Surprise Police Chief Piña recorded an internal message video for his police officers about a week after the arrest. In it, he defiantly and irrationally claims that there was no First Amendment violation. He also has another officer, who gained valuable experience in First Amendment (and other) violations, while working at the Phoenix Police Department, give the officers advice on how to respond to encounters with so-called First Amendment Auditors.
Here’s the first video I did on this.
Cops in Little Rock, Arkansas harass a veteran holding a cardboard sign that reads, “God Bless Our Homeless Vets.” The veteran happens to be Jeff Gray, a YouTuber and legendary First Amendment activist. Like moths to the flame….
Here’s the 8th Circuit case discussed in the video.
Rodgers v. Bryant, 942 F.3d 451 (8th Cir. 2019)
Here is Jeff Gray’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HONORYOUROATH/
The Supreme Court has made clear that “one of the most precious of the liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights” is the sacred promise to every American, enshrined in the First Amendment, that citizens enjoy the freedom to complain about their leaders. Lozman v. Riviera Beach, 585 U.S. 87, 101 (2018). But the city of Surprise, Arizona and its mayor, Skip Hall, broke that promise, arresting Plaintiff Rebekah Massie in front of her 10-year-old daughter for criticizing a public official at a city council meeting.
The complaint:
UPDATE October 24, 2024:
Surprise Police Chief Piña recorded an internal message video for his police officers about a week after the arrest. In it, he defiantly and irrationally claims that there was no First Amendment violation. He also has another officer, who gained valuable experience in First Amendment (and other) violations, while working at the Phoenix Police Department, give the officers advice on how to respond to encounters with so-called First Amendment Auditors.
Teton County Sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Hayes detained a woman and her boyfriend because they “were at a gas station an abnormal amount of time.” They were ultimately held for over 90 minutes, while a drug dog was brought to the scene, unsuccessfully searching them for drugs. The boyfriend was arrested for refusing to sit on a curb during the detention, despite the fact that no crime had even been alleged to have occurred. The video went viral locally, with many residents calling for the termination of the deputy. The sheriff acknowledged the existence of the video, but has refused to comment on the situation due to the pending (bogus) charges against the boyfriend. So basically, a couple went to the gas station, and then got harassed by some cops for no actual justified reason.
Media report here.
More raw footage found here.
In Alaska, the Anchorage Police Department shot and killed Kristopher Handy, following several 911 calls by a neighbor alleging a domestic disturbance and that Handy had a gun and was waiting for law enforcement to arrive. By the time they arrived, Handy, who had gone back inside the apartment, emerged from the apartment holding a shotgun in one hand. Officers opened fire, killing him. At their initial press conference, the APD said that Handy “raised the longarm towards the officers” prior to deadly force being used. But then neighbors produced surveillance footage showing that Handy did not actually make any movement towards raising the shotgun prior to being shot.
Here’s the raw footage showing the moment he was shot – a view not captured on the officers’ body cams, at least one of which was covered:
Here’s the full video released by the APD.
Here’s the 9th Circuit opinion in Calonge v. City of San Jose, 22-16495 (9th Cir. Jun 07, 2024) that was discussed the video:
Here’s the full video from the Colonge shooting, including Officer Carboni’s bodycam footage.
Here’s the media report on the female juvenile recently shot and killed by the APD.
Even though it’s perfectly legal to board an airline in the United States with any amount of cash, the TSA and the DEA are running a scam where they will attempt to seize that cash, even where you are not suspected of having committed any crime. Then they make you fight to regain your cash, which can take years and thousands of dollars in legal fees. The government makes a lot of money this way and it has nothing to do with investigating or fighting crime. This is rare footage of exactly how they run this scam.
This footage was provided by the Institute for Justice and was recently highlighted in a video they posted on their Youtube channel. They currently have a class action lawsuit where they are challenging this illegal practice and attempting to hold the federal government accountable for numerous egregious examples of this practice, which are detailed in their complaint. Read the full class action complaint here.
You can help fund this important litigation by donating to the Institute for Justice now:
Paul O’Brien, who lives in Grafton, West Virginia, observed a Taylor County Sheriff’s Deputy running a speed trap across the road from his residence. He posted on Facebook about it, joking that he WISHED he had an M-80 (firecracker) so that he could set it off and cause the deputy to have a heart attack. In the same post, he criticized the department for the deaths of three individuals over the years. Deputy Cody Mayle of the TCSD then paid Paul a visit at his home. He had no warrant, but rather just wanted to “talk.”
When Paul decided he didn’t want to talk with Deputy Mayle, Deputy Mayle suddenly grabbed him and arrested him. Paul spent two nights in jail. Around three months later, the frivolous charge of “obstruction” was dropped, since it was admittedly frivolous, according to the prosecutor. Paul submitted a complaint to the department, but heard nothing back.
This is Deputy Cody Mayle, who is seen on bodycam laughing as soon as Paul was thrown in the holding cell:
My last West Virginia based video coincidentally, was from Barbour County, which is only the next county over, and that deputy also has the same last name – Mayle. Here’s a link to that video. I’ll have more information soon about that situation…
This is the location of the incident:
Here’s the police report / charging document:
Here’s the dismissal order:
This video shows a very recent police interaction that occurred in Barbour County, West Virginia. It shows Barbour County Sheriff’s Deputy Christian Mayle violently pulling a man named Vince out of a car. Vince is a nurse and was on his way to the nursing home where he works. His longtime girlfriend was driving him. They were pulled over on an allegation of the car going “left of center.” The traffic stop actually ended and a warning citation was issued to the girlfriend/driver. But then, suddenly Deputy Mayle ordered both occupants out of the vehicle. When Vince questioned his authority to do so, the officer cited Pennsylvania v. Mimms and quickly lost his temper, macing Vince and pulling him violently from the car.
Days after the incident, as the video was going viral on Facebook, amidst online discussion over his conduct, Deputy Mayle posted this, presumably referring to the incident. It was later deleted.
Here’s the police report:
Fourth Circuit case law sources cited in the video:
This shocking footage was released by the Broken Arrow Police Department via their Facebook page. It shows the bodycam video of a police officer who “hates” a citizen named Richard. He really wants to arrest Richard, but all he has on him is a sketchy allegation of a parking violation. Does he just issue a citation and mail it to him, or go get an arrest warrant? No, he busts into Richard’s house illegally and violently arrests him inside his home. This is crazy footage showing one of the worst false arrests I’ve ever seen.
Here’s a screenshot of the Facebook post:
The comments are sort of hilarious though. Apparently everyone hates Richard – especially his neighbors, and they’re willing to overlook the concept of constitutional rights, just to keep Richard in jail for a little while longer.
This footage was submitted from Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, showing the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office knocking on a man’s door and then kicking his tiny dog shortly afterwards, after the dog apparently attempted to urinate on the cop’s leg. The officers knocked on the man’s door while investigating him for allegedly causing damage to a police cruiser. Without obtaining a warrant first, the officers ended up arresting the man.
As I’ve explained numerous times, according to the 1980 Supreme Court opinion in Payton v. New York, in order to legally arrest someone in a home, rather than in a public place, absent consent or exigent circumstances, police officers must have a warrant. But what about kicking the homeowner’s dog? Or shooting the dog?
As an initial matter, it is well-settled that privately owned dogs are “effects” under the Fourth Amendment, and that the shooting and killing of such a dog constitutes a “seizure.” So it’s a different legal standard that standard police shooting cases. It’s an overall reasonableness standard, recognizing that police can shoot dogs where officer safety justifies the decision.
The question is whether, at the time the officer shot the dog, he held a reasonable belief that the dog posed a threat to himself or others. If the facts are sufficient to show that such a belief was unreasonable, then the law is clearly established in most circuits that shooting a dog under those circumstances would constitute an unreasonable seizure of property under the Fourth Amendment. That’s not a great way of looking at the value of our dogs, but that’s the actual legal analysis.