WTF?! Cops confiscating legal guns from citizens?

bunny_power

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Saw this on one of the news sites this morning and thought you guys might be interested, it just blows my mind that this kind of stuff is allowed to go on. There's a bunch more about it on this site:
http://www.wisconsingunowners.org/

Oshkosh Police Conduct Door-To-Door Gun Confiscations
7-28-4

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- Following the wounding of an Oshkosh police officer Saturday night, area residents were forced from their homes, their lawful firearms being confiscated by police.

The Oshkosh Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics Unit responded to the area, with a K-9 police dog in pursuit of the perpetrator who was reported to have fled on foot.

Citizens' guns were seized through searches of area homes. The police promised to return the firearms after forensic tests proved they were not involved in the crime. The injured officer's name was withheld, but media reports indicate his condition is not life-threatening.

"The message is: Hand over your guns, now!" said Corey Graff, executive director of Wisconsin Gun Owners Inc. "This is a blatant case of guilty-until-proven-innocent and an abuse of police power."

Still, residents in the area are furious about the home invasions by police and what they see as theft of their property. Although early reports are unclear, they indicate a search warrant was issued for two homes, yet additional home owners also had firearms confiscated.

"We want the perpetrator of this crime caught and brought to justice just like everyone else," said Graff. "But that doesn't mean the police should trample citizens' 4th amendment protections, steal lawful private property and enter the home without reasonable suspicion or warrant."

One homeowner in the area said his guns were taken by police, guns that hadn't left his gun safe since last hunting season. Another victim of the police searches -- an elderly women -- reported waking up to officers' searching her home in the early morning hours.

The Oshkosh Northwestern reported, "Residents were not being allowed to return to their homes by press time."
 

2004 Culebra

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That is bull!!! I understand that a police officer was injured but that does not give them the right to go door to door basically accusing everyone of beeing involved in the crime. What happened to police work and doing some real investigating?
 

Big Vito

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if it was a civilian none of this would be done, that is what I hate about "things"
 

f_rice

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:

quote:police evacuated a six-block area, went door to door and executed a search warrant, police said. A K-9 police dog also was seen sniffing near homes.

****ll wouldn't say if anything was found, but said residents were back in their homes by 9 a.m. Sunday and streets were opened by 11:30 a.m.

****ll said police are considering the person or people involved armed and dangerous.

Merrilee Jones was housesitting when she heard gunshots, which she mistook for fireworks. Jones said Saturday that she saw someone go between two homes.

"The cops were already down here and someone snuck through," Jones said. "They were running and obviously trying to hide."




http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/d...ics/9181806.htm

http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent..._16952371.shtml

7-29-04 TYRANNY UPDATE!

Oshkosh police say 'Sorry' for trampling citizens' rights in door-to-door gun confiscations.

Oshkosh, Wis. -- In what appears to be an admission of wrong-doing by the Oshkosh Police Department, Fox 11 WLUK (Green Bay) has reported that area resident Terry Wesner was offered an apology by the department.

Police evacuated citizens from their homes within a quarantined area near Smith Elementary School Saturday night (July 17, 2004) to conduct a broad gun sweep of the neighborhood following the shooting of Oshkosh police officer Nate Gallagher.

Residents reported returning home from area shelters -- where they were herded by police -- to find their guns gone.

Others watched in awe as police took their firearms after giving police consent to search. Some were told by police their firearms would be subjected to ballistics tests, and would be returned.

"However, the bullet that hit officer Gallagher was not found," said Corey Graff, executive director of Wisconsin Gun Owners Inc. "So how can police conduct ballistics tests if there's no bullet with which to match the results? It defies logic."

Graff said the biggest issue is what he calls the department's "Guilty-until-proven-innocent" posture towards citizens.

In what appears to be a blatant knee jerk abuse of police power, the department unleashed the dogs — literally — when the Special Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT) showed up with its K-9 Unit to begin house-to-house searches.

According to media reports, the suspect fled on foot into the neighborhood, and has not been apprehended.

Warrants for searches were issued for at least two homes, (perhaps more) but homeowners in the area reported having all their firearms taken by police.

Some witnesses said the whole neighborhood was evacuated by force and citizens were being told – not asked, but told – to hand over their guns. Some weren’t even asked.

"That’s what makes me so mad," said resident Terry Wesner in an Oshkosh Northwestern report (July 20, 2004). "They had no reason [to remove firearms] without a warrant. . .I didn’t know they removed anything until my buddy, who’s staying with me, noticed they were missing. I thought you had to have a warrant to take someone’s guns." [Emphasis Added]

In a subsequent report, another resident, who worked the late night weekend shift, reported he came home to find a scene that looked like his home had been burglarized — he said personal belongings were thrown about — and his gun safe was empty.

"They didn’t even leave a note, telling me what was going on," the man said on camera.

An elderly woman said she woke up to find police — who were reported to be dressed in black, quasi-military gear — conducting a search in her home in the early morning hours.

"Did the fact that this poor senior citizen happened to live in the immediate area of the crime warrant "Reasonable Suspicion" or "Probable Cause" that she could have committed this heinous act?" asked Graff.

"Is Grandma taking pot shots out her kitchen window? Is she hiding something in the cookie jar?" He said.

In the same Oshkosh Northwestern report (July 20, 2004) Oshkosh Police Captain Jay Puestohl was reported to have, "declined to say on what grounds officers had the right to remove the firearms…"

"If officers were acting honorably and respecting property owners' rights, why not say so? Why not be upfront? Why the secrecy?" Graff said.

One resident in the neighborhood may have found himself the subject of the investigation simply by refusing to consent to a search (entirely within his rights) according to the news report.

The Oshkosh Northwestern story quoted one neighbor — who suspected homeowners who exercised their right to refuse consent to the heavy-handed searches, were presumed guilty by police — as saying:

". . .[T]hey’ve been downright rude to us. . .You don’t treat so-called civilians this way." [Emphasis Added]

The news story goes on to say that Captain Puestohl ". . .declined to say whether officers pursued the warrant because the residents refused a consent search."

This hysteria-driven Oshkosh neighborhood gun grab could establish a nightmarish precedent for a wide-open abuse of police power to be unleashed upon Badger State gun owners said WGO.

The silence from other gun rights groups on this issue is deafening.

"The institutional gun lobby is just as scared as the poor people in that Oshkosh neighborhood," Graff said. "They might be thinking, 'If I speak out, will my guns be next?'"

Wesner, one of the brave gun owners to speak out against the rash of gun confiscations that occurred after the shooting, said police confiscated his guns after entering his home without a search warrant.

He reported in a Thursday, July 22 television interview with WLUK-FOX 11, "They [the police] are not going to come in my home again [without a warrant]."

That same report stated that the police "acknowledged a lack of proper procedure [in not obtaining a warrant]."

Wisconsin Gun Owners Inc. said the most effective response for gun owners is to join and contribute to the organization's bold, no-compromise educational crusade.

:nonono:

MOLON LABE!

I saw this last night.
 

ColonelMM

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yep, complete BS.

If I woke up to a LEO walking around my house, I would probably end up shooting them thinking they were an impersonator.
 

Kurt Busch

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maybe this happened in a trailer park, in which case the police actions are justified.
At any rate when it comes to one of their own, cops are relentless to catch the criminal, and if they saw him run and disappear in the area the search of the homes is also justified.
 

Big Vito

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confiscate legally owned firearms because some idiot thought it would be a good idea to take a shortcut through your yard:??:
 

LogiWorld123

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Posted on Sun, Jul. 18, 2004



Police searching for person who shot officer in arm

Associated Press


OSHKOSH, Wis. - Police were searching Sunday for the person who shot a police officer in the arm the night before.

The officer, a 5-year veteran whose name was not released, was treated and released from a local hospital after being shot once in the right arm, Sgt. David Gomoll said.

Sgt. Matt Kroenig said the officer was backing up another officer involved in a foot chase at 10:10 p.m. when he was shot. The original call was for an underaged drinking complaint, Kroenig said.

One shot was fired, Gomoll said.

Police evacuated a six-block area, went door to door and executed a search warrant, police said. A K-9 police dog also was seen sniffing near homes.

Gomoll wouldn't say if anything was found, but said residents were back in their homes by 9 a.m. Sunday and streets were opened by 11:30 a.m.

Gomoll said police are considering the person or people involved armed and dangerous.

Merrilee Jones was housesitting when she heard gunshots, which she mistook for fireworks. Jones said Saturday that she saw someone go between two homes.

"The cops were already down here and someone snuck through," Jones said. "They were running and obviously trying to hide."


=================================================================



Oshkosh police ask neighbors to scour yards for missing bullet

Associated Press


OSHKOSH, Wis. - Investigators are asking residents of an Oshkosh neighborhood to scour their yards and property for the bullet that hit a police officer.

Officers said Wednesday that they plan to circulate fliers along several blocks in the area where Officer Nate Gallagher was shot in an unprovoked attack Saturday. They're asking people to search for metal bullet fragments or any new property damage.

"A person of interest" has been identified in the shooting, but police don't yet have enough evidence to send the case to the district attorney, Sgt. Steve Sagmeister said.

Gallagher, a 5-year veteran, was shot in the right arm while speaking to another police officer outside his squad car. Many people heard the single shot, but investigators have been unable to find anyone who saw the shooter.

Gallagher was treated and released from a local hospital Sunday.


====================================================

Suspect sought in shooting of officer
Oshkosh - Police were searching Sunday for the person who shot a police officer in the arm.

The officer, a 5-year veteran whose name was not released, was treated and released from a local hospital after being shot once in the right arm, Sgt. David Gomoll said.

Sgt. Matt Kroenig said the officer was assisting another officer involved in a foot chase at 10:10 p.m. Saturday when he was shot.

Police evacuated a six-block area, went door to door and served a search warrant, police said. A K-9 police dog also was seen sniffing near homes.

Residents were back in their homes by 9 a.m. Sunday and streets were open by 11:30 a.m.

The Associated Press






Not much else re: this event other than what
http://www.wisconsingunowners.org/ which I guess is a credible news source on the internet!
 

bunny_power

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The incredibly stupid thing is that they don't even have a bullet to do ballistic comparisons with, but they still went into all the houses and took the guns..... and nobody stopped them.

I'm cynical, but its so rediculous that it just looks like conditioning 101.
 

03Sssnake

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I hope there is huge lawsuit filed against the asshat oshkosh police dept. I am sick and tired of watching our civil rights erode. Unless something is done, they will erode even further. Thats illegal search and seizure, plain and simple. The oshkosh police F#$KED up big time. The suspect disappearing into a neighborhood does NOT give the police the right to break into homes within 6blocks. Now if the suspected had been seen entering a residence then the police would have had probable cause to enter that residence in pursuit of the suspect.
 

Kovachian

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If a cop shows up at my door and demands a search without a warrant, I'd just shut the door in his face. If he breaks in, I'd take them to court and get a nice hefty sum for the property damage. Utilizing the 4th amendment does not constitute an admission of guilt yet a few poor examples in the police force are too damned stupid to figure this out.

It's no wonder so many people hate cops. A lot of them seriously think they are gods. I know not all cops are like this, I had alot of dealings with them when I was growing up, being a skater and all. From my experience, most of them are genuinely nice people, and it was those courteous officers that I showed the utmost respect to. To the asshole cops, **** 'em.

I guess wearing a badge gives some of them grandeur delusions. I did time in the military and never once did I consider myself better than the citizens whose taxes paid my salary. Whereas they defend their neighborhoods, I defended the entire free world. Sadly, some people in the military and paramilitary alike just need to learn the boundaries of what they're allowed and not allowed to do.
 

KevinB120

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WTF is that? How can those idiots not know what KIND of gun to look for:shrug: And why anyone let them into the house in the first place is a mystery to me.
 

03Sssnake

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Originally posted by KevinB120
WTF is that? How can those idiots not know what KIND of gun to look for:shrug: And why anyone let them into the house in the first place is a mystery to me.

Many didn't just let them in, but rather they were coerced to cooperate. The police even broke into residences without asking...Disgusting abuse of power :nonono:
 

bunny_power

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Wonder if they're going claim the shooter was a terrorist and use the Patriot Act as their justification.
 

03DOHC

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Ah, the old fascism trick.

I hope they get sued for a trillion million dollars and all the cops involved go to jail for a million years, if they did do that.

They can't do that, obviously. And what's really scary is that they have been entrusted with enforcing the law with the power of the gun. Sad.
 

flyn high again

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Oshkosh bigosh. I would have been on the phone to my lawyer instantly. The Bill of Rights is not something to be trampled on by a police commander. I hope enough lawsuits are filed and possible criminal charges filed so they think twice before trying to pull something like this again.
 

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