Detention of person carrying gun illegal, Toledo man can sue city police
APPEALS COURT RULING
Detention of person carrying gun illegal
Toledo man can sue city police
BY JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS — A Toledo man can sue a city police officer for detaining him illegally in 2010 for openly carrying a semiautomatic handgun in his neighborhood, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.
“The Fourth Amendment no doubt permitted [Officer David] Bright to approach [Shawn] Northrup and to ask him questions,” Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote. “But that is not what he did. He relied on these facts to stop Northrup, disarm him, and handcuff him.
“Ohio law permits the open carry of firearms …, and thus permitted Northrup to do exactly what he was doing,” Judge Sutton wrote. “While the dispatcher and motorcyclist may not have known the details of Ohio’s open-carry firearm law, the police officer had no basis for such uncertainty."
Officer Bright had argued he had reasonable suspicion to detain Mr. Northrup, noting he was openly carrying a firearm and that he was responding to a 911 call. But the appeals court determined Mr. Northrup can proceed with the allegation that Officer Bright violated his Fourth Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure.
“Not only has the state made open carry of a firearm legal, but it also does not require gun owners to produce or even carry their licenses for inquiring officers,” Judge Sutton wrote.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2015/05/14/Detention-of-person-carrying-gun-illegal.html
How many of those who would otherwise call this a victory for civil liberties, will denounce the decision, "because gunz"?
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