Posted: 6/23/2006 5:54:08 PM EDT
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Got this from a buddy over at HK94.com: 1. Haymarket police out of control? ********************************************* A longtime VCDL member is being put through the wringer by what appears to be a vindictive police officer in the Town of Haymarket. The problems began when the member was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint. The member had not been drinking. He did refuse to answer some of the questions he was asked, as is his right since he was not under suspicion for breaking any laws. As a courtesy he did tell the main officer at the scene that he was legally armed. The member's gun was taken away at that point and unloaded. The police told the member that he could go, but that the police were going to keep his gun to run stolen checks against it. The member asked for a receipt for the gun in that case, but the police refused to give him one (!). The member then asked for his gun back, saying that he would not give them permission to hang on to it. He was finally given his gun back, unloaded and in an evidence bag and the member continued on his way. A week or so later, the member was stopped by the same officer while driving through Haymarket. The officer said that the member was driving with his blinker on. The member was - he was exiting the freeway! The member was again cut loose without charges. The member was fed up at that point and called the non-emergency Haymarket Police number later that night. He was forwarded to the senior officer in the field, you guessed it, the SAME officer as above! (I thought I had bad luck.) During the course of the discussion, the member asked the officer if a Sergeant on the force was still beating his wife (there had been an article in the papers about the officer having a restraining order filed against him by his wife in 2005). The next morning the member filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Town Clerk asking question about the Town's checkpoint program. The night that the FOIA was filed, the officer went to a magistrate and the magistrate issued a warrant (not a summons, which is customary for misdemeanors) for the member's arrest. The member was arrested in front of his family, taken to the court and immediately released by a judge on his own recognizance. The charge? I mentioned the law last week in the VCDL update: "18.2-427. Use of profane, threatening or indecent language over public airways. QUOTE If any person shall use obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language, or make any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature, or threaten any illegal or immoral act with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass any person, over any telephone or citizens band radio, in this Commonwealth, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor." The only problem is that the officer said that the member asked if the Sergeant was "screwing his wife" instead of "beating his wife" in the warrant. The member denies that, and having known him for years, I believe him. Besides, case law emphasizes that there must be a THREAT for the law to apply (http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavtx/0664032.txt). The officer's report indicates no threat. And even if one accepts the officer's rendition of what was a said, "screwing" is NOT profane in Virginia in and of itself, and certainly not in the context claimed by the officer. Sounds like the officer was looking for any opening to maliciously go after the member, punishing him for using his right to free speech and redress of governmental grievances. The member is already out $2,000, even if the case is dropped (as I expect it will be). VCDL plans on doing some Freedom of Information Act requests to Haymarket to find out if other legally possessed guns were confiscated under similar circumstances and how many times. Update on Haymarket incident / Action Item ************************************************** The VCDL Executive member who was harassed by the Haymarket police, Dennis Fusaro, was nollo prossed (prosecutor declined to prosecute at this time) last week. Not much else the police could do as they didn't have a case. Dennis' next step will be to get his arrest record expunged. The Washington Post has been watching the circus in Haymarket for a while and contacted Dennis to do the following story. I'm surprised the article didn't mention that during the first stop, the Haymarket Police attempted to confiscate (steal?) his legally carried firearm. Note that the Haymarket Town Council is taking a 'not our problem' approach to leadership. Anybody expecting a different response? The more I learn about Haymarket, the more disenchanted I become: http://tinyurl.com/jhmzz Haymarket Traffic Stop Sparks Month-Long Ordeal Heated Call Leads to Warrant for Motorist's Arrest By Theresa Vargas Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 11, 2006; PW01 Dennis Fusaro admits he wasn't the most docile person when Haymarket police pulled him over twice. And maybe he shouldn't have mentioned an officer's past troubles when he called the police station to complain about the stops. But, he said, he never expected it would result in a warrant for his arrest. The warrant against Fusaro was issued in May, and although that case was dismissed this month, Fusaro said what happened to him is indicative of a bigger problem in Haymarket. The case has fueled criticism against the police on a controversial Web site about the town, and a council member estimates that he has received 100 e-mails about the incident, the latest to involve the town's police department. "It's kind of an eye-opener for a guy like me," Fusaro, 45, of Stephens City said. "There seems to be an attitude there that they are not going to take any criticism." Haymarket police described Fusaro's actions as "belligerent" and stand by the warrant. Fusaro was first stopped at a sobriety checkpoint about 1 a.m. April 29 on the westbound ramp for Interstate 66 as he was heading home from Dulles Airport. He said he handed his license to the officer but refused to answer questions. Fusaro -- a member of Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights group, and a self-described conservative political activist -- said he has a "fundamental disagreement" with the checkpoints. He was ordered out of his car, and after a tense back-and-forth with Officer Jeremy K. Baldwin and Sgt. Gregory Breeden, Fusaro agreed to take a breathalyzer test and was eventually let go, he said. Fast-forward to about 9 p.m. May 3. Fusaro said that he was stopped again by Baldwin near the same exit ramp. He again refused to answer questions. Afterward, he said, he went to a Subway restaurant in a nearby strip mall and called the main number for the Haymarket police because he feared that his blue BMW would be targeted again as he drove through town. Baldwin, the officer who had pulled him over, got on the phone, Fusaro said. Fusaro said he told Baldwin he would like to meet. Baldwin, according to the police warrant, told him he couldn't. The two differ on what was said next. "I asked if he was going to ask his sergeant whether he was still beating his wife," Fusaro said. In September, Breeden temporarily lost the right to carry a gun after his estranged wife accused him of breaking down their garage door. On the warrant, however, Fusaro is quoted as saying, "Tell me something, would you ask Sergeant Breeden if he was screwing his wife?" "I then terminated the phone call," Baldwin wrote. "Due to Dennis's statement being profane and indecent I am requesting a warrant for this violation." The warrant was signed at 8:10 p.m. May 4, authorizing the arrest of Fusaro for using profane language over the telephone, a misdemeanor. Earlier that day, Fusaro said, he had filed a Freedom of Information request for details about the sobriety checkpoints. At the first stop, Breeden said, officers took it as a sign that Fusaro might be intoxicated when he initially refused to roll down his window. The second stop, he said, was made at random, and the officer did not know it was Fusaro's car. "As far as the police are concerned, they did nothing wrong. It's not like we yelled at him," Breeden said. He added that others have been charged after cursing and using abusive language on the phone and that Fusaro was not singled out. "Its not like we're picking on him," Breeden said. "It is a violation of the law." Fusaro, however, sees it differently, and he plans to bring the incident before the Town Council on June 19. He estimates that even with the case being dismissed June 1, the ordeal has cost him $2,000 in attorney's fees and forced him to make a trip to the police station, where he was fingerprinted and photographed. "We are just trying to tell the Town Council, 'Come on, folks, you have people who assert their rights. Don't criminalize them,' " he said. On the Web site http://townofhaymarket.info , which has been critical of the police department, many users expressed strong opinions about Fusaro's case. "It leaves one with a perception that Haymarket is a backward, 'good old boy' small Southern town to be avoided," one person wrote. "The Haymarket police department is now dealing with a population who knows their rights under the law and will not tolerate that good ol' boy mentality. We know our rights, we have lawyers, we have video cameras and we have camera phones that we will use to adjust your attitude," another entry says. Council member Robert B. Weir, who until recently was the council's liaison to the police department, said that residents should feel free to speak out without fear of repercussions and that many do, as has been evident at recent council meetings. "People voice criticism about the police department in Haymarket all the time," he said. "We're more than willing to hear criticism and plaudits as well." Weir said he has received more than 100 e-mail messages complaining about the incident from people across Virginia -- but none from Haymarket residents. The matter is not an issue for the council, he said, because the council cannot intervene in police cases. "I am not going to intercede on anyone's behalf, whether it be DUI to a reckless driving down Washington Street or an assault and battery. That is a police issue, not a Town Council issue," he said. "Now if a police officer takes out a nightstick and starts beating someone for jaywalking, then yes, that's something we will address." Mayor Pam E. Stutz agreed the dispute is a police matter but said Fusaro is welcome to bring whatever evidence he has before the council. "We will certainly listen to him, see what he has to say, and then we will go from there," she said. -- Action Item: Dennis Fusaro is going to address the Haymarket Town Council on Monday, June 19th, at 7 PM to present his side of the story. If you want to go to speak or just show support, here are some directions: Take I-66 west from Fairfax to exit 40 (Route 15) and go south to the light at Route 55 (there's a Sheetz at this intersection corner). Turn left and drive ever so carefully, obey the 25 mph and stop completely at all stop signs. The town hall is on the left set back off the road. I would not be surprised if the media is at the meeting. More info can be found at: http://www.townofhaymarket.org/ |
Leadership and the Haymarket police in the same sentence is an oxymoron. 
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