I'm surprised I haven't seen a thread about this here.  Sounds like Manassas PD really stepped on their schlongs.  From VCDL:

********************************************************

Manassas City Police Harass Individuals Open Carrying at Restaurant

When you review the following report on how the Manassas City Police Department (MCPD) harassed 7 individuals lawfully open carrying in a restaurant that serves alcohol, think of what might have happened if HB 2943 was current law.  Would they have placed the individuals under arrest so they could engage in a fishing expedition and search them and their vehicles?

The MCPD owes the citizens of Virginia answers to the following questions:

   - Does the MCPD have a policy encouraging its officers to harass citizens lawfully open carrying a firearm?

   - Does the MCPD have a policy encouraging its officers to attempt to get permit holders to unlawfully conceal their firearm in a restaurant that serves alcohol?

   - Does the MCPD have a policy encouraging its officers to strong arm private businesses to eject law abiding customers from their premises just because they are lawfully open carrying a firearm?

   - Why did the entire on duty police force respond to a call when the caller acknowledged that the individuals weren't doing anything wrong?

   - What steps is the MCPD going to take to make sure the abuse of power demonstrated by the officers in this incident aren't going to be repeated again?

EM Mike Stollenwerk submitted a FOIA request for any records pertaining to this incident:

   The 911 call:  http://www.vcdl.org/Tonys/Tonys_911.mp3
   FOIA response: http://www.vcdl.org/Tonys/MCPD_FOIA_Response.pdf

When you look at the officer's communications in the FOIA, it's disturbing to see just how much disrespect they show towards law abiding gun owners.  In the internal police communciations, the citizens were refered to as "ass clowns", "tards", and "f'ing retards".  Had they been 7 black men, 7 Muslims, 7 Jews, or 7 Hispanic men, what epithet(s) would these officers have used?

All of this, including the use of abusive language by the police during the encounter, adds up to a stunning lack of respect and regard on the part of MCPD officers for the law and the law abiding general public.

Upon receiving the FOIA request, the MCPD police chief broadcast an email to other VA police agencies in search of similar "incidents" and intelligence on VCDL yielded a couple of gems.  One police department made a suggestion that it would be good to "review gun laws with the troops", and another opined, "I hope your liability insurance is paid up".

The following report was compiled from inputs from individuals involved in the incident at Tony's Pizza.

---

On Saturday evening, Jan 13, seven individuals met for dinner at Tony's Pizza in Manassas.  Since Tony's serves alcohol, all seven switched from concealed to open carry when they entered the restaurant to be in compliance with Virginia law.  The meet up had been organized via OpenCarry.org, but most, if not all, of the participants were VCDL members.

During the course of ordering our meal at the counter and waiting for it, another patron, who identified himself as a "former Marine" took umbrage at the sight of 7 law abiding citizens openly carrying firearms.  Several of the 7 attempted to educate him as to VA law, but he was having none of it.

He and his wife sat down near us and quietly ate their meal, and after about an hour, left.  After exiting, he made a 911 call from the parking lot.

In that call, he stated that there were 6 individuals (he apparently couldn't count) who were carrying guns and that he wasn't "comfortable with that".  He acknowledged to the 911 call taker that we probably were legal and weren't doing anything wrong.

To her credit, the 911 call taker advised the guy that what he had observed appeared to be legal and it didn't matter how either of them felt about the matter.  With the caller persisting in stating how uncomfortable he was, she dispatched one police officer to check things out.  Almost immediately, the remaining 8 on duty Manassas patrol officers signed themselves on to the call.

Soon, these officers began arriving at the restaurant.  The first one came in, demanded to see ID, explained that open carry was illegal, and told us we had to carry concealed.  This is, of course, completely wrong and we politely tried to explain the law to this officer, but the officer became increasingly agitated.  Within a minute or so, we were surrounded by over half a dozen officers and were now attracting the attention of other patrons, who had mostly ignored us.

At this point, an older, calmer officer interrupted his agitated colleague and suggested we finish up and leave, despite having no basis for making such a request.  Several officers went up front and got the owner, who then came back and said some of his customers were distressed and asked us to leave.  We did so immediately.

Once outside, one of our party had a copy of the ABC letter explaining the legality of open carry and a copy of the VA State Police web page. When approached, one of the group of officers said, "don't come over here and fight us" and that he "didn't need to see our damn letters". His supervisor, wasn't interested in talking either.

Moments later we all departed, never having shown any ID as demanded by the first officer on the scene, as that officer either became distracted or realized he had no probable cause to demand it.

At this point, the Tony's 7 are reviewing their options.

********************************************************

Related discussion, including people involved:
opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum54/1486.html

Update from VCDL:

****************************************************

In the last VCDL Update, there was an item on the Manassas City Police Department (MCPD) harassing seven law-abiding gun owners in Tony's Pizza restaurant and intimidated the restaurant owner into expelling those gun owners (most of which were VCDL members).

VCDL issued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get a copy of all police information about that incident.

Based on the information divulged by the FOIA (emails and voice recordings) and from the seven gun owners we know:

*  The police were told that nothing illegal was happening, nor was there a disturbance [on 911 tape]
*  For no reason the police intimidated the owner into asking the seven gun owners to leave [officer's emails]
*  Refused to look at documents that would show that the gun owners were doing nothing wrong.  One officer said that he would look for an excuse to arrest the members if they didn't just leave [gun owners statements]
*  Afterwards, in email to each other and other jurisdictions, the MCPD officers show severe disdain for the seven gun owners, WHO WERE NOT BREAKING ANY LAWS NOR CAUSING ANY KIND OF DISTURBANCE
*  In fact, the officers went out of their way to refer to VCDL members as "assclowns" and also used some more crude, profane, and vulgar terms

The problem here was that:

1.  the officers showed such contempt for law-abiding citizens in their own words and emails and
2.  the officers' unwarranted actions at Tony's showed that they wished to act on that contempt by using their extraordinary powers as police officers to harass and intimidate

That combination of having contempt and then acting on it under the color of law is not acceptable for a police officer, who is here to SERVE you and I, not be our MASTER.  If a person can't understand the difference, then they have no more business being a law-enforcement officer than a child-molester does.

We are going to demand that City Council take action on this.  Either to discipline the officers in question, fire them, and/or disciple or fire the Chief of Police for allowing people like this to serve on his force.

To address this serious issue, VCDL is going to address the Manassas City Council on Monday, February 26th, at 5:30 PM.  We might not get heard until 7:30 PM, but I want to be there early, just in case they decided to bump us up.

City Hall is located at 9027 Center Street, Manassas, VA 20110.

I plan on being at City Hall at 5 PM to hand out Guns Save Lives badges to those of you who wish to come show support or to speak on the issue (I will have 10 minutes and the other speakers will have 3 minutes each).

I would really like to pack the Council chambers.  The more of you from Manassas, the better.  However, I would love to see a good turnout from all of our Northern Virginia members.

If we don't draw a line in the sand with this kind of abuse and indicate that we are not going to take it, we are not only failing those seven innocent gun owners, but the other innocent citizens who will abused by these Manassas police officers in the future.

We are also sending a message out to any other rogue officers in the state who think they can ride roughshod over Virginia citizens.

Stand with me and let's fix this situation on the 26th!

*********************************************

Wow, just wow.

Unbelievable.

Any response from the Mayor's office or from the chief? How can you enforce the law if you are ignorant of it?

dammit...if it were any other day...i will be in Norfolk that night to take the damn VA bar the next two days....otherwise I now live like 10 minutes away....sigh....


good luck guys

www.manassascity.org/index.asp?NID=17

Police Services Survey How Are We Doing?

Message From The Chief
John J. Skinner
Chief of Police



Department Mission Statement

The Manassas City Police Department commits its resources in partnership with the community, to; promote public safety and maintain public order by eliminating crime and the fear of crime; practice the values of integrity, respect, public service and professional standing; and to maintain a proactive relationship with the community, and a positive working environment for Department members.
 

Manassas City Police Department

Welcome to the City of Manassas Police Department's web site.  I hope our site will provide you with information and insight regarding police services available to our community.

The Manassas City Police Department is dedicated to providing quality, professional services, while protecting life and property through community partnerships.  An example is our commitment to a Citywide community policing philosophy.

If you are seeking a rewarding career in law enforcement, the City of Manassas offers a wide range of social and educational opportunities.  I am most proud of the outstanding national reputation our agency enjoys.  It is a tribute to the many fine men and women who represent the department every day!

We want our web site to be informative.  As you explore the site, I welcome any comments or suggestions you might have.  Please e-mail me at [email protected].

Sincerely,

John J. Skinner
Chief of Police





“A Nationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency”

 I live in Manassas and can say that the Manassas City cops are as useless as tits on a warthog hese
I plan to join the VCDL this week.

Furthermore I'm gonna email some folks I know and let them know about Officer Rick Clodfelter using MY TAX DOLLARS and Manassas city equipment to refer to law abiding citizens as "Assclowns." The VCDL should push until Officer Rick Clodfelter has been relieved of duty for his actions.

I wish I could make it but I'll be in Atlanta that week.
Ranger, I hope you make it to the meeting.  I think the more people we have there will let the Manassas PD know that gun owners all over VA know their rights and laws concerning firearms better than the officers who's job it is to uphold them.  Such unethical conduct and officers contempt of law abiding gun owners should not go by with out notice.

I think I will ride the VRE that day as town hall is next to the station. Perhaps members of the VCDL or maybe myself should read the contents of the emails by officer "potty mouth" and let them know this was done using city property that MY TAX DOLLARS pay for!

side note: I just relaized that if I join the VCDL it makes me eligible to purchase from the CMP

Quoted: I think I will ride the VRE that day as town hall is next to the station. Perhaps members of the VCDL or maybe myself should read the contents of the emails by officer "potty mouth" and let them know this was done using city property that MY TAX DOLLARS pay for! side note: I just relaized that if I join the VCDL it makes me eligible to purchase from the CMP

Bonus!

Welcome aboard!

Well, I went to diner tonight w/ the family at the Chipotle in Manassas. No dogs were harmed in the course of our meal - only a Modelo Especial & guacamole w/ chips (burp). Pure non-event.

Quoted: Well, I went to diner tonight w/ the family at the Chipotle in Manassas. No dogs were harmed in the course of our meal - only a Modelo Especial & guacamole w/ chips (burp). Pure non-event.

But were you an open-carrying "assclown?"

I'm willing to take a beat-down to assert my legal rights.

The cops should have been heartily disrespected, even mocked.

height=8

Quoted: height=8 Quoted: Well, I went to diner tonight w/ the family at the Chipotle in Manassas. No dogs were harmed in the course of our meal - only a Modelo Especial & guacamole w/ chips (burp). Pure non-event. hinking.gif But were you an open-carrying "assclown?"

I hope not, if it was him drinking the Modelo.

Quoted: I'm willing to take a beat-down to assert my legal rights. The cops should have been heartily disrespected, even mocked.

One officer was dispatched....but then, according to the radio traffic I read, EVERYONE else piled on because there were ~GASP~  SEVEN PEOPLE OPENLY CARRYING!


I hope the people responsible for the harassment get fired.

 I just listened to the MP3 wow just wow! The so-called Marine doesn’t sound like any of the real Marines that I personally know and have met.

Quoted:  I just listened to the MP3 wow just wow! The so-called Marine doesn’t sound like any of the real Marines that I personally know and have met.

AS a former Marine myself, he is one of the few we call "ex-Marines"

Murtha being among those as well.

I also detected a NY/NJ accent in the caller, which would explain a lot.

height=8

Quoted: height=8 Quoted:  I just listened to the MP3 wow just wow! The so-called Marine doesn’t sound like any of the real Marines that I personally know and have met. AS a former Mrine myself, he is one of the few we call "ex-Marines" Murtha being among those as well. I also detected a NY/NJ accent in the caller, which would explain a lot.

Thank you for your service to our country Good Sir!

It's strange I just started watching Full Metal Jacket on Skinimax

I am going to the City Hall shindig.. .anyone else going? I am also trying to get a few fellow gun-carrying friends to attend.

everyone should at least feedback to the manassas dept using tht link below.

Quoted: www.manassascity.org/index.asp?NID=17 Police Services Survey How Are We Doing? Message From The Chief John J. Skinner Chief of Police Department Mission Statement The Manassas City Police Department commits its resources in partnership with the community, to; promote public safety and maintain public order by eliminating crime and the fear of crime; practice the values of integrity, respect, public service and professional standing; and to maintain a proactive relationship with the community, and a positive working environment for Department members.   Manassas City Police Department Welcome to the City of Manassas Police Department's web site.  I hope our site will provide you with information and insight regarding police services available to our community. The Manassas City Police Department is dedicated to providing quality, professional services, while protecting life and property through community partnerships.  An example is our commitment to a Citywide community policing philosophy. If you are seeking a rewarding career in law enforcement, the City of Manassas offers a wide range of social and educational opportunities.  I am most proud of the outstanding national reputation our agency enjoys.  It is a tribute to the many fine men and women who represent the department every day! We want our web site to be informative.  As you explore the site, I welcome any comments or suggestions you might have.  Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Sincerely, John J. Skinner Chief of Police “A Nationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency”

Car pool from Tidewater to Manassas.


Can anyone take a half day off next Monday and join us in going to the
Manassas City Council meeting? This is in regards to the Manassas Police
Departments handling of 7 OCDO members legally having dinner at Tony's
Pizza
in Manassas.


(Sorry if I shouldn't post a link here, delete if needed)
Here's an OCDO thread on it:



http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum54/1486.html



And here's the thread on VCDL going to Manassas on the 26th, leaving
Tidewater around 2PM.

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum54/1531.html

wave to me as we pass, since i will be driving from manassas to norfolk that very same day

Well fellas,

Before we make this a complete "All Cops are Useless and need to be fired!......bring the pitchforks and the torches" thread, we should realize that all of us are human.  All of us have stepped on their peckers at some point in time.  

This Officer apparently is lacking in training about concealed/open carry.  This is not entirely his fault.  He may have have graduated the Academy prior to them throwing in this type of training.  If he called you guys Ass Clowns or retards he may just be guilty of mis-identifying you, because I am possitive if he has been a Cop for awhile he has interacted with some Ass Clowns and retards.  We don't know these guys history, for all we know they may have done heroic and self sacrificing actions in the past the would surely make up for a little Ass Clownery mis-identification.

The Chief should be the one to take the heat on this one, because he needs to ensure that his training section keeps up on topical training, such as concealed/open carry.  Fairfax Co. went through this a few years back with an incident that appears very similar.  

It sounds like they need to get their shit together, which I am sure if you complain enough they will.....or..... because of incidents like this some libtard will get the rest of the libtards together and end OPEN CARRY???

I would like to see the concealed carry law change to where you can keep your weapon concealed if you are not consuming alcohol and are in the resturant section of the establishment.

I am glad everyone is ok and that only feelings were hurt.

Good luck in resolving this issue,
G

I find it interesting that the local police are under the impression that when this happens its the VCDL trying to start something.....

It happened to us last June in South-Eastern VA.  The polices response seems strangely identical to what happened at Tony's.  Ours happened in a much smaller town and they gave us what we wanted(via FOIA request) and went from there.  

We weren't a part of the VCDL, we were merely enjoying dinner and some concerned citizen called 911.  Police dispatched etc etc etc... FOIA request and it was resolved.

How do you get it through to the police that it isn't the VCDL looking for a lawsuit?

I know the VCDL doesn't have the best rap, is this a normal thought coming from the LEO when they see the VCDL name?...Oh no a lawsuit is coming?????

TS

Quoted: It happened to us last June in South-Eastern VA.  The polices response seems strangely identical to what happened at Tony's.  Ours happened in a much smaller town and they gave us what we wanted(via FOIA request) and went from there.   We weren't a part of the VCDL, we were merely enjoying dinner and some concerned citizen called 911.  Police dispatched etc etc etc... FOIA request and it was resolved.

Could you give some details on that incident?  I don't recall it.

Quoted: This Officer apparently is lacking in training about concealed/open carry.  This is not entirely his fault.  He may have have graduated the Academy prior to them throwing in this type of training.  If he called you guys Ass Clowns or retards he may just be guilty of mis-identifying you, because I am possitive if he has been a Cop for awhile he has interacted with some Ass Clowns and retards.  We don't know these guys history, for all we know they may have done heroic and self sacrificing actions in the past the would surely make up for a little Ass Clownery mis-identification.

I don't give a rats ass WHAT kind of "heroic and self sacrificing actions" he may have done in the past. He treated law abiding citizens like some common perps. That's not a "whoopsie", that gross misconduct. He also coerced the restaurant owner into making the gun owners leave, and then disparages VCDL as an organization. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.

The Chief should be the one to take the heat on this one, because he needs to ensure that his training section keeps up on topical training, such as concealed/open carry.

I agree.

It sounds like they need to get their shit together, which I am sure if you complain enough they will.....or..... because of incidents like this some libtard will get the rest of the libtards together and end OPEN CARRY???

That's strawman argument if I ever heard one. The liberals will get around to EVERY kind of carry law in due time. So we SHOULDN'T complain? Please.