Posted on 08/10/2013 2:10:31 PM PDT by marktwain
Derrick Washington of Cleveland, Ohio, is suing police for the return of his legally owned firearm. Washington alleges that the police seized the weapon from him illegally in a case for which he was never charged and have refused to return it since February.
Washington has filed a lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in order to get the gun returned along with tens of thousands of dollars in damages.
According to the lawsuit, Washington called the police in order to report a shooting. He later told police that he has a permit to carry a weapon. The police searched Washington’s car without his consent, seized his weapon because they believed he was a felon and threw him in jail for three days.
(snip)
"This happens all the time,'' said Kevin Jamison, another attorney. "Police know that these cases are often more expensive to take to court than the guns are worth. Most people find out how much it is going to cost to sue, and they give up. It's a really annoying habit. It provides work for me, but it is really offensive.''
I do not know of a single lawsuit that takes the above action, but I have seen lots of idiotic policies justified with some bogus claim of "liability" as cover.
Here is an example from Florida that is being taken to court by Florida Carry:
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/05/combat-veteran-sues-over-gun.html
Thieves
Cops = free guns.
Wondering how candles might be lit in this darkness.
Perhaps legal volunteers for firearm owner advocacy groups, generating forms that can ease the process of self-filing such lawsuits? They don’t necessarily have to ask for a kajillion dollars.
The NRA should provide free legal counsel for qualified owners to get back their guns, with the punitive damages going to the NRA to fund the program.
Also a possible good idea. Kind of a civil rights tax.
Ohio Ping
Cops are probably out shooting dogs and fawns with it right now.
The idiotic "logic" is that if they refuse to return firearms until they obtain a court order to do so, they will not be held liable if the firearm is thereafter used in a crime.
If that's logic, I'm a card-carrying communist. Those "police" departments need to lose lots of money in law suits. They may not understand the first thing in town about civil rights, but I'll bet they do understand money.
Where else can cops get guns to plant on bodies they have shot to death?.........
“Where else can cops get guns to plant on bodies they have shot to death?.........”
Corrupt cops would likely not use a gun with a serial number in the system. I think they are more likely to use a knife, in these days.
I think the “throw down gun” is pretty much a thing of the past. Cannot swear to it though, and some older writers actually advocated the practice in an indirect fashion.
My Brother in law had a bunch of weapons confiscated unlawfully by Chicago Police. Judge ordered them returned. They stalled, stonewalled, delayed. Finally called him to the station to get em. When he arrived, they had COMPLETELY disassembled ever weapon and chucked them in a big cardboard box.
They have already lost some money in lawsuits. Unfortunately, it is the taxpayer’s money, and some jurisdictions do not seem to care.
I don't. There was a recent story that involved several LEOs caught on their own police cam trying to frame a lady for a motor vehicle accident that they caused. They're dirty.
PIIIIIG Alert
i hope derrick gets his gun back and wins in court.
With a knife you don’t have to remember to take out some of the rounds and get the guy’s prints on them.
“With a knife you don’t have to remember to take out some of the rounds and get the guy’s prints on them.”
I believe that I read on a police forum, that you do not hae to worry about a serial number on a knife, either.
Seems to me that Washington should be suing for false arrest, false imprisonment and violation of his Forth Amendment rights.
What evidence did the police have that he was a felon. On the contrary they had evidence that he was not a felon in that he had a CCW permit.
To me getting the firearm back is secondary to the fact that the man’s rights were flouted simply because he suggested that he had a firearm.
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