OKC officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign

chefdennis · Feb 19, 2009

Unfricken believeable! This guy will be on a government watch list for the rest of his life. All because of some JBT Cop.. So this is what we have to look forward to?

OKC officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign on vehicle

By McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Published: February 19, 2009
http://www.newsok.com/okc-officer-p...article/3347038?custom_click=headlines_widget

An Oklahoma City police officer wrongly pulled over a man last week and confiscated an anti-President Barack Obama sign the man had on his vehicle.

The officer misinterpreted the sign as threatening, said Capt. Steve McCool, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and took the sign, which read "Abort Obama, not the unborn."

Chip Harrison said he was driving to work when a police car followed him for several miles and then signaled for him to pull over.

''I pulled over, knowing I hadn't done anything wrong," Harrison said in a recent phone interview.

When the officer asked Harrison if he knew why he had been pulled over, Harrison said he did not.

''They said, 'It's because of the sign in your window,'" Harrison said.

''It's not meant to be a threat, it's a statement about abortion," Harrison said.

He said he disagrees with the president's position on abortion.

''I asked the officer, 'Do you know what abort means?'" Harrison said. "He said, 'Yeah, it means to kill.' I said, 'No, it means to remove or terminate.'"

Harrison said his sign was to be interpreted as saying something like: Remove Obama from office, not unborn babies from the womb.

The officers confiscated Harrison's sign and gave him a slip of paper that stated he was part of an investigation.

Harrison said he later received a call from a person who said he was a lieutenant supervisor for the Internal Investigations Department and wanted to know his location and return his sign to him.

According to Harrison, the supervisor said the Secret Service had been contacted on the matter and had told them the sign was not a threat to the president.

Harrison was asked if he would like to file a complaint. He said he was not sure but would take the paperwork, just in case.

But his run-in with the law wasn't over yet.

''The Secret Service called and said they were at my house," Harrison said.

After talking to his attorney, Harrison went home where he met the Secret Service.

''When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren't going to ransack my house or anything ... they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn't a part of any hate groups."

Harrison said he invited the Secret Service agents into the house and they were "very cordial."

''We walked through the house and my wife and 2-year-old were in the house," Harrison said.

He said they interviewed him for about 30 minutes and then left, not finding any evidence Harrison was a threat to the president.

''I'm still in contact with a lawyer right now," Harrison said. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Harrison said he feels his First Amendment rights were violated.

McCool said the officer who pulled over Harrison misinterpreted the sign.

''We had an officer that his interpretation of the sign was different than what was meant," McCool said. "You've got an officer who had a different thought on what the word 'abort' meant."

McCool said the sign basically meant Obama should be impeached and it was not a threat.

''(The officer) shouldn't have taken the sign," McCool said. "That was (Harrison's) First Amendment right to voice his concern."

McCool said although the sign should not have been confiscated, the situation was made right in the end.

''We always try to do the right thing and in the end we believe we did the right thing by returning the sign," McCool said.

mjolnir131 · Feb 19, 2009

Have you noticed that pepsi's ne symbol looks alot like O's O?

and where wear the cops during the last 8 years over this

chefdennis · Feb 19, 2009

Pepsi as admitted their new logo is modelled after Barry's...I quit buying Pepsico products.....

mjolnir131 · Feb 19, 2009

I know i might get flagged as a radical for this next observation,but here goes

the last time historically that i can find the economy this poor with a people so exited about a leader being ale to fix it was well lets see.....

...

...

1935-36 or there abouts i think

Turtle · Feb 19, 2009

chefdennis said:
Unfricken believeable! This guy will be on a government watch list for the rest of his life. All because of some JBT Cop.. So this is what we have to look forward to?

Well, gee, based on your comments here, it's hard to believe that you actually read the story. I don't think it's unbelievable at all that a local cop could make a mistake. It happens all the time all over the country. And since the Secret Service didn't find any evidence that he was a threat to the president, it doesn't seem likely that they would waste their own time by putting him on a watch list for the rest of his life. The police admitted the mistake, apologized for it, voiced First Amendment concerns, allowed the opportunity for a complaint to be filed, and returned the sign to the owner. So, yeah, I do think that this is what we have to look forward to.

chefdennis · Feb 19, 2009

The local cop should have known better to begin with and if you really believe that this guy won't have his name on a watch list for the rest of his life, you might want to do some research on the topic of people that are on secret services list because of just this type of thing...LOL..and yes I read the complete article and posted on it on a few other boards also.

Okie city is NOT some podunk 2 bit backwater town, it is big enough that this type of thing shouldn't happen. This was a JBT, with a pumped up chest that didn't know what he was doing. He violated this guys "right to free expression" and with all of the crap going on with libs trying to line up people on "Hate speech", this could have very easily been takin that way. As for them apologizing, big deal! They violated his rights, I hope he sues them for all he can get and also sues the cop personally.

Turtle · Feb 19, 2009

chefdennis said:
The local cop should have known better to begin with....

That's why it's called a mistake, and that's why the police apologized for it.

and if you really believe that this guy won't have his name on a watch list for the rest of his life, you might want to do some research on the topic of people that are on secret services list because of just this type of thing...LOL..

Then you're obviously on the same list, correct? I supposed we all are.

..and yes I read the complete article and posted on it on a few other boards also.

Based on your comments, I was really hoping you merely read the headline, and then assumed the worst. Tragically, that's not the case.

Okie city is NOT some podunk 2 bit backwater town,

Yes it is.

it is big enough that this type of thing shouldn't happen.

Size doesn't matter.

This was a JBT, with a pumped up chest that didn't know what he was doing.

JBT is a little drama queen, don't you think? I mean, it's not like he pulled his gun and fired a bullet into the guy's aѕѕ while he was trying to cross the river.

He violated this guys "right to free expression" and with all of the crap going on with libs trying to line up people on "Hate speech", this could have very easily been takin that way.

But it wasn't. The police knew they screwed up, said so, and took the guy's sign back to him.

As for them apologizing, big deal!

Yeah, actually it is a big deal.

They violated his rights, I hope he sues them for all he can get and also sues the cop personally.

Well, yeah, they already admitted to violating his rights, and even gave him the paperwork with which to file a complaint at a later date if he so chooses.

If he does sue, as you hope, he'll probably win even though clear damages are a question, and then the fine tax payers of Oklahoma City will be able to pay the man for an officer's brain fart. And the officer will be disciplined and fired, only to be added to the ever-growing welfare rolls, and then, eventually, he will become homeless. He will become desperate, robbing liquor stores and lemonade stands, and stealing fatback and cantaloupe rinds from the Kroger dumpster to feed his family. His wife will then take their four daughters, 5 year old Savannah, 3 year old Madison, and their dear one year old twins, Dakota and Fawn, and go live with her mother in Muskogee. He will be caught and arrested, tried and convicted, and be sentenced to 20 years in prison, thus becoming a burden on an already strained prison system that is short on funds as it is. Fortunately, a fellow inmate will recognize the former officer as the one who arrested him many years ago for wearing a t-shirt that said I stole this t-shirt on it, and promptly kills the former officer. The end.

Poorboy · Feb 19, 2009

Turtle said:
That's why it's called a mistake, and that's why the police apologized for it.

Then you're obviously on the same list, correct? I supposed we all are.

Based on your comments, I was really hoping you merely read the headline, and then assumed the worst. Tragically, that's not the case.

Yes it is.

Size doesn't matter.

JBT is a little drama queen, don't you think? I mean, it's not like he pulled his gun and fired a bullet into the guy's aѕѕ while he was trying to cross the river.

But it wasn't. The police knew they screwed up, said so, and took the guy's sign back to him.

Yeah, actually it is a big deal.

Well, yeah, they already admitted to violating his rights, and even gave him the paperwork with which to file a complaint at a later date if he so chooses.

If he does sue, as you hope, he'll probably win even though clear damages are a question, and then the fine tax payers of Oklahoma City will be able to pay the man for an officer's brain fart. And the officer will be disciplined and fired, only to be added to the ever-growing welfare rolls, and then, eventually, he will become homeless. He will become desperate, robbing liquor stores and lemonade stands, and stealing fatback and cantaloupe rinds from the Kroger dumpster to feed his family. His wife will then take their four daughters, 5 year old Savannah, 3 year old Madison, and their dear one year old twins, Dakota and Fawn, and go live with her mother in Muskogee. He will be caught and arrested, tried and convicted, and be sentenced to 20 years in prison, thus becoming a burden on an already strained prison system that is short on funds as it is. Fortunately, a fellow inmate will recognize the former officer as the one who arrested him many years ago for wearing a t-shirt that said I stole this t-shirt on it, and promptly kills the former officer. The end.

Chef Dennis: What Part of "Mistake" Don't You Understand? The Officer made a simple Mistake and That's All! Big Freaking Deal! It's Just a Shame and a Pity That the officer Isn't Perfect like you "Think" That You Are.. It was a MISTAKE, So Get Over It.

chefdennis · Feb 19, 2009

Sorry he is hired to protect peoples rights, not violate the. He is trained to know the citizens rights and if he doesn't you get in touch with a command officer to make sure he is not in the wrong. He violated the citizens rights and I do hope he sues, if he doesn't get a dime thas all well and good, but the cop will know he caused ths problem, he is responsible for the out come and whatever happens.

The law is there, he violated it, it really is that simple. As for him losing his job, his problem, and one more for Barrys expanding welfare rolls....

As for me being perfect, LOL, i screw up 5 times a day before i have my 1st cup of coffee. But I am not in a position to screw with a persons life, I am not a LEO, I am simply an owner of a few small businesses.