So two idiots sauntered into a police station jacked up with ammo and weapons to test the open-carry law in Dearborn, Michigan.
James Baker had body armor on and a semi-automatic pistol strapped to his hip as he slung a short-barreled rifle over his chest and pulled a black ski mask over his head. His buddy, Brandon Vreeland, a fellow open carry advocate, also had on body armor but left his gun in the car, instead bringing along cameras to videotape the encounter that was about to take place.
The two men wanted to file a complaint about being pulled over earlier by Dearborn police officers, but also saw it as an opportunity to test the suburban Detroit department to see if its officers “honored” the Constitution and their right to carry guns.
This is just plain stupid. And to really illustrate their stupidity, the duo refused to drop their weapons when police first instructed them to do so.
“Put it on the ground or you are dead,” one of the officers screams in the video that was live-streamed on the Internet via cell phones by Baker and Vreeland as the confrontation unfolded. “I will shoot you. I will put a round in you. What the hell is the matter with you?”
Finally, the men dropped their weapons and were placed under arrest. The police were not pleased with the stunt.
“I find this behavior totally unacceptable and irresponsible,” police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a statement. “This is not a 2nd Amendment issue for me. We had members of the public in our lobby that fled in fear for their safety as these men entered our building.”
https://youtu.be/cr6zQLvPMpw
An open-carry group also criticized their actions.
Tom Lambert, president of Michigan Open Carry Inc., a gun-rights group, issued a statement supporting the police handling of the incident.
“Let us be clear, Michigan Open Carry Inc. in no way supports the actions of these individuals,” Lambert said. “It is our belief that their actions were reckless and primarily designed to draw attention and a response.”
Vreeland said that both men are legal gun owners who wanted to “test” the police on their constitutional acuity.
“We audit police to see how well they honor the Constitution and people’s rights,” said Vreeland, who was freed after posting a $1,500 bond late Sunday night. “We showcase police abuse and abuse of police power in the totalitarian police state that we live in.”
Here’s what they brought into the police station:
Vreeland said he and Baker were arrested by multiple police officers and later held for about eight hours in the police department lockup.
Police said officers seized the loaded AP-14 firearm, a rifle magazine containing 47 rounds, an AR-15 rifle, an AK-47 style rifle, a loaded Glock 19 handgun with four additional magazines containing 66 rounds, body armor and ballistic vests, a mask, a gun belt and several pieces of camera equipment.
WEARING A MASK into a police department while armed up? Do these jokers have a death wish?
The police department situation followed another incident earlier that day when Vreeland and Baker were seen putting on their body armor in a supermarket parking lot. A witness called the police and the two were pulled over by law enforcement. The police asked to search their vehicles, to which Vreeland responded: “Go **** yourself.”
Here’s their video:
Baker was charged with breaching the peace, failure to cooperate with police, and masking his identity by obscuring his face when he walked into the station. Vreeland was charged with breaching the peace, obstructing police, and failure to cooperate. According to Vreeland, police took their car and its contents, including his rifle, their phones and cameras.
This behavior is reckless and stupid and gives all lawful gun owners a bad name.
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