>I own some M114's......one was displayed at a local museum...someone
>reported to the Feds that some illegal activity was being conducted there
>and they got a Federal Judge to issue warrants, confiscating everything in
>the place.
>
>Even after producing paperwork, they lollygagged and I felt they would not
>ever return my personal property...until I had my Lawyer get into the act.
>5 months later..I am told to go to gate so and so, and see so and so...sign
>in and don't touch anything but your property and remove it ASAP! Asking
>for written permission, I was turned down.
>
>There was NO problem with this vehicle...never was..they had paperwork just
>like mine........they knew! They just wanted to flex a few muscles...and
>see if they could outlast me.......WRONG!
>
>These guys don't care about our rights...or our property....believe
>me...they will do whatever the master tells them to do..with gusto!
>
my opinion (beings as i work for a police department) is that there are 2
separate mindsets at the law enforcement level (and neither is generally a
'jack booted gestapo' as some others have said).
the first is the typical law enforcement officer-local pd, county sheriff,
state police, even the front line feds. they get their orders from someone
and do their best to follow them as legally as they can. if the sgt says to
impound that tank as a threat to the city, unless they have *very* good
reason to believe that it's not, the tank will go.
the second mindset is where the problem arises: the supervisors of the front
line guys.
their main concern is no longer the enforcement of the law. thanks to the
lawyers, the supervisor's main concern is the *potential liability* to their
agency for whatever action taken or * not taken.*
is the potential risk of confiscating property-which they view as temporary
since in theory (and theory only, i heartily agree, since 'you can always
petition to get your property back')-greater to the population in general
than the potential risk of not doing so?
if the owner is a nut-and right or wrong many in the general population
would consider us so-how much damage could he do if he was so inclined? if
the supervisor sees your tank, weasel or mb as any type of threat to the
safety of the general public (yes, i know it's not), he is going to want to
remove that threat. that's his job-the public agency has tasked him * not *
with enforcing the laws but to protect the public agency-the city, county,
state or whatever government entity-from a massive lawsuit that only the
lawyers will win (and they always win. they get paid win or loose.)
solution? don't know. i've been thinking about this situation for years and
haven't come up with anything (yes, i've heard about the 10,000 lawyers on
the bottom of the ocean. i'm waiting for the epa reaction to it.)
i write this only because i think we are working in the wrong direction with
nasty letters. thoughtful letters might help, but thoughtful letters with
constructive criticism and realistic suggestions will always do better.
the volunteering of your vehicles for emergency use sounds very good on the
surface, but i'd be surprised to see many agencies actually accept due to
the liability thing again-remember, even if the local police chief is love
with the idea, he answers to a mayor or city manager and they will probably
not like it. they are not likely to want their local pd to have it's own
army. just like the j q public's reaction of 'what does anybody need a
surplus jeep for', the city manager will say why does the city need an army?
believe it or not, no one * hates * their police department more than the
government it serves. police suck up a lot of tax dollars that could be
'better' spent on buildings named after the mayor/city councilman/whatever;
plus they generate a lot of complaints. remember: for every action a cop
takes, there will be at least one unhappy person. and unhappy people are the
ones who write letters. when was the last time you wrote your congressman
telling him he was doing a good job in general-not just agreeing on a
specific issue?
i believe this is true at all levels of government in america-city to
federal. any doubts that the feds would love to spend the defense budget on
something else?
kking
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