Police seize legal gunowner 911 caller 'alarmed' by citizen carrying weapon

[NewGuy]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38801

Posted: June 5, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern



© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

A gunowners group is protesting the seizure of a legally armed citizen in a bookstore by two police officers who responded to an anonymous caller alarmed by the weapon.

Michael Pelletier was browsing a Manchester, N.H., Barnes & Noble with his wife March 27 when a police officer, assisted by a colleague, suddenly grabbed him by the right shoulder and his holster and pushed him toward the corner of a bookcase, says Gunowners of America.

The Manchester Police Department officers, Chris Byron and David DuPont, ordered Pelletier to place his hands on his head, which he did at once, the group said.

Pelletier was carrying a pistol openly at the small of his back, which became apparent after he took off his jacket.

The officers then disarmed Pelletier and escorted him out of the store. Background checks revealed no record, but officers and detectives issued a barrage of questions about why he carries a gun and what kind of training he had, the gun group said.

Pelletier received back his firearm then reloaded it and put it on his belt, under his shirt. He then went back to the store to complete his purchases.

The group said the police were responding to an anonymous complaint from someone "alarmed by the sight of a private citizen possessing a gun."

Pelletier's attorney has been prohibited from learning the caller's identity, citing emergency services regulations.

The gun group said: "The cops assaulted Pelletier based on this flawed complaint in spite of what their own eyes revealed to them -- a family man wearing his gun openly and legally, peaceably browsing in a store."

The police, however, claimed it was reasonable for someone to feel alarmed and threatened.

But the gun group said "the reckless behavior of the cops resulted in a violation of Pelletier's Fourth Amendment rights and defamed his character, making a spectacle out of him in public."

The police department has offered no explanation for the actions of the officers, Gunowners of America said.

An internal investigation is underway, but police have not disclosed to the public any details.

"We believe the reason for Mr. Pelletier's complaint being classified as an internal investigation is to allow the police to keep the 911 call and other pertinent information secret from Mr. Pelletier's attorney," the group says.

It notes that "as long as the investigation is categorized as 'internal,' the RSA 91-A Right to Know law is said not to apply.

"To challenge that determination and interpretation of the law would require Mr. Pelletier to file an expensive and time-consuming lawsuit," the gunowners say.

 

[lilcountriegal]

I wouldnt fault the concerned citizen for calling in the report... nor do I think it necessary to reveal who called 911. The issue here is the reckless way the police carried this out.

Those two officers should be suspended without pay.

 

[DKSuddeth]

small little baby steps at a time.

 

[OCA]

So this guy had a CWP? The cops it looks like fucked this deal up. They should've took him quietly somewhere, frisked him and then asked if he had a permit for it since he was threatening nobody. They shouldn't have roughed him up.

Also why can't this guy face his accuser? Isn't that a right?

 

[insein]

Fuck that. I don't own a gun. I don't even like guns. But its in the constitution that we have a right to BEAR ARMS. A man who legally owns his gun is being harrassed for owning his gun. Thats total Fucking Bullshit.

Im sorry nothing gets me more pissed then this. People continue to attack the Law abiding citizens who legally wait the waiting periods and go through the training to get their guns. Yet they refuse to do something about the freakin murderers and criminals who still get the guns despite these laws.

Laws are for Law abiding citizens. If people don't live by the Laws they don't give a shit if they don't have a permit for a weapon they bought from Sanchez in a back alley.

LEt me just say what has been said a 1000 times. If everyone owned a gun there would be less crime for the criminals for fear of dieing. Death is the only thing that a crook can understand. Your dead, you dead.

 

[OCA]

Does everybody here realize how many people are packing heat on their person that they come across in this country on a daily basis? Hell very rarely do I go anywhere weaponless unless its like to the mini-mart or something stupid like that. Almost all my Greek and male friends carry something.

This person who called 911 would freakout in Montana where it is still legal to carry six shooters on each hip. MONTANA IS AWESOME!

 

[5stringJeff]

Insein, I agree - the right to bear arms has done more to protect people's freedoms than the rest of the Bill of Rights combined.

And OCA, you only have the right to face an accuser if you are on trial. Now if it was me, I'd track the bastard down and beat him on on GP (general purpose). But that's just me.

The cops in this case were more wrong than two boys kissing, and should be reprimanded, if not temporarily suspended without pay.

 

[lilcountriegal]

Also why can't this guy face his accuser? Isn't that a right?

Yepper... I just dont consider the 911 caller an "accuser". It didnt say this person said "this guy has a gun and he's waving it around, blah blah"...

I guess, to a point, it would rest on what that caller said to 911 whether revealing his name is necessary. I still think it was the police that screwed the pooch on this one big time.

 

[OCA]

Well this guy did do 1 thing wrong, he should've had it concealed which is why you get a concealed weapons permit in the 1st place, i'm sure Connecticut doesn't allow you to walk around with it in the open like Montana.

Regardless the cops when they found out it was legal and instead of ROUGHING this guy up should've politely asked him to conceal it.

 

[DKSuddeth]

how do they define 'concealed' in conneticut? I know here in texas that if half the weapon is concealed, then its concealed.

 

[NewGuy]

OCA, do you realize you just made the same statement the anti-gun lobby does?

Registration for all gun owners.

Electronic leash by documentation is STILL infringement.

 

[OCA]

Originally posted by DKSuddeth
how do they define 'concealed' in conneticut? I know here in texas that if half the weapon is concealed, then its concealed.

I'm gonna look that up right now.

 

[OCA]

Originally posted by NewGuy
OCA, do you realize you just made the same statement the anti-gun lobby does?

Registration for all gun owners.

Electronic leash by documentation is STILL infringement.

I'm for registration and proving you know how to handle the damn thing for CWP only, alot of friggin retards out there who should not be allowed near a gun. As far as the cops know I don't own any shotguns and I ain't registering them no matter what anyone says. I guess it is a neccessary evil when you think about it, makes it easier to solve murder cases or track stolen weapons provided they didn't file the serial# which I think I read somewhere they are coming out with a material that will render it impossible to file down.

 

[OCA]

I couldn't find a defintion of concealed for Connecticut, this was the best I could find:

http://www.packing.org/state/index.jsp/connecticut/

 

[Gaebolg]

I carry almost everywhere I am legally allowed to and have carried for almost 10 years. I have never had a problem, once though I did get questioned by a local policeman about what kind of pistol I carry, I handed him my Ruger P89 and he handed me his .40 S&W for inspection. There are a lot of private citizens that have more experience and training with weapons than most police do. I spent seven years in the Army, infantry, and I'm as well trained as any policeman.

As far as gun control goes, I am pretty happy with what we have right now, odd incidents like this one aside.