Ok, this is a long story because the incident(s) happen over several days. Do me a favor and don't start in with cop bashing. If you don't agree with their actions then keep the comment to that individual deputy regarding that specific action and not a blanket statement trying to pigeon-hole all officers. Thank you.
I had received a traffic ticket on January 14th of this year because my registration had expired and I hadn’t realized it. I was also ticketed because I couldn’t find my insurance card, although my insurance was valid and had not lapsed. My court date was to be on February 24th at 8am. My two children had been sick in the week leading up to this and I had been feeling ill and was unable to sleep the night of the 23rd/24th and completely forgot that I was supposed to be in court that morning. As the day went on I was feeling a bitg better but still not great. I needed to go to my firearms dealer to pick up two .22 youth rifles that I had ordered for my sons for their birthdays. I went there and filled out the 4473 forms that are required for purchasing firearms. Since there was a delay in the processing time, it came time to pick my sons up from school and I left the dealership. After I had picked my children up from their school, I realized that I had absentmindedly missed my court appointment that morning, and that there was a possibility that my applications for firearm purchase would be denied if a bench-warrant had been issued. I arrived at the dealership and mentioned this to the owner who offered to let me use his phone to call the court, but by that time the court had closed. Sure enough, CBI denied my applications. I knew that I had to go in to the court the next morning and reschedule another court date which I had done 3 ½ years ago when I first moved to Colorado for a different incident (minor fender-bender). My dealer later told me that they were contacted by the sheriff's office within minutes of me leaving. I went home and met my ex-wife so that she could watch the children that night as I had a late class. I had a conversation with her that I needed to go to the courthouse in the morning to reschedule and she agreed that it shouldn’t be that big a deal to reschedule. That week there was a friend of mine from Arizona (a THR member also) who was in town for business meetings and he came over to visit at the same time my ex-wife and children were leaving. Since we are both firearms enthusiasts, he brought a few of his over for me to look at, and I had brought a few of mine out for him. We had them out on the kitchen table and counters. I had the same conversation with him about rescheduling the court date and decided that since there was a warrant issued that it would be best if I stayed home from school that night rather than be out and risk being arrested. I had written an email to my professor stating the reason why I wouldn’t be in class that night and before I hit "send" my doorbell rang. When I answered it, there were two sheriffs deputies standing there who were asking for me by name. Of course I told the truth of who I was and they then told me that I was under arrest.
I was searched and relieved of the firearm on my side and then my guest was searched and he was ran through the system as well. During this process, unaware to me, one deputy searched my home and noticed the firearms that we had out and suggested to the other deputy that they confiscate them. He also mentioned that he should confiscate my guest’s concealed carry permit. The other deputy declined to do either and took me to jail, allowing my friend to follow us to the jail with my bond money that I had handed to him before leaving. This deputy was actually nice enough to stop and wait about five minutes for my friend when he got lost behind us due to traffic. I will say at this point that when the deputy disarmed me, all he did was take the entire holster/gun and set it down on the mail table next to the front door without trying to unload/safe it. He allowed me to take money and other items out of my pocket before he searched me so that it didn't have to go through the system with me and risk getting lost.
My CCpermit was also ran to make sure that it was valid. On the way to the jail I asked the deputy if it would be revoked and he said No, but that the other deputy had called in to see if they're supposed to confiscate it or not. During the processing at the jail, they did confiscate it. Luckily, my friend got me out after only being there half the night. The next morning I called the cc permit section of the sheriff's office to find out if they were supposed to take my permit. Initially the woman said that it shouldn't have been taken for traffic violations but she put me on hold and asked a supervisor, and when she came back she told me that after my court date to bring in the paperwork and they would reinstate it, assuming that I had taken care of things. Later the next week the same lady calls me out of the blue and tells me that she spoke with their legal advisor about my situation and he stated that a traffic violation is not justification for revocation, and she told me that she had already printed out another card and reinstated my permit and that I could come down and pick it up.
So I go to court about a week after getting my permit back and while I was waiting to speak with the ADA, two different people (at different times) came in to reschedule their court date that they had missed just the day before. Instead of letting them wait in line or rescheduling, they had sheriffs deputies come in and arrest them and taken to jail. This is traffic court and these other people were confused as to why they were being arrested since they didn’t have any kind of criminal record. One of the people was a woman who missed her court date because her flight from back east was cancelled and wasn’t able to make it on time. When I finally got to speak with the ADA, I provided my proof on insurance and registration and he dismissed the charges. While I was waiting for him to do this, another ADA came in and I asked her why people who were showing up to reschedule were being arrested and she looked at me like I had just kicked her cat. “Why wouldn’t we arrest them?” was her reply. I wasn’t about to argue with someone who thinks that this type of action is logical. Since she believes in the people’s right to a fair trial
rolleyes, she mentioned in a very sarcastic tone that “I can’t believe this person wants to have a jury trial for a speeding ticket! What do I do?” The ADA who was dealing with me told her to just dismiss it and that it isn’t worth the trouble. Her response was “Are you kidding”? She actually made a trial date instead of dismissing it.
My charges were dismissed completely.
I have since sent an email to the local Fox news channel and this past friday, (4-3-09) I was called by one of the reporters who wants to do the story. She verified some information with me, like the fact that I have never had anything other than a traffic ticket. She told me that she was next going to contact the sheriff's office to find out why they are arresting people for traffic violations when they were just complaining about lack of budget/manpower and that they had to lay-off 20-something employees. She's supposed to get back with me later this week possibly for an interview.
My main two things are this:
The deputy who wanted to confiscate all of our firearms.
Taking my permit for a non-moving traffic violation.
I don't agree with showing up at my home and arresting me within hours of missing traffic court since there was a bench warrant issued. I think they jumped the gun showing up to arrest me that soon, but had I gone in to the court the next morning I would've been arrested anyway just like the other two people. However this isn't up to the deputies, this is policy, albeit a very bad one since they wasted so much manpower for nothing.
Thoughts? Any main points that I should bring up to the reporter if given the chance? I'm not sure exactly what part of this that she wants to get across.
BTW, the other THR member, who I had not met in person before this, was entirely gracious with his time by spending the night at the jail posting my bond for me. I am currently working on something for him to pay him back for his time, which I am very grateful for.
I had received a traffic ticket on January 14th of this year because my registration had expired and I hadn’t realized it. I was also ticketed because I couldn’t find my insurance card, although my insurance was valid and had not lapsed. My court date was to be on February 24th at 8am. My two children had been sick in the week leading up to this and I had been feeling ill and was unable to sleep the night of the 23rd/24th and completely forgot that I was supposed to be in court that morning. As the day went on I was feeling a bitg better but still not great. I needed to go to my firearms dealer to pick up two .22 youth rifles that I had ordered for my sons for their birthdays. I went there and filled out the 4473 forms that are required for purchasing firearms. Since there was a delay in the processing time, it came time to pick my sons up from school and I left the dealership. After I had picked my children up from their school, I realized that I had absentmindedly missed my court appointment that morning, and that there was a possibility that my applications for firearm purchase would be denied if a bench-warrant had been issued. I arrived at the dealership and mentioned this to the owner who offered to let me use his phone to call the court, but by that time the court had closed. Sure enough, CBI denied my applications. I knew that I had to go in to the court the next morning and reschedule another court date which I had done 3 ½ years ago when I first moved to Colorado for a different incident (minor fender-bender). My dealer later told me that they were contacted by the sheriff's office within minutes of me leaving. I went home and met my ex-wife so that she could watch the children that night as I had a late class. I had a conversation with her that I needed to go to the courthouse in the morning to reschedule and she agreed that it shouldn’t be that big a deal to reschedule. That week there was a friend of mine from Arizona (a THR member also) who was in town for business meetings and he came over to visit at the same time my ex-wife and children were leaving. Since we are both firearms enthusiasts, he brought a few of his over for me to look at, and I had brought a few of mine out for him. We had them out on the kitchen table and counters. I had the same conversation with him about rescheduling the court date and decided that since there was a warrant issued that it would be best if I stayed home from school that night rather than be out and risk being arrested. I had written an email to my professor stating the reason why I wouldn’t be in class that night and before I hit "send" my doorbell rang. When I answered it, there were two sheriffs deputies standing there who were asking for me by name. Of course I told the truth of who I was and they then told me that I was under arrest.
I was searched and relieved of the firearm on my side and then my guest was searched and he was ran through the system as well. During this process, unaware to me, one deputy searched my home and noticed the firearms that we had out and suggested to the other deputy that they confiscate them. He also mentioned that he should confiscate my guest’s concealed carry permit. The other deputy declined to do either and took me to jail, allowing my friend to follow us to the jail with my bond money that I had handed to him before leaving. This deputy was actually nice enough to stop and wait about five minutes for my friend when he got lost behind us due to traffic. I will say at this point that when the deputy disarmed me, all he did was take the entire holster/gun and set it down on the mail table next to the front door without trying to unload/safe it. He allowed me to take money and other items out of my pocket before he searched me so that it didn't have to go through the system with me and risk getting lost.
My CCpermit was also ran to make sure that it was valid. On the way to the jail I asked the deputy if it would be revoked and he said No, but that the other deputy had called in to see if they're supposed to confiscate it or not. During the processing at the jail, they did confiscate it. Luckily, my friend got me out after only being there half the night. The next morning I called the cc permit section of the sheriff's office to find out if they were supposed to take my permit. Initially the woman said that it shouldn't have been taken for traffic violations but she put me on hold and asked a supervisor, and when she came back she told me that after my court date to bring in the paperwork and they would reinstate it, assuming that I had taken care of things. Later the next week the same lady calls me out of the blue and tells me that she spoke with their legal advisor about my situation and he stated that a traffic violation is not justification for revocation, and she told me that she had already printed out another card and reinstated my permit and that I could come down and pick it up.
So I go to court about a week after getting my permit back and while I was waiting to speak with the ADA, two different people (at different times) came in to reschedule their court date that they had missed just the day before. Instead of letting them wait in line or rescheduling, they had sheriffs deputies come in and arrest them and taken to jail. This is traffic court and these other people were confused as to why they were being arrested since they didn’t have any kind of criminal record. One of the people was a woman who missed her court date because her flight from back east was cancelled and wasn’t able to make it on time. When I finally got to speak with the ADA, I provided my proof on insurance and registration and he dismissed the charges. While I was waiting for him to do this, another ADA came in and I asked her why people who were showing up to reschedule were being arrested and she looked at me like I had just kicked her cat. “Why wouldn’t we arrest them?” was her reply. I wasn’t about to argue with someone who thinks that this type of action is logical. Since she believes in the people’s right to a fair trial
rolleyes, she mentioned in a very sarcastic tone that “I can’t believe this person wants to have a jury trial for a speeding ticket! What do I do?” The ADA who was dealing with me told her to just dismiss it and that it isn’t worth the trouble. Her response was “Are you kidding”? She actually made a trial date instead of dismissing it. My charges were dismissed completely.
I have since sent an email to the local Fox news channel and this past friday, (4-3-09) I was called by one of the reporters who wants to do the story. She verified some information with me, like the fact that I have never had anything other than a traffic ticket. She told me that she was next going to contact the sheriff's office to find out why they are arresting people for traffic violations when they were just complaining about lack of budget/manpower and that they had to lay-off 20-something employees. She's supposed to get back with me later this week possibly for an interview.
My main two things are this:
The deputy who wanted to confiscate all of our firearms.
Taking my permit for a non-moving traffic violation.
I don't agree with showing up at my home and arresting me within hours of missing traffic court since there was a bench warrant issued. I think they jumped the gun showing up to arrest me that soon, but had I gone in to the court the next morning I would've been arrested anyway just like the other two people. However this isn't up to the deputies, this is policy, albeit a very bad one since they wasted so much manpower for nothing.
Thoughts? Any main points that I should bring up to the reporter if given the chance? I'm not sure exactly what part of this that she wants to get across.
BTW, the other THR member, who I had not met in person before this, was entirely gracious with his time by spending the night at the jail posting my bond for me. I am currently working on something for him to pay him back for his time, which I am very grateful for.
