Madison WI proclaims peaceful open carry is disorderly conduct

So, if 5 black men went into a restaurant and someone "felt uneasy" and called the cops, the black men would be arrested.

Can you say easy money?

So... the process will be the punishment!

And what if i do not wish to release possession of my firearm, during this encounter? What if i do not consent to be searched, or to have my firearms checked for ownership? We need to write this police chief, the Mayor, and the city council, and remind them, it is not legal to stop someone for simply carrying a firearm. It is actually rather illegal.

This press release would establish that any officer improperly arresting someone for "Disorderly Conduct" when openly carrying consistent with state law was acting within department policy.

How could the City escape respondeat superior liability?

The woman who called 911 told 911 the men were not creating a disturbance. The police sent eight cops there anyway, and now charged the five with disorderly. All this after the WI Attorney General specifically told police departments to stop hassling open-carry citizens. Either these eight members of the Madison police department don't know the law, or they purposely refuse to follow the law. Either way, they probably shouldn't be wearing badges.

I didn't realize that RS applied differently to governmental units, since that's not my area. However, I suppose it figures that it would. That said, it is nice to see that in this era of budget cuts, some cities still have plenty set aside for fools' errands...

All I can say is that I wish I practiced law in Wisconsin today.

If I was in a restaurant in Madison and five armed cops in uniform came in, I would "feel uneasy" that they were about to commit a crime. Therefore I guess the FBI should be called and the cops should be arrested for disorderly conduct. This is especially the case since the chief has issued a press release warning that cops are going to engage in illegal conduct.

The AG's opinion quotes a WI SC opinion:

¶4. In State v. Schwebke, 2002 WI 55, ¶ 24, 253 Wis. 2d 1, 644 N.W.2d 666 (footnote omitted), the Wisconsin Supreme Court established the contours of Wisconsin’s disorderly conduct statute:

Wisconsin Stat. § 947.01 . . . states as follows: “Whoever, in a public or private place, engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.” The State must prove two elements to convict a defendant under this statute. State v. Douglas D., 2001 WI 47, ¶ 15, 243 Wis. 2d 204, 626 N.W.2d 725. “First, it must prove that the defendant engaged in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud, or similar disorderly conduct.” Id. “Second, it must prove that the defendant's conduct occurred under circumstances where such conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance.” Id. An objective analysis of the conduct and circumstances of each particular case must be undertaken because what may constitute disorderly conduct under some circumstances may not under others. See State v. A.S., 2001 WI 48, ¶ 33, 243 Wis. 2d 173, 626 N.W.2d 712.

I don't see how either element could be proved, here.

The first element merely requires that the state prove that those particular individuals were actually at that location carrying guns openly. Since they won't deny it, it will be very easy to prove. The second element may be harder to prove, but even the second element isn't the key issue here. The question is not whether these guys did or could have caused a disturbance, the question is whether the 911 caller or a more fearful person would be justified in being disturbed by this non-threatening arms bearing. If twenty mean looking bikers with Nazi tattoos and metal studded black jackets came in the restaurant, a lot of people, especially blacks and jews, would be genuinely disturbed, but the cops wouldn't claim the law was being broken.

I think Madison, Wisconsin sounds like a great place for the annual NRA convention!

The audio for the 911 call has been released and is posted here:

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-washington-dc/madison-five-911-call-video

The caller is clearly not distressed and specifically states there is no disturbance. I think this is going to be a huge problem for the Madison PD.

It seems to me that the PD is going to be writing a large settlement check. I also wonder if the individual police officers are on the hook under 42 USC 1983.

Why would you think that madison is a good place for the NRA convention? The NRA won't let people carry guns at their annual convention.

I'm thinking of a couple hundred thousand people walking around town, going to dinner, shopping -- all open carrying.

You want to go IN TO THE CONVENTION, fine. No guns.

You want to walk around town with all the rest of the 2nd Amendment activists and lawyers, peaceably going on about your business exercising your Constitutional rights (like not stepping to the back of the bus or drinking only from the segregated water fountain), how better to affect a change in perception?

I can see 911 FLOODED with calls for the first day until it trickles off to harassment level. Even cops with bad attitudes will get tired of the calls when they see nothing come of the demonstration.

Make it last 10 days. The first weekend are all the activists prepped with legal briefs willing to risk arrest and benefit from the subsequent lawsuits.

The next wave is the "we'll fill up every jail you can find and still keep coming" wave. Everybody pleads not guilty, refuses to waive their right to a speedy trial, trial by jury.

That's why I think it would be a good place for an NRA convention.

The NRA would HATE that! Not that it matters I guess.

I've hoped for years that someone would start a Provisional wing of the NRA. You know, someone brave enough to exercise their civil rights whether it was welcome or not.