(CO) Man suing police to get his guns returned

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Respectfully, rpetersen sounds like either a Moonbat or a Troll.

He's been "going after" Loveland PD corruption for nearly 17 years and when "The Empire strikes back" it takes him several years to file a suit. I'm still waiting to hear when an attorney's even been involved at all.

rpetersen: You may be the real deal here, but I'm afraid you should have employed an attorney and gotten the courts involved a long time ago.
 
Mr. Peterson,

There is allot of missing information here, and the herald's website has no information about this case.

It would be vital to those interested in determining if this is a legitimate situation facing a fellow gun owner.

If you could answer the following questions it would help.:

What was the reason for entering your residence in the first place?
Your assumption of why, as well as their statement as to why.

Have you ever sought legal counsel?

What does your statement about pursuing corruption since 1991 have to do with this case? Where you stirring up trouble and you feel the confiscation of your property was in retaliation for said investigations?

Without divulging any private information that you would feel uncomfortable with, do you have any prior charges or convictions that would influence this case?

As to your question of "What is a troll?"
Simply put it is a person who engages in antagonizing for the pure sport of it. One who says controversial things on an internet forum in order to get a rise out of others, for a more detailed explanation here is the wiki entry on it.
Troll

In other words the person who accused you of being one, or suspected you to be one, thinks your story is BS and your posts are simply an elaborate way to get a rise out of the members of this community.
Don't take it personal if you are not one, and are simply a person with a complicated situation and obviously somewhat internet illiterate.

However with all due respect, until you can answer some of the aforementioned questions, I think most here will take your story with a grain of salt.
 
thanks for your serious interest

At this point nobody is able to say why the police were in the residence.

The simplest explanation through the evidence is almost always the truth. If the Loveland Police were in the residence for a legitimate reason and had a lawful reason to take my guns then Lovleand City Attorney John Duval would have stated that in Dickman's article. If Rick Brent had a legitimate reason to take possession of my property he would not have lied to LPD Officer Steve Friedle.

I have contacted a number of attorneys and I am simply not able to pay the high retainer or hourly fees they demand. I find it interesting that nobody, after seeing my evidence, has denied that a serious crime has been committed, yet they are unwilling to represent me without money up front.

It could be that as attorneys who are familiar with the legal system in Larimer County they best understand the hurdles they face.

To answer your question about stirring things up. It is every citizen's obligation to speak truth to authority. By doing so does not give that authority license to deprive that citizen of his lawful rights and of his property.

The evidence I have accumulated over the years was reviewed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and determined to be a record of criminal activity. If the police, district attorneys and judges feel I have "stirred things up" by documenting their unlawful activities they are the ones with the moral deficit.

I have never been convicted of a crime or traffic offense.
 
Last edited:
rpetersen said:
I have contacted a number of attorneys and I am simply not able to pay the high retainer or hourly fees they demand.

So what have you done wrong in your life to not be able to afford a lawyer?

rpetersen said:
I find it interesting that nobody, after seeing my evidence, has denied that a serious crime has been committed, yet they are unwilling to represent me without money up front.

Um, competent lawyers have enough business from clients (individuals or organizations) that pay up front that they don't have to take contingency business. They're professionals, not social welfare agencies. (In fact, I'd be worried about a lawyer that *would* take your case on contingency!)

[Typical midnight TV ad car accident/injury lawyers are a different breed and their contingency biz is predicated on early expeditious 'blowoff' payouts by insurance cos without going thru court, along with receiving a few large payouts periodically.]

Going after gov't bureucracy takes time/staff/money - and they can work on the taxpayer dollar; the resources are unbalanced.

Also, they may not have felt you were a very appealing client for any of a variety of reasons, not just guns - there appears to remain much unwritten about your story which might well be adding 'color' to the case.

You may have better results suing your apt manager since he's (forgot the details) apparently the one letting the cops in without a warrant or exigent circumstances.



Bill Wiese
San Jose CA
 
So what have you done wrong in your life to not be able to afford a lawyer?

Not to take sides here, buy why does someone have to have done something wrong if they can't afford an attorney? I've done nothing wrong except not saving enough during my lifetime due to a wide variety of factors that life has thrown at me and I couldn't really afford an attorney, at least not easily nor without a loan.

Some people have just led lives that haven't put a lot of cash into their reserves. Others have had things happen to exhaust their reserves which were functionally beyond their control to prevent happening. The assumption of wrong-doing doesn't feel right, or to put it in site specific terms it doesn't sound too high road in assumptions.

No flame, just an observation. Not everyone can afford an attorney. As to the party this thread is about, I have no knowledge of his background or situation beyond what I've read here, but I agree that there appears to possibly be more to the story.

I'll side-step out of this horse pasture now before I put my foot into something.
 
I have true copies of documents to post

I have true copies of documents to post and I have tried all of the suggested methods to post them. However each time I paste or copy to the reply section of this site it goes "off line" and I have to log back in without the documents being posted.

I appreciate some peoples concern about this story. The truth is contained in the documents and I would appreciate any assistance in getting them posted.

With regard to the reason for the police entering the residence and to once again clarify the events as documented in police reports. Detective Tom Vermilye reported that Rick Brent had approached him and requested that Vermily act as his witness while Brent was in the residence because Brent did not want to be accused of doing anthing wrong while he was inside.

At that time I owned three rifles and five pistols. The police are able to account for only two rifles and two pistols. In addition 60 boxes of ammunition are missing.

Detective Vermilye and Rick Brent have both been caught making false statements in police reports. Brent is now complaining that he and I had a good relationship until the police got involved.

Rather than investigate the crime Vermilye and others have spent their time and resources hatching schemes to have me arrested for pursuing this issue.

If any of you have issues about my character I invite you to post your evidence.
 
Not enough information to make a good conclusion. However, as stated, looks like the landlord and cops have some explaining to do.
 
rpeterson said:
To answer your question about stirring things up. It is every citizen's obligation to speak truth to authority. By doing so does not give that authority license to deprive that citizen of his lawful rights and of his property.
I concur wholeheartedly.

The evidence I have accumulated over the years was reviewed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and determined to be a record of criminal activity.
Has the CBI begun a case to investigate your findings? Or did they simply agree with you and then ignore the findings?

I have true copies of documents to post and I have tried all of the suggested methods to post them.
P.M. me I'd be happy to convert them to a smaller file size like .jpg for you and post them to the group.

With regard to the reason for the police entering the residence and to once again clarify the events as documented in police reports. Detective Tom Vermilye reported that Rick Brent had approached him and requested that Vermily act as his witness while Brent was in the residence because Brent did not want to be accused of doing anthing wrong while he was inside.
I think the reason the Det. was there is sufficiently established. Has Brent stated any reason as to why he chose to enter the apartment?
I know a landlord has the right to enter his property, typically with prior notification to the renter, but there is usually a specific reason.
Such as a specific 3rd party complaint, maintenance / repairs, or regular scheduled observations of condition.
Or, to the best of your knowledge did he just decide he wanted to enter your residence without giving you notice. Which in many areas is illegal even though he owns the property, such an entrance would require prior notice to you the renter. But I'm not familiar with CO specific laws.

f any of you have issues about my character I invite you to post your evidence.
At this point nothing specific, I think it was important to ask. Since prior actions can come to bear on such a situation regardless of their viability as legal evidence.
 
Don't answer the questions on here Mr. Petersen. I'm not your lawyer, but I'm darn sure your lawyer would be pissing in his briefs (pun intended) right now if he knew you were givin the goods over on the net.

(Edit) - oh, I see you don't have a lawyer...
 
Mr. Petersen it may have already been suggested to you but I will say. If you can put together enough money to join the NRA. They may be able to suggest a plan of action for you to get relief and justice. Barring that I do not see a positive outcome for you in this matter. Even though you have been harmed financially and emotionally by these events. Not knowing your circumstances as to ability to work for wages etc... I would suggest a second job to earn enough money to pay up front for a lawyer or to replace the firearms lost. This will most likely be your quickest route to a completion of this matter.

Although I think from your OP that at this point you are past the point of reasonable council on this matter.

I sincerely wish for you to regain your property and that justice be served in your favor.
 
Um, I'd rather drive (unarmed) into a really bad part of South Tucson at night before I'd open any file (attachment) sent in this matter.
(KnowWhatI'mSaying?)
That's what spare systems lying around are for. I have no fear of any viral file, just as I have no fear of carrying in condition 1. It has everything to do with prior preparation and education.

That said just because an individual can buy a scanner hook it up and scan pages doesn't mean they have any idea how to convert a .tiff to .jpg... even though it's pretty simple and yes with a little reading anyone could perform the action.

I seriously doubt rpeterson and his story is one elaborate concoction just to get one person on the board to accept a viral file in the form of an attached .tiff image.


As for the man's problems, I agree he may not have handled it to the best of someone else's high standards of legalese. And there is allot of information that seems to be lacking here.
But I'm kind of surprised as to all the negative reactions to the mans plight and plea for knowledge.

That said, I have to second the recommendation to contact the NRA and see what kind of legal help they can provide.

At some point you are going to have to weigh the financial losses to the legal costs. Regardless of the injustice.

And if anything this should be a major lesson to us all. Spotlighting the importance of securing our possessions in our homes, as renters or bank borrowers.
 
The veracity of the claims made by the OP are of course subject to personal belief. However I find his story, while not provable to be at least plausible.
We have all read and seen media reports in enough volume from enough locales to show that LEO in many instances act as if they have no accountability.

The reason they act this way is in part due to the monetarily driven nature of the American legal system ( which in reality has nothing to do with justice).
LEO, petty beaurocrats and other governmental leeches know that they have essentially infinite resources. They know that anyone they choose to target for "special attention" would have a minimal at best chance at being able to
match their monetary resources in a protracted court battle. They count on this fact, they use it to bully people into giving up their rights and copping pleas to lesser charges all the time.

This scenario will never change and indeed will likely grow worse as time passes. Unless and until civil servants like LEO, councilman, judges etc are held civilly financially liable for their willfull acts that violate citizens rights without benefit of taxpayer dollars to bail them out I see no changes to the current modus operandi.
 
Lot of people seem to be confused on the timeline here:
May 2004: This incident happened.
October 2005: Lawsuit article is posted on THR and this thread is born, thread dies within the month.
December 2007: rpetersen brings the thread back to life, I am guessing after googling his own name and finding THR for the first time.
 
copies of reports and documents

First to answer the question about Rick Brent's reason to enter the residence. He wanted to check the condition of the property.

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These documents were converted from image files to text files using OCR software. When I posted them here their format was changed and any handwritten notations did not transfer.

Lt Rob McDaniel's memo to Chief Wagoner concerning the accuracy of information in their reports. The concern was the names and identity information listed on the reports.


Memorandum
To: Chief Tom Wagoner
From: Lieutenant Rob McDaniel
Date: November 5, 2004
Re: Richard Petersen, concern review 04-40
I have addressed Mr. Petersen via the email that was sent today, in which I told him that I do not have any other action to take that could assist him regarding the April 15, 2004 incident. I also reviewed the Info Center listing on Mr. Petersen to look at the two names listed to see if they were the same person. Mr. Petersen had previously stated that he felt that we had given him the offense report of a case that was for a victim named Richard Earl Peterson. The former person, I believe, is Richard Neil Petersen. In Info Center there were two different dates of birth as well.
I met with Dee Ann Beaman from Records to confirm what we have for accurate records. She and I felt that both of these data entries were probably on the same person. That is why that the records had been merged into the same data listing. I checked CCIC for driver's license information. I discovered that both names had dates of birth listed the same, 11/08/53.
Richard Petersen was given copies of offense reports 04-3071 and 04-3415 on October 12,2004 through the regular records release process. Each case had been listed to different names, but both with the same date of birth.

I think that we acted properly in the records release and in meeting Mr. Petersen's requests. I would like you to note this and return this to the original complaint file. Thank you.
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Tom Vermilye's memo to "Police Department" and his effort to have me arrested for "going public" with information about the missing guns and the false reports related to the theft.


Kim Pals
From: Tom Vermilye
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 3:16 PM
To: Police Department
Cc: Karen Stevens
Subject: Richard Petersen "Notices"
Recently several people have contacted me regarding the "Notice" that Richard Petersen has been distributing throughout our fair city. The Notice makes references to the Chief retiring and Rick Brent and I being involved in alleged illegal activity.
Joe Berdin is in the process of compiling information about the situation and once complete, he plans to present a Criminal Libel case to the DA's office.
I have included information from Gary Patzer in my written statement; however, I know there are more of you who have heard of or actually received these notices. Would you please forward your information to Joe Berdin as to where you found the notices or what area of the city they were being distributed. Word has it that Petersen made 1000 copies.
Thanks and if you have any questions, you know where to find me.
Tom Vermilye
Ext. 2253

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Police Incident Report handled by LPD Captain Hecker. His response was to tell me he would not talk with me about their reports or allow me to file additional reports.

01 Police Agency Incident Report
Date_Time Performed By Comment Type Comment
05/12/2005 0848:53 JG Response HANDLED BY CAPT HECKER
Response Alarms ...
Date Time Alarm Number Performed By
User Time Stamps ...
*TimeStamp Description Time Performed By

Audit...
Date_Time Reason Request Comment Disposition Requested By Performed By
User Data ...
Field Description Field Data
Disposi tions ...
Disposition Time Set PerformedBy
Handled by Officer 05/12/2005 084925 Gordon, Jodi
V31
Date: 1/26/2007 Time: 10:24:03 Operator: J MG Program: Edittvlzr.exe Incident Number: 2005-00023170

Page 1 of 1

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Memo from LPD Officer Frank Ryan to "Police Department" about serving me with Trespass Notices.


Kim Pals
From: Frank Ryan
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 20052:27 PM
To: Police Department
Cc: Don Williams; John Duval
SUbject: Richard Petersen Trespass Notices--Case 05-4648
Today Richard Petersen, 110853, was served three trespass notices under this case number. The locations covered are:
1. Reporter Herald, 201 E. 5th St.
2. Law Offices of Jack Weatherill, 1351 N. Lincoln
3. City of Loveland buildings (both bulldinqs), 500 E. 3rd
In conjunction with the City of Loveland trespass notice, a letter from Don Williams was given to Petersen in which he was notified he was not allowed at 500 E 3rd without prior written approval from the City Attorney. Petersen was also advised that, if he violated this notification, he would be charged with Unlawful Conduct On Public Property, CRS 18-9-117.
At this time the Police & Courts Building is not included as "off limits". Copies of all notices and Den's letter are in Dispatch.
Mr. Petersen refused to sign any of the Notices but was, in fact, served and the consequences of violation were explained to him. Needless to say, he disagrees with the actions taken by the PD and City.
If Mr. Petersen violates any of these notices, please take enforcement action.
01/26/2007

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Memo from LPD Officer Ray Miller to Luke Hecker and others suggesting that the City Attorney consider adding the Police Department to his list of no trespass locations.


Kim Pals
From: Ray Miller
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 7:40 AM
To: Luke Hecker; Bob Klinger; Tim Brown; Leslie Young; John Manago; Rob McDaniel
Subject: RE: Petersen
Luke,
I would maybe just ask John if he could add the Police Dept. address to his letter also.
Ray Miller
Information Services Division Loveland Police Department 81 O~. 10th St.
Loveland, CO 80537 (970)962-2213 [email protected]
From: Luke Hecker
sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 13:52
To: Ray Miller; Bob Klinger; Tim Brown; Leslie Young; John Manago; Rob McDaniel Subject: FW: Petersen
FYI.

From: John Duval
sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 10:58 To: '[email protected]'
Cc: Don Williams; Karen Stevens; Luke Hecker Subject: FW: Petersen
Cliff,
This morning I left you a voicemail about the problems we are having with a citizen named Richard Petersen coming to the City's offices. Attached is the letter I explained in my voicemail that I would like to provide to Mr. Petersen giving him notice that he cannot enter the City's two buildings at 500 East Third Street without making prior arrangements through the City Attorney's Office. I would like to send him this letter on the assumption that it would form the basis to charge and arrest Mr. Petersen for "unlawful conduct on public property" under CRS Section 18-9-117 if he enters one of the City's buildings without getting the prior permission required in the letter. But, before I sent Mr. Petersen this letter, I wanted to run this by you to see if you think this would even be a prosecutable offense through you office? Thanks for your help on this.
John Duval
962-2541
01/26/2007

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LPD Report detailing the handling of my attempt to file complaints about the numerous false statements made by Vermilye and Brent.

01 Police Agency Incident Report
Comments ...
Date_Time Performed By Comment Type Comment
07/12/2005 14:46:37 Automatic by System Response (Premise] pd - guard station number is 679-4480
07/12/2005 14:47: 19 MS Response COMPL IS IN THE LOBBY WITH NUMEROUS REPORTS IN HAND CLAIMING INCONSISTENCIES
07/12/2005 14:50:07 KL Response a41 has some paper work to serve on him
07/12/2005 14:50 11 KL Response v16 paged
07/12/2005 14:52:35 KL Response will serve it when the capt has been contacted
07/12/2005 14:52:35 KL Response per v16 send a sgt out
07/12/2005 14:54:18 KL Response need to tell him we are not talking with him about our reports and if he wants to sue us go a head. and if he doesn't leave we will
arrest him for trespassing
Response Alarms, ..
Date Time Alarm Number Performed By
User Time Stamps …
TimeStamp Description Time Performed By

rrne amp escription une
Audit...
Date_Time Reason Request Comment Disposition Requested By Performed By
User Data ...
Field Description Field Data
Dispositions .. ,
Disposition Time Set PerformedBy
Handled by Officer 07/12/2005 15:26:06 Lindschrnidt, Kalie
A41
S1O
Date: 1/26/2007 Time: 10:24:47 Operator: JMG Program: EditMgr.exe Incident Number: 2005-00036386 Page: 3

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LPD Officer Steve Friedle's report about Brent's confirmation that his written statement to Friedle was false. In that statement, which Brent claimed was prepared with the assistance of his attorney, explained how his sister and brother-in-law gained possession of property I had reported as stolen.

Activity Number: Loveland Police Department
OR 2004-008880/2
On Tuesday, 072605, an e-mail was sent to me by RICHARD PETERSEN stating that information in my report I had completed at an earlier time was not correct. PETERSEN stated he has never lived at 222 Acacia Drive as recorded in my supplemental report dated 011705. PETERSEN also stated that the location that I mention in my report of Nickel and Boise is incorrect and the actual location of where the storage unit was 11 th Street and Boise.
PETERSEN also stated the list of items in my original report is incomplete and does not list all of the stolen property or its total value. In my original report dated 110804, PETERSEN gave me a list of items that he believed were missing. PETERSEN told me there were still several boxes left in the storage shed that he had not gone through.
I told PETERSEN I would be listing the items he had placed an asterisk by as being confirmed as stolen. He told me that would be fine and he would get back with me regarding the other items. Therefore, the items that are listed in my original report would not match that of the list that PETERSEN gave to me. As such, there is no need in including those items in the report since his list is attached with the case file as being an all inclusive list. Furthermore, this case was reviewed with the Larimer County District Attorney's Office Deputy District Attorney Renee Doak and she declined to file this case as a criminal case. She said it was civil in nature.
In regards to the supplemental report that stated PETERSEN lived at 222 Acacia Drive, this information came from a written statement that was given to me by RICK BRENT. In RICK BRENT'S statement on the second line it stated "MR PETERSEN lived in our rental property located at 222 Acacia Drive, Loveland, Colorado."
On Monday, 072505, I left a voice mail message on BRENT'S cell phone and home phone asking him to call me regarding the e-mail that PETERSEN had sent to me. When I returned to work on Saturday, 073005, I had a voice mail from BRENT, who stated PETERSEN did not ever live at 222 Acacia Drive. This is in conflict with the written statement that BRENT had given to me on 122304. Furthermore, any discrepancies that PETERSEN or BRENT may have with my reports would be solely based on the information that they gave to me, which I used as a basis to complete my reports.
On Saturday, 073005, I sent an e-mail to PETERSEN explaining to him that I did an additional supplemental report to address the issues he had with my report.
END OF NARRATIVE/jj
5/16/20072:47 PM
 
You need a lawyer, not a cheering section.

It appears you've successfully gotten yourself labeled as a nutjob by the cops and the city and now they're now in shutdown mode with you. Your going it alone has in all likelihood damaged your claim beyond all hope.

Drop the accusations, gather your paperwork and see an attorney.
 
You need a lawyer, not a cheering section.

It appears you've successfully gotten yourself labeled as a nutjob by the cops and the city and now they're now in shutdown mode with you. Your going it alone has in all likelihood damaged your claim beyond all hope.

Drop the accusations, gather your paperwork and see an attorney.

I concur.
Either seek legal counsel, or chalk up the loss as a hard lesson learned.
And make sure your experience goes to further the knowledge and understanding of such probable circumstances to other owners.

Sad as this advice may sound, I'd consider moving out of that city and county as well.
Start a website documenting your claims as a warning to others.

I empathize with your loss.
 
This is The High Road and we should stay on it

I am going to refer to the Milgram and Asch studies and the materials previously posted here.

What lesson should I chalk up to experience and why should I move to another city in another county? Who would benefit from this?

If you have any concerns about my character please post your evidence here.

What is a nutjob? Where and when did the Loveland Police give me that label? What was their justification for doing so?

I am not interested in cheerleaders or sympathy. I came across the posting of the October 2005 Reporter-Herald story and offered addition information to explain my refusal of the city’s money offer and my decision to file a lawsuit. Simply put the Loveland Police could not account for all of my guns and ammunition and could not give me an itemized list of the property they had in their possession. The police could not provide an adequate explanation for being in the residence and taking the property. The police and Rick Brent were caught making numerous false statements in police reports.

The evidence shows that it was the police who approached Brent. Brent was apparently coached to make his false statements and assured there would be no consequences for doing so. Loveland City Manager Don Williams and City Attorney John Duval knew Brent was lying and instead of holding him accountable they threatened to have me arrested for exposing Brent’s unlawful acts.

The Reporter-Herald Newspaper knew Brent and the police were lying and that Williams and Duval had evidence of that unlawful activity. Instead of investigating and publishing the facts the newspaper’s Editor and General Manager, Bob Rummel, threatened to have me arrested.

When I first went to the Reporter-Herald in late February 2005 I met Christine Kapperman the newspaper’s Managing Editor and Pamela Dickman’s boss. At the end of our meeting Kapperman asked me if the police knew were I lived and I told her I was sure they did. She advised me to be careful because the Loveland Police liked to retaliate. I met with Pamela Dickman for the first time on March 3, 2005. I made audio recordings of both of those meetings.

I have posted copies of a March 2, 2005 email from LPD Captain Bob Klinger and an April 27, 2005 Reporter-Herald column by former Loveland Police Chief tom Wagoner.

Tom Wagoner abruptly announced his resignation on April 12, 2005. He did so because he could not afford another police scandal on his watch. Captain Davison committed suicide as a result of the LPD’s involvement in a prostitution sting in which the police actually ended up as clients of the prostitutes.

There is no better medicine for corruption than exposure to bright light.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Captain Kilinger's March 2, 2005 email.

Page 1 of 1
msn Hotmail

[email protected]
Printed: Wednesday, March 2, 2005 9:08 AM
From: Bob Klinger <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 2, 2005 8:42 AM
To: < [email protected]>

Mr. Petersen, I am not sure why you insist on this line of thought. But let me try and clear this up for the last time. YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY WEAPONS THAT ARE MISSING FROM OUR EVIDENCE AND PROPERTY ROOM. WE DO NOT HAVE AND NEVER HAD AND NEVER LOCATED ANY WEAPONS ABOVE AND BEYOND THOSE PRESENTLY IN OUR EVIDENCE AND PROPERTY ROOM. ANY WEAPONS BEYOND THOSE LISTED AS REMOVED FROM YOUR RESIDENCE IN MAY OF 2005.

I took a stolen report from you with the understanding that you understood that we do not now and never had these weapons. If are going to continue with the thought process that somehow the Loveland Police Department is responsible for weapons missing from your residence then I cannot see any reason to continue working with you on the alleged theft.

Please ask the gun shops to send receipts or some other proof of purchase so I can know that you actually purchased the weapons in question. Then and only then willi have them entered as stolen. Without such a record, I have no proof that you ever actually owned them.

Again, you need to quit insisting that we have the weapons or that we had them and they are missing from our evidence and property room. WE NEVER HAD THEM IN OUR POSSESSION. PLEASE PROVIDE PROOF THAT YOU EVER OWNED THEM AND I WILL HAVE THEM ENTERED IN CCIC/NCIC AS STOLEN.

Bob Klinger
Captain, Services Division Loveland Police Department

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 27, 2005 Reporter-Herald Column by Tom Wagoner

It's been a privilege and honor to serve you.

Tom Wagoner Behind the Badge.

"Always leave while they'll still miss you," he said.

The words of my mentor have come to me many times throughout my career as I have contemplated a career change on any number of bad days.

It's probably too late to meet the deadline he told me about, but it is true I'm leaving.

That decision didn't come without a lot of mind wrestling, deep discussion with my wife and prayer. I know that I've been very blessed here, and my life is part of a long ago arranged plan. I don't want to get out of that plan, and so my decision didn't come quickly.

It has been both a privilege and honor to serve as your police chief for the last 16 1/2 years. When I look back, I realize how fast it went. When I was going through some of it, it seemed to crawl. But so it is with time.

I came here a still somewhat naive, 36-year-old when the city had 37,000 residents. My hair is still mostly brown, but the mustache has turned white. I'll turn 53 five days after my last day here, and the city has almost doubled in size, to almost 62,000 people.

There are kids graduating from high school next month who never remember having another police chief.

It's long enough.

I'm filled with thanks, relief and anxiety. This move is a step of faith for us. We're leaving almost 30 years of steady, regular paychecks and good benefits. We're going to a private business that has never supported itself. It has irregular, nonguaranteed income and selfpaid, overpriced health insurance.

Oh, I won't have the late night phone calls to fatal accidents or have to sit across from an officer and terminate them because they didn't honor our values. I won't sit in a stuffy City Council chamber until midnight listening to the presentation on the next new housing development, or have to get up early to speak at a service club at a 6: 30 a.m. breakfast and try to make it interesting. I won't miss the phone calls at home from people wanting legal advice or the calls from reporters wanting a quote for a story.

But in those rote activities, there comes a comfortableness that embraces you and makes you feel both secure and appreciated.

They say that men, in particular, identify themselves by their job. I admit it's kind of nice to walk into a restaurant and be able to greet half a dozen different friends who call you "Tom" or "Chief." It's nice to be introduced at a fundraising dinner, or to tell some jokes as you emcee the next community dinner.

But these things also tire you, and as I described for some fellow chiefs who already knew what I was talking about, for the first several years these activities are exciting. Then they become comfortable. After that they are tiring, and finally they start to be draining.

I'm somewhat past "draining" on a lot of the annual events.

In 1996, after my good friend, Capt. Dave Davison, died, I took a hard look at my life. I was a member of more than 30 organizations, and I was working about 70 hours a week.

One of my other captains and best friends, Ray Miller, told me, "Chief, the difference between us is that you live to work, and I work to live."

Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

So I cut back. I dropped back to about 10 organizations, started saying "no" to some requests and still work from 50-60 hours per week.

Of course, by the time I made the life change, I was already tired, and I never got my energy
level back, despite working just as hard. I'm not complaining. That's expected from this type of job, and I had no business applying for it if I wasn't willing to pay the price.

You have been a blessing to me. Seldom does a day go by that some citizen doesn't drop me acard, call me on the phone or tell me in person that they are praying for me, or that they enjoyed the last column I wrote. That encouragement kept me going.

I was not a good student in high school, though I did well in speech class because of a teacher who believed in me. English was one of my least favorite subjects. I hated diagramming sentences, split infinitives and dangling par¬ticiples. Now stringing words together is therapy for me. And some people honor me by reading them.

I thank Bob Rummel, general manager at the Reporter-Herald, for allowing me to write this col¬umn. Bob was on a citizen committee who helped select me, and from the first month, he has allowed me to offer some meager words each month to try and keep you informed about what we do at the police department. I've written more than 200 columns here.

It has helped us.

Yesterday I went to another funeral of a friend. The familiar verses from Ecclesiastes were read by the pastor, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."

It's time. It is time to wrap things up here and move on.

I will miss parts of the job, most of the people and all of the blessings. I'll write a couple more times before I go, Lord willing, but please know I realize how fortunate I am to have served as your police chief.

Tom Wagoner is the Loveland police chief. The opinions he expresses in this column are not necessarily those of the city of Loveland, nor of the members of the Loveland Police Department.
 
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A nutjob is an individual with mental health issues.

One of the best examples of insanity is performing the same act over and over and over again in hopes that the outcome will be different each time. This is what you've been doing for 3 years now.

Bottom Line: Seek professional help. Whether it is the services of a lawyer or a psychiatrist is up to you.
 
mental health issues?

When and where did the Loveland Police and City label me as a "nutjob".

It is my understanding that the primary sign of mental illness is a distorted perception of reality.

I suggest that you go back and review the postings here and re-think your perception of the facts. I documents I have presented here were all created by the hands of the Loveland Police and the City of Loveland.

Loveland Police Chief Tom Wagoner resigned immediately after it became clear that Brent and Vermilye were lying about the stolen guns.

Assistant City Attorney Karen Stevens quit shortly after the October 2005 Reporter-Hearld news story about my suit and her gaining an understanding of the facts of the case.

Detective Tom Vermilye is no longer with the Loveland Police.

Any individual who has confronted the issues of law enforcement and judicial misconduct knows that there is a lot of political inertia to over come in their effort to expose it.

When and where did the police and city label me as a "nutjob" and what was their justification for doing so? Who benefits from label? Who is attempting to distort reality?
 
You really should stop posting on here. If you have a claim, by all means bring it in court. You won't find any resolution here. And there are few things that cause more troubles than clients who make a bunch of out of court admissions.

Side issue, but this is another excellent reason to keep your firearms locked away. A rogue cop can barge in and start grabbing stuff, but it's a lot more difficult if he has to explain a locksmiths' bill with no warrant. Also, there may be some fact issues about whether a cop had permission to enter a house. But if he busts through a lock there's not much question about permission. It's also a good reason to keep a record of your firearms, not just for insurance purposes. A digital photo of the firearm with SN and a description of it kept secure is something everyone should do.
 
Good advice twice Cosmoline.

If may add my own; "Any person that acts as their own attorney has a fool for a client and a fool for an attorney". quote from my step-dad, the attorney.
 
Open letter to Senator Ken Salazar

Dear Senator Salazar,

I would like to thank you for your prompt response to my request for assistance with this matter and I appreciate your confirmation that I have made very serious allegations. Those allegations were all supported by evidence and documents that you forwarded to Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.

As a former Colorado Attorney General you are certainly aware of the procedures of that office and its jurisdiction over such matters.

In March of 2007 I contacted your office to inquire about Mr. Suthers’ response to your request for an investigation and I was informed by your Regional Manager Betsy Markey that you had not requested that the Attorney General respond back to you.

I have made numerous attempts to contact Mr. Suthers about this matter and he does not respond.

Senator Salazar were you honest in your effort to request an investigation? Has the Attorney General initiated an investigation? If he has what is the status of that investigation? Why haven’t I been contacted over the last 12 months?

Senator Salazar are my federally protected rights worth enforcing? Is it not a violation of those rights when police officers, city managers, city attorneys, judges and their close associates take my property without due process and then knowingly lie, conceal criminal activity and threaten me with arrest for attempting to secure my rights as a citizen of the United States?

Thank you for your prompt response to this letter.

Richard Petersen



________________________________________________________________

Senator Ken Salazar's February 27, 2007 letter to me.

February 27,2007

Dear Mr. Peterson:

Thank you for writing me about alleged violations by the Larimer County District Attorney's office and the Loveland Police Department.

These are very serious allegations. Please bear in mind that the rules of the Senate do not allow me to intervene in or influence the outcome of cases that are under the jurisdiction of any court. Moreover, my office cannot intervene in matters under the jurisdiction of local or state governments.

Given the nature of your case, I have sent all the information you forwarded to me to the Colorado Attorney General's office for further investigation. This matter must be fully pursued first at the state level.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my Fort Collins office at (970) 224¬2200.
Sincerely,

Ken Salazar
United States Senator
 
Ommitted reports

The reason Mr. Peterson can only provide police reports of his choosing may be because any police reports documenting mental illness are not public information. HMMMM? Danger to self or others? Cops taking a person's guns based on safety of the community as a whole? Sounds like corruption to me. Give me a break!

Someone mentioned Peterson "ending up in Pueblo". Are you sure he's never been there? No, because those records are not public information and he's sure not going to share that kind of info. with us.

Troll? You got it!
 
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