Maryland "storm-troopers" harass innocent gun owner

[Brian R. VanCise]

This is interesting and definitely a news story that we need to follow and keep an eye out for.

 

[Grenadier]

Fascism at its finest.

Where's the ACLU when stuff like this happens?

The ACLU doesn't support the Second Amendment. They call it "being neutral."

 

[sgtmac_46]

I wonder when people are going to realize that "just doin' their job" just do happens to violate our Constitutional Rights? This is bad...and I can see it getting worse. What would it be like to be one of those jackboots barging into a private citizen's door? I seriously wonder what they are thinking and whether or not they even understand the Constitution?

I'm a cop......and I would REFUSE that order!

 

[sgtmac_46]

The ACLU doesn't support the Second Amendment. They call it "being neutral."

It's more accurately called BEING LEFTISTs!

 

[sgtmac_46]

ACLU is ironically, Anti gun.

I don't understand it either.

That's because the ACLU was founded as a COMMUNIST organization not a LIBERTY organization.......ACLU is a misnomer.

 

[chinto]

Thats quite an assumption without hearing the LE side of the story.

If they have no good reason then pass judgement as you will and I may very well agree with you... being Pro-2nd Amendment myself.

i have no idea what the laws in MD are.. in my state, they would be on very very thin ice at least. but then the west and the east are very different in that respect... in my state, with out a warrant and asked to leave, they refuse, its a felony of armed trespass. hell in my case ... turn up in a suit or a uniform and ask civil questions you might get an answer..

turn up as the GASTOPO and all i want is you gone and my lawyer to see how much hurt can be put on you. ( this is of course going on the information given.)

hell I cant imagine a swat team going in and knocking on a door.. that is just not what you have paramilitary cops for.. they are for the really nasty meth lab types and such that are most likely to open fire on the cops as any thing! so they turn up its usually with a rush and a ram and screaming "POLICE SEARCH WARRANT!!" as they punch the door off the hinges with a ram or a 12 bore shot gun ... ... but stranger things have happened... I hate to say it but I have seen cops get very "us against the world " you are not a cop you must be a crook kind of mentality is far to common, even in rural arias ...

 

[Archangel M]

Id like to read that law..most trespass charges are misdemeanors except under specific circumstances and most states have exemptions for LE in the course of their duties.

I dont think these guys were SWAT in this story. Probably just a special plainclothes unit that wore external armor for protection and to ID themselves. Again I think the warrant issue plays a larger role than the OP will admit.

 

[KenpoTex]

Again I think the warrant issue plays a larger role than the OP will admit.

Does your use of the term "OP" refer to the original post, or original poster, because I provided all the information I had.

 

[Archangel M]

Sorry...I mean the guy in Md.

 

[KenpoTex]

that's what I figured...just wanted to be sure.

 

[K31]

This story was vetted by a local firearms group and it was verified.

The Maryland State Police apparently have a firearms unit that did this.

They got the purchase information from a MSP dreamed-up "voluntary" ammunition purchase logging system that they foisted upon some ammo sellers. Those sellers record the name and address of ammo purchasers and in some cases reportedly demanded to make copies of the purchasers drivers licenses. They also lied to some customers telling them that this was the law and not voluntary.

Gun registration is not mandatory in Maryland and there is no law requiring the logging of ammunition purchases nor is there a restriction on the amount of ammo one may purchase (if you are under 21 you may not purchase "pistol" ammo [don't bother to point it out to me, I know how stupid that is]) or any law against buying ammo for firearms you do not own.

Interestingly the MSP is currently under investigation for violating the civil rights of legal protesters by conducting surveillance on them for no know criminal conduct what so ever.

This report of the story omits the "victims" statement that the Trooper who questioned him (none offered their names) left saying that he was sorry that he "harassed" him [the victim].

 

[celtic_crippler]

I'm sure there were members of the Gestapo that were sorry they had to harrass a citizen or two.

You know...they gotta family ta' feed and bills ta' pay too. :uhyeah:

 

[Archangel M]

Im shure that something did happen. What im skeptical about are the details. Like I said upthread, my "more to this story" radar is alerting. Ive seen people complain about the jackbooted, nothing better to do, my rights were violated.....etc when all that happened was that they were issued a speeding ticket and the officer dared to ask where the driver was coming from or going to. If this story is EXACTLY as described I would say that there is something to make an issue over. I just think theres more than the "ammo purchase" going on here.

Im also wondering if this is the first and only person this happened to, and if not why we are not hearing more stories of this type.

 

[KenpoTex]

K31, thanks for the update.

 

[K31]

Im also wondering if this is the first and only person this happened to, and if not why we are not hearing more stories of this type.

I'm not. I think it's abundantly clear when you have 6-7 of your state police show up at your door at midnight in SWAT gear to ask you questions about a legal purchase that you are going to think twice about going public about it and risk more police visits. Maryland is a liberal Democrat state and the politicians are decidedly anti-personal firearms ownership. One former state attorney general went so far as to state that no citizens "needed" firearms. With leadership like this I don't doubt this story. It was also verified to the firearms group I mentioned by a LEO who identified the MSP unit.

 

[Ninjamom]

Thanks, K31. I have searched all the local news sources (I live near where this occurred), and have found no media reports of it at all.

 

[Archangel M]

Sorry I dont buy that. People will *****, even if its an annonymous net story. Hell people make a big stink over even routine police contacts! But I do know about Md ******** firearms laws, I have family that lives there. Im not saying this didnt happen, but having some experience in this field i know that there is always more to a story than one persons viewpoint. And no offense to any State officers intended (its usually the fault of the upper ranks in the SP and the state politicians), but it always seems like its the SP's that are involved in crap like this.

 

[Archangel M]

Im of the very strong opinion that the brothers bench warrant and his listing this guys house as his address is at the root of this whole story. Its usually the little detail that is mentioned briefly and rushed past that is the lynch pin in most statements.

 

[Jimi]

If the law was concerned about the brother in a home that their research can put guns and ammo at (May be they thought the brother was a potential voilent firearms threat), they could have addressed the brother issue right away, not dance around the ammo purchase issue. If the law was there for the brother but he was already in custody some where else, you would figure with the advanced communication technologies, it would not be easy to knock on someones door near midnight without knowing the PERP was already gotten. The law making such an inquiry with so many officers they had to let someone at HQ know what they were gonna look into. There is always another side to the story, but my concern is why would the law concerned over ammo purchases come to your home that late at night like a tactical team. From the one persons point of view, the law showed up ready to take someone into custody. Didn't another poster say that Maryland had no laws against the purchase of ammo and yet the law came to this guys door for no real wrong doing. JMHO.

 

[Archangel M]

The Law doent need "wrongdoing" to come to your door. Anybody and everybody can come ring your doorbell, thats why its there. They knocked and were allowed in, what seems to be the issue here is the time, number of officers and the fact that they were wearing external vests.

And do we honestly know what the sequence of the conversation here was?

Im telling you, the cops are not going to show up like that solely based on the fact that you purchased some ammo. Theres more here. Whats odd is that all I can dig up on the net is that original post. Its everywhere, but thats all thats out there. No follow up of any sort that I can find. Just another oddity.

Again. Im not saying that there hasnt been some ****ed up stuff coming out of Md lately.