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civil case against police-help me?

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cyjeff

Senior Member
@ stevef

i was charged with carrying dangerous weapon.
Police report reads they asked if i had a weapon (they interviewed me in my room) and i pointed to one on my desk. i was not carrying it. then i was arrested. Smith was appointed, but he tried to make me plea guilty as he is friends with the police.

IT is legal to own according to massachusetts law. it is illegal to carry

Not on a college campus, bright eyes.

i pointed out the charge that made no sense with the police report and it was dropped, now im looking to countersue

Get an attorney.... oh wait, you tried that. You can't afford it and your legal expert told you you wouldn't win.

What am I missing?
 

Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
OK, I understand now that your appointed counsel is not willing (or permitted) to file a civil suit against the campus police.

Pick up the yellow pages and look for a civil rights attorney. You may want to start with the ACLU. I can't find a list of their offices. I know they have offices in Worcester and Boston. I don't know about Springfield or Amherst.
 

bedodabe

Junior Member
wrong again. i c many knives in the cafeteria that are just as illegal to carry. PLUS colleges dont have the privileges of making laws, just rules
 

bedodabe

Junior Member
thanks stevef, i will not be able to afford one. so i believe the next best thing is to visit a law library. thats what my campus lawyer told me. i was hoping these forums would give me more insight into law but i was sorely mistaken as everyone is duck obsessed and live under bridges where they can troll their hearts out.
 

cyjeff

Senior Member
wrong again. i c many knives in the cafeteria that are just as illegal to carry. PLUS colleges dont have the privileges of making laws, just rules

Really?

You cannot store weapons in your dorm room... even if they are allowed off campus. You cannot store a gun or a rifle.

You are completely and utterly wrong.

The knives in the cafeteria? Butter knives?

Can we go back to talking about the duck? At least that made some sense.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
They asked if you had a weapon and you said YES. Of COURSE they arrested you. The SAFETY of the officers is the most important thing to the state and to the police department. Everything else comes second to that. If you do anything to make an officer feel threatened, expect to get arrested. Next time they ask you if you have a weapon, and you do not have one on your person or in your reach, you keep your hands where they can be seen and say NO OFFICER, I DO NOT HAVE ANY WEAPONS.
 

bedodabe

Junior Member
they specifically asked if i had a knife, i hesitated so they were randomly entitled to search my dorm. instead i just pointed it out to them.


AND no one said anything about storing guns!!!! (do you ever read anythingggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg)

I was arrested for owning a knife in my room, and whether you guys want to believe it or not, you will be arrested for carrying a butterknife. THE point ive been making is that i was not carrying said knife
 

Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
thanks stevef, i will not be able to afford one.

You don't know if you don't ask. If you win a civil rights case, attorney fees are awarded. If you can't find an attorney to take the suit on contingency, it's a good indication that the case is not a winner.

Go to the website for the ACLU of Massachusetts. They have a phone number to call to ask for help.
 

cyjeff

Senior Member
they specifically asked if i had a knife, i hesitated so they were randomly entitled to search my dorm. instead i just pointed it out to them.


AND no one said anything about storing guns!!!! (do you ever read anythingggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg)

Moron... I was making the point.

You said you were allowed to have the knife because you are allowed to have a knife in Mass. I was giving you an example of something legal off campus but illegal on.

Is there any way you can put the duck on? I think it would be easier to talk to him.
 

bedodabe

Junior Member
still has nothing to do with this as it is legal to own a knife on campus, else your cafeteria would be empty. ONE valid point mentioned the safety of the officers, however the fact that i was over 6 feet away from the knife, placed at the bottom of a bag, behind 2 officers implies that their safety was not at risk
 

bedodabe

Junior Member
not to mention it having an impractical locking mechanism

ill give them a call too, but the lawyer warned that this case might not be taken up on contingency



i forgot i also had a vacuum cleaner in the room, maybe the police thought i was going to suck their brains out. its a good thing they didnt take it in as evidence. my wallet also has a plastic card that someone could potentially choke on too...
 
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OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
OP, Understand this, I actually believe you. First, I admit, I think the duck thing is funny, however, I can honestly understand your curiosity, being from another country. Please understand the position the police are in. Your fellow students, more than one, it appears, notified police they felt you expressed an intent to enact a shooting on campus. They also must have advised the police you possessed a knife, since they asked about it. So the police show up, anticipating you are soon going to be committing a major criminal act. In their eyes, you have hidden the gun, before they arrived and stashed the knife, to appear innocent.

From their position theoretically...

If they walk away, you might still do the act, if you had one planned. Perceptually, if you failed to convince them you posed no threat, they probably felt the need to take some action to prevent what you might be planning.

Do I think you received a raw deal? Yes.

Do I blame any of those officers for making the best decision they could in a bad situation? No.

Do I think they discriminated against you based on your race? No.

Do I think you need to stay away from the group of students that started this? Yes.

Do I think you knew these people were this screwy before this incident and elected to continue in the group? Yes.
 

Isis1

Senior Member
still has nothing to do with this as it is legal to own a knife on campus, else your cafeteria would be empty. ONE valid point mentioned the safety of the officers, however the fact that i was over 6 feet away from the knife, placed at the bottom of a bag, behind 2 officers implies that their safety was not at risk

that is not true. not knowing where the danger is while you do, IS a risk to their safety.

got any grapes?
 

cyjeff

Senior Member
still has nothing to do with this as it is legal to own a knife on campus, else your cafeteria would be empty.

What?

That is crap.

I was a resident assistant in a major university. What was legal to use in an authorized part of campus does not mean that students have the right to carry it anywhere.

Part of your student handbook covers weapons. Read it.

ONE valid point mentioned the safety of the officers, however the fact that i was over 6 feet away from the knife, placed at the bottom of a bag, behind 2 officers implies that their safety was not at risk

doesn't matter. The officers recognized a threat and acted accordingly.

After all, if you have one weapon you may have two. It is safer to just disable you.


Seriously... the duck isn't around?
 

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