessing of House Republicans signed a ” Free of 1st amendment right ” act. It states that the Secret Service can dub an area free of prtesters and arrest anyone who does. It is a FELONY !!!! Where the hell has common sense gone in this country. I have no doubt that this is yet another Obama law that the courts will throw out but for it to be passed is just pure craziness.
..in minor pushing contest…3 cops arrived and immediately 2 cops started to console the “victims”.. man I scuffled with and his not involved wife …spent telling 2 cops what a mean guy I was…I’m 66…USMC, Viet-Nam combat vet w/honorable discharge …I was grabbed by the third cop and taken around the back side of a truck-..asked what I was being charged with.. told to shut up or be cuffed and taken to jail… he removed his cartridge belt, badge, pulled his shirt out, told me I would be sorry if I said another word. he was clearly looking to beat s**t out of me…I asked “what about My rights” …he started to come at me.. could I tell MY side? …. finally informed the victims weren’t going to press charges…I asked for what ?…just told to leave… I was NEVER asked any questions….what freedom of speech did I have?…informed them that I was healing from a broken neck….more threats…what freedom DO we have?…and I fought for these punks? any recourse? where’s the hope & change?
The picture on page 2 is disappointing. Servicemembers are not to attend political demonstrations/rallies/events in uniform.
absolutely disgusting, and we are supposed to accept ows when they trespass and do what they do, as the right to free speech, but this man is led off.
Goes back to what I have said before, there are bullies, and unfortunately what we see is the bullies at work, police, to protect the bigger bullies the union thugs and dems/libs that were not subject to such arrests when they were trashing the capitol.
The police told him he was not under arrest? Sorry officers, but you arrested that man. An arrest occurs when a person is, in any significant way, deprived of their freedom of movement by the police. If a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have believed they were not free to go, they have been arrested. Even a traffic ticket is, technically, an arrest. There are some highly specific and well-established (in law) exceptions to this general rule, but if the facts are as they have been stated here, this gentleman has a slam dunk case for false arrest, and I recommend he pursue it.
Handcuffed, driven to a police station, printed, photographed, locked in a cell in handcuffs and not under arrest? Handcuffs are temporary restraining devices. Police rules universally require they be removed as soon as possible, and always–always–when a person is placed in a cell and is therefore no longer a threat. This is a political arrest by union thugs, nothing less. Such men are neither men nor police officers and deserve nothing but the scorn of honest citizens.
Welcome to the People’s Democratic Socialist Republic of America, sans that pesky charter of negative liberties. Where everything is mandatory, licensed or forbidden if not already taxed, regulated and restricted.
Oh the irony. The vet could have taken that poor excuse for a cop down in less than the time it takes to pour a cup of coffee.
I wish I had a vote in Wisconsin. Anybody know a dead democrate I can hook up with?
I hope someone got the name and badge number of every policeman contesting his free speech. There must have been some civics teachers in that crowd…although calling themselves by other titles…..They should be ashamed to enter a classroom. I taught in public schools gfor many years and belonged to a teachers’ union for most of them. In my case it was because I wanted legal protection in case I got sued..Unions provided that and I was sued twice I found out that the school district paid up because it was cheaper than going to court…..so much for the right to be faced by the accuser and any rights I had. Strange that the rights of classmates to learn in a safe environment are never part of the argument.
“causing a civil disturbance” works two ways….the unionistas and cops certainly caused one and this tape is proof.
The officer who detained Mr.Willoughby is Steve Wesolowski, and is no stranger to questionable or illeagal acts as a police office. Do some home work on this individual and you will see a history of illicit and deplorable behavior by this individual. This man has NO business being a security gard let alone a police officer. I hope a good strong willed attorney from Wisconsin steps up to take this on.
The name of the Nazi thug was Wesolowski. Every attorney worth a damn should be falling all over each other trying to take his case and sue the cops and the city for what happened. Do you see how blatant they are about stomping on your Constitutional rights? It’s Public Employees against YOU! Pretty much the same thing happened to me in Rialto CA, (a sanctuarary city), because I had the unmitigated gall to speak at a city council meeting about Boomer Cars. (Google the video “Disturbed” by Pioneer, and keep in mind this is a PROMOTIONAL VIDEO!! It will make you throw up and want to go postal at the same time.) I was bullied, intimidated and threatened by a Captain, a Lieutenent, a corporal and two regulars and ultimately had eighty bucks extorted from me. This kind of fascist crap is on the upswing. Just look at Gibson Guitar. Nobody’s safe. Read a few books: “Taken Into Custody” “The War Against Boys” “Snitch” “One Nation Under Arrest” “Mean Justice” “The Innocent Man”.
Google “Angela Corey” the Predator Prosecutor in florida. She’s the one who got on her knees to the lynch mob and arrested and re-arrested Zimmerman. She’s also a child abuser. And allowed to function arounc children at her CHURCH!
Google veterans and back problems. You haven’t seen anything yet.
WAIT a minute, the guy with the sign is wearing Jeans and a black jacket, NOT a marine uniform… His baseball cap merely says “Marine corps Veteran”.stupid libs are totally off track all the time. LOOK at the video fools.
our turn is in the near future—THEY have brought it on themselves—–hold fast and tightly the 2nd amendment
File a criminal complaint immediately.
If the police handcuffed a citizen, took him to a squad car and confined him against his will with no intention to arrest him, they have not just violated his first amendment rights. They have, on video, committed a felony – kidnapping.
I doubt the DA belongs to the union.
Looks to me that some of the police officers need more training. False imprisonment charges should be made, fine dropped. Ridiculous.
When I was growing up as a child, I was always taught that the police were the good guys, and most of them still are. But now, 50 years later, I no longer give police the benefit of the doubt.
Too many police officers have been corrupted to their core by the unions and by the power granted to them by the state. Police harassment of citizens is common. A young officer with whom I attend church freely admits to pulling over motorists for the most inane and innocuous “offenses” (his favorite: a license plate frame obscuring the lower 1/2″ of the plate) and demanding to search the car without a warrant. If the driver refuses, he’s threatened, bullied, harassed and held up for 30-60 minutes. If he consents to an illegal search, he’s usually allowed to leave (without being searched at all). This young officer considers this to be good police work. He argues, “who but a criminal, with something to hide, would object to a search of their vehicle”?
Just search YouTube for bad police stops. It’s absolutely appalling how ignorant officers are of the constitution that they’ve sworn to uphold and protect.
The Sgt. making the arrest in the video should be immediately dismissed. He’s either ignorant of the law, or just flat doesn’t care. In either case, he miserably failed to “uphold and defend the constitution of the United States”.
Notice the totalitarianism of the crowd. “Lock him up”! – For disagreeing with their position. Perhaps some time in a Gulag or re-eduction camp would be the appropriate punishment.
This is one of many reasons that I have an incredibly low opinion of cops. I don’t even deign to call them police officers because I feel most of them are not due that amount of respect. While there are people out their risking their lives for the safety of citizens, the majority are traffic cops that have been given guns and are suffering from a power trip.
I was told by a cop that pulled me over for an expired tag (I was a dolt and forgot to put the new sticker on) that they had nothing better to do than run the tags of cars. So apparently all rape, murder and other crimes have been taken care of, so apparently all energy can be put in to filling local coffers.
I hope that he sues the bat snot out of the city and the arresting “officer.”
And yet, even as we witness countless headlines and videos exactly like this one, and many far, far worse (see http://www.cato.org/raidmap/ ) – day after day, week after week – we remain incapable of little more than posting about it on blogs or maybe even immersing ourselves (via Tea Party candidates, rallies, etc.) in the very same putrid Quagmire-of-Corruption (national political system) that condones and even perpetuates this type of rampant malfeasance. (We all know it’s not just Wisconsin, folks.)
Oh, and of course then we get to wait the requisite months (years? decades?) necessary to effect change through this wrought-with-peril method.
The rhetorical question each of us is perhaps reluctant to ask or even answer is:
Where will The People’s collective “Line in the sand” be this time?
ref:
Botched Paramilitary Police Raids:
An Epidemic of “Isolated Incidents”
“If a widespread pattern of [knock-and-announce] violations were shown . . . there would be reason for grave concern.”
—Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in Hudson v. Michigan, June 15, 2006.
An interactive map of botched SWAT and paramilitary police raids, released in conjunction with the Cato policy paper “Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids,” by Radley Balko.
http://www.cato.org/raidmap/
How is this an “exclusive” when I read about it and watched the video at Breitbart two days ago? This is a great site but don’t take credit for Breitbart’s work. The Boston Globe does that often enough.
Sounds like a case of Heckler’s Veto
As a retired career detective who has dealt with this kind of trouble before let me give my two cents here.
1. The guy should remain calm. Never wave your hand in any cop’s face. He can use that as an excuse for hook you up, and will.
2. However, that said, the Wisconsin police have a long and sad history of allowing Leftist protestors to commit far worse offenses in their presence without arresting anyone, because they were protesting FOR unions.
When I saw the Wisconsin police do nothing and were shown to be enablers of thugs I said to my union members here in Florida we were going to get smacked because of their bad behavior.
I was right. Our union, which in a right to work state is very cooperative with the City, took a ton of losses in pay and benefits to help balance the City’s budget. Part of the reason they took it was the bad press from the acts of the police union thugs in Wisconsin.
We are NOT all the same. The Wisconsin police have fallen into disrepute because they chose to protect their own interests over doing their duty, as you see here.
The young man should have been calm. He was forcibly removed from an area against his will and arrested by a police officer with little or no PC.
What drives me crazy is that in the past police departments have offered protection for the worst among us from those who disagreed. (Remember Nazi protests, KKK protests, illegal alien protests where the police offered escort services to keep the peace?) Why couldn’t the officer just stand there and make sure the young man was unmolested as he protested??
Settlement on its way. Less than you might think.
There are lots of great police around, and plenty of good union members of all trades as well. Our nation need the good members of both of those groups to begin banding together and take action within their area of influence. Too often good people wait on the sidelines and then jump into the fray solo. This is not a solo act, and individuals without support get crushed or get worn down. It is a team effort involving men and women of integrity and courage. Get together, organize, establish some solidarity, and then make a change within your organizations.
The insidious plague of Marxism has started. Vote in November and be ready to fight in December. Unions are the haven for the lazy and incompotent. A veteran…
Policemans swearing in oath in Wisconsin :” As a sworn officer of the law, I swear to serve and protect the public employee unions and the Democrat party”
Mr. Willoughby, congratulations on your exposure of corruption and stupidity in public union members. Your non-arrest arrest will be seen by millions, whereas if you’d stood on the lawn, your sign may have seen by hundreds, most of whom wouldn’t pay an ounce of attention.
I think you handled yourself admirably, and your treatment will damage the people who think they’re controlling you. Please continue to be calm and reasoned in your approach, and if you can find a pro-bono lawyer, I do think you have a great case against the policeman and the police department that took you into custody.
Eric Holder’s Justice Department will never support a civil rights case on your behalf, but he SHOULD. If you choose to do so, your case could have a continuing body of influence going forward into the fall elections, following the Wisconsin recall. Good luck.
Couple things . . .
If they didn’t mirandize him, and they didn’t “arrest” him, what did they do? Kidnap him?
Also, have to say re: the tea party rally photo – doing that in uniform is a pretty big no-no. When you wear the uniform, you represent the USMC. It is not proper to protest in uniform. As a citizen – of course. He should know better than this.
Is this the same Wisconsin that allowed union protestors to occupy the state capitol? The same Wisconsin that took no legal action when a mob of black youths attacked people attending the state fair? When you have arbitrary enforcement, you no longer have the rule of law.
This is just ridiculous. Since Jim Crow, cops have used tactics of intimidation against minorities to keep them in their place, but none of you gave two #$%s about it because it had nothing to do with you, and frankly, some of you were probably relived to keep your neighborhoods white.
For the past 30 years, police have been using the drug war to lock up kids for smoking a plant. But none of you gave two $%^&s about that either, because those damned good-for-nothing hippies and beatniks deserved it, didn’t they?
And then, nearly a decade ago, many of you were apathetic as the NYPD, LAPD and other police agencies beat and rounded up protesters against the Iraq War. Clearly, those traitors and America haters deserved what they got.
As did those damned Occupiers. How dare they assemble in the streets where good people are trying to get to work! How dare they disrupt the stream of commerce! I’ll bet they’re all good for nothing thieves and rapists, just like FOX News told me!
But now, finally, one of yours gets pushed around and detained … AND IT’S A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS!!!11!! And the best part? Somehow, liberals are to blame for this! Union liberal communist police officer thugs!! Attacking those poor white Tea Partiers!! It’s such a sad joke with you folks. When police get tough with the people you don’t like, it’s justice. When they get tough with you and yours, it’s a union liberal plot.
The truth is that this has always been going on, against ANYONE, liberal or conservative, rich or poor, black or white, who dares to stand up for literally ANYTHING. You folks are just coming late to the party because FOX News and other mainstream conservative media have tried really, really hard to hide the police state from you, and the propaganda has generally been successful.
The Tea Party was a useful tool of the rich to convince poor people to vote for rich people’s interests, just as the Occupy movement was largely a tool of naïve limousine liberals who ended up being mortified at how unkempt their “movement” became. But every tool outgrows its use, and the fact that a cop detained a Tea Partier for very little reason should be a clarion call to all of you that the police state no longer differentiates between Occupy and the Tea Party anymore. We are all just petty annoyances to be roughed up and detained when we get too loud.
Liberals and conservatives may not agree on a whole host of issues, but we should all agree that the police state is the death of the Republic and needs to be confronted. But this can only happen if we are allied on this. This will not happen if each instance of police brutality becomes just another excuse to crap your shorts about unions and liberals and George Soros. This will not happen if we needlessly divide ourselves. This is what they want. This makes it easy to control us. Don’t help them.
I find it funny that you equate what this gentleman did with the OWS crowd. I hope you’re aware that OWS was occupying a privately owned piece of property without permission — AKA *trespassing*. The owners were well within their rights to request that OWS leave (by police force if necessary), as OWS was violating their private property rights.
“How dare they assemble in the streets where good people are trying to get to work! How dare they disrupt the stream of commerce!”
The Constitution protects the right to peaceably assemble. Willfully preventing others from conducting their daily lives does not, to my knowledge, qualify as “peaceable.” I think it would be more appropriate to call that combative or disruptive assembly.
In contrast, standing in a public space while holding a sign and not meaningfully disrupting anyone from doing anything *is* peaceable and constitutionally protected. The only proper intervention by the police would have been to prevent the crowd from harming the protester. Unlike the OWS circumstances, the police certainly had no right to arrest this guy for *anything*
As for the other protest cases you spoke of, I don’t know enough about them to make an informed comment.
Kind of reminds me of what was going on in Germany in the 1930′s…..
Most of us already know our Justice Department is partisan. Now we know many local policemen are. ….So much for the US justice system……rvrty person for himself. I don’t have guns, guess I’ll use a golf club or my pots and pans.
the hell with one atty, the real ?? are; where is the USDOJ & all the bleeding heart liberals? I guess they only bleed when it is one of their own………semper fi
This is a systemic problem; first they are trying to create a socialist state where everyone works for or lives off the government via public employee unions and welfare; then they will create a police state to control those who disapprove of their statist tactics. These union represented police officers have no fear of accountability when acting like they did because the legal system in Milwaukie is working for the very self-promoting syndicalist system, not the Constitution. The only way for this Marine to get a fair and impartial day in court is for the DOJ, without the unionist protectors Obama and Holder in charge. So the only way to bring fairness back to America is to remove the socialistic Democrat Party representatives from government.
And another comment. Those cops changed a lot of people’s opinion of law-enforcement. From protectors of the people to security guards for the union mob’s knuckle-draggers parade.
Just to show you the difference – and maybe some disturbing similarities – between Canada and the US, you may be interested in an arrest of a Canadian man in Kitchener-Waterloo a few months ago. It’s detailed in this article from the London (Ontario) Free Press: http://www.lfpress.com/news/canada/2012/06/05/19841361-qmi.html
Why was he arrested? His four (!!) year old daughter drew a picture on the whiteboard in her pre-kindergarten class. When she explained the picture to the teacher, she said it showed her dad shooting bad guys. The teacher questioned the child and got concerned that there was a gun in the family’s home which might be within the reach of children. (Gun control in Canada is quite strict and nothing like the US Second Amendment exists.) The teacher called Family Services who called the police. Police met the man at the school, arrested him for possession of a firearm (without having seen it yet) and began a search for a weapon. The man was strip-searched. The man’s pregnant wife and children were taken across town and interrogated, presumably to determine the location of the gun. The only gun found was a $16 plastic gun that fired small plastic peppercorn-sized pellets, although no ammunition for the gun was found in the house. But this air pistol was deemed dangerous by the police. (The story doesn’t make clear if the gun was seized and/or returned to the man.)
It seems to me that police were heavy-handed in both arrests, the one in Wisconsin and the one in Ontario. I hope both men sue the police and win large settlements.
In theory Mr. Willoughby Could:
1. Press charges against the cops. and or….
2. File a formal complaint against each officer individually, include a digital copy of the video with the complaint, whether the Dept acts or not, the materials become part of their personnel records and can be used as evidence against the cops in future brutality cases. and or
2. File a Civil suit for assault, battery, Civil Rico, 242 USC 1983
3. File the suit against the City and MOST Importantly against each officer individually.
4. Take it to Trial
5. Get a Judgement.
6. Report the Judgement to the 3 Credit reporting agencies against each officer.
What’s the name of the communist pig who assaulted this veteran? And why isn’t he under arrest? The police, firefighters and first responders did not have their collective bargaining rights taken away by Gov. Walker. Therefore, this thug in a police uniform wasn’t acting as a union member first. He was abusing his power as a LEO and should be fired from the force and given a prison sentence to reflect upon his STUPID behavior.
If he wasn’t under arrest why would they take mug shots and fingerprint him?
If walking through protesters is a crime why didn’t they arrest Polosi, Conyers, Lewis et all at the Tea Party Demonstrations?
Something very BAD is happening in the country: If you have a different opinion, you are a racist / bigot / whatever-dirty-description. Now criminal is also on the list.
I first thought it’s only the press, but now the cups are at it.
Those officers have no place in ANY police department. Were they just following orders?
The police are members of unions up there. That is why he is arrested.
I am a retired construction and union member.
Friends lest we forget. In the 1930 we had no unions. What we did have is was a 60 or 70 hour work week with no benifits. The construction unions where formed to help everyone. So today you have a fourty hour work week with a reasonable wage and benifits. You have health insurance, paid vacations and in some cases prety substancial fringe benifits. Thank you unions.
I agree the the police where wrong in what the did and should somehow be punished. But don’t put all the blame on the unions, blame your politians. United States Congress grants themselvs raises anytime the want and only you can change this. Help youselves and your Country by gitting a grip on the necks of all our politians and chocking the crap out of them. When they take responsibilty for the laws the create and have to also abide by them the country will once again be great. God Bless America.
Unions served a valid function in the early 1900s through the beginning of WWII. After that, they were not needed, but did not go away. I suppose it’s “fair” if not Good that a union can demand so much from a company that the company goes out of business. But at least in this case, there’s an adversarial quality to a corporation’s union contract negotiation. But government entities cannot go out of business, and the process of unions electing the very officials who will then negotiate their contract with taxpayer money is simply a corrupt process. It should never have been tolerated. Public sector unions are an abomination and should be outlawed.