Among the many things I’ve learned writing posts at Simple Justice over the years is that there are few people who, even though they may not be a lawyer, are so well-prepared, knowledgeable and thoughtful, that they should not be screwed with. Minneapolis Police Sgt. William Palmer didn’t learn that lesson.
Joel Rosenberg, better known around these parts as Jdog, is such a person. A few constants to anticipate with Jdog. He will be exercising his Second Amendment right to bear arms. As a firearms instructor and the guy who wrote the book, Everything You Need to Know About (Legally) Carrying a Handgun in Minnesota. he will know the law. And most of all, he will not take kindly to a police officer who decides to make up his own law at Jdog’s expense.
Bill Palmer picked the wrong guy to play with. From the press release:
Rosenberg and his wife, Felicia Herman, had arrived at the office by previous arrangement with the suspect, Palmer, to examine the first of several Minnesota Government Data Practices Act responses that Rosenberg has submitted to the MPD and the City of Minneapolis. In addition to his responsibilities as police spokesman, Palmer is also the MPD’s Data Practices Officer.
When Rosenberg removed his jacket, revealing one of the two lawfully-carried handguns on his person, Palmer leaped at him, laid hands on him without lawful authority or Rosenberg’s consent, and removed one of Rosenberg’s pistols, “sweeping”, or momentarily pointing it, at Rosenberg as he moved to unload it.
Having a gun pointed at you is never as much fun as it sounds.
Palmer admitted, in front of Rosenberg, two witnesses, and a video camera, that he had done so out of a belief that it was somehow unlawful for Rosenberg, a permit holder, . . . to carry in Minneapolis City Hall, and threatened Rosenberg with the loss of his carry permit — something that Palmer has neither the authority to threaten nor to do — and with arrest.
That it happened in the waiting room of Timothy Dolan, Minneapolis Police Chief, where Jdog was scheduled to review records of police misconduct makes this really awkward.
“It’s really very simple,” Rosenberg explained. “Bill had no right to touch me at all, much less grab my gun, much less point it at me, even momentarily. I expect that the [Hennipen County] Sheriff’s Office will investigate, and act according to both the facts and the law.
Naturally, Jdog knew the law, that Sgt. Palmer’s blind assumption that it was somehow improper for him to carry his legal weapon in places where it struck Palmer as, well, improper, didn’t change the statute. Darn those rights.
[Rosenberg] advised Palmer that Minnesota Statute 624.714 not only permits Rosenberg to carry his firearm there, but that Subd. 23 of that statute says (emphasis added):
No sheriff, police chief, governmental unit, government official, government employee, or other person or body acting under color of law or governmental authority may change, modify, or supplement these criteria or procedures, or limit the exercise of a permit to carry.
But then, making up law as they go is a time-honored police tradition, begging the question: How long will the investigation into Sgt. William Palmer’s conduct take before they decide to give him a medal for his diligent response in the face of death?
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While I absolutely loved reading this story, aren’t you forgetting the officer safety exception- you know, hey, statute shmatute, we gotta go home safe at the end of tour, that’s job number 1, figures you got a problem with that, you don’t know the kinda stuff we deal with, etc.
While he’s standing in the Police Chief’s waiting room with an appointment?
And sweeping him with the loaded firearm?
Please.
You can take Barney off the street and put him in Data Practices but The Fife Endures!
Felicia, how did you ever make it out of there alive what with all those guns around?
An interesting and heartwarming article. I say heartwarming because it always does my heart good to see a citizen know the law and thereby prevent or reduce police misconduct. As I say this, I have a great respect for police officers who do a very difficult, dangerous and often thankless job.
However, if a police officer is going to arrest people he should know what the laws are so he doesn’t arrest people for doing something that is not against the law.
Speaking on the other side of this, we have way too many laws (except for the laws that protect our rights). How in the world can a police officer be expected to know all of the laws when this may be impossible for a lawyer too.
As a Defense Attorney you must see many instances of police misconduct and it must be especially offensive to you. I’m glad it is. It is not the police that protect us (they can’t or each person would have to be assigned 3 police officers a day to (1 for each 8 hour shift).
It is really the defense attorneys that protect us. They protect us from the government.
He never even knew about the 38 snubby in my Berns Martin shoulder holster (yes, *that* Berns Martin).
I’m the muscle in the Family.
Shhhh… it’s a secret.
Albert. Quote “Speaking on the other side of this, we have way too many laws (except for the laws that protect our rights). How in the world can a police officer be expected to know all of the laws when this may be impossible for a lawyer too.”
Thats true, but its the cops and government that want to make the laws like this. Even reading news reports, i see the wording for why the cops arrest someone as totaly out in left field. Some of the wording is something a child would think up, but they get away with it.
Jdog, you should consider shopping for a vest to wear under your Hawaiian shirts.
On second thought Jdog, maybe not. You might get charged with lawfully wearing a vest during the commission of lawfully packing.
I’ve got a vest. It, together with the absurd shoulder rig (I mean, the .45 is okay, but the two horizontal mags with the combat knife strapped to them…) is what my lawyer refers to, fairly, as my “clown suit.” Our host has seen pictures; he was embarrassed for me.
Here’s the strange thing about it: it renders me invisible to the MPD. Really. I can (and have) walked into Chris and Rob’s (great hot dogs; around lunchtime it tends to be half cop patronage), order my own lunch, walk past the cop tables to the john and back, past at least twelve MPD, then peacefully sit down at a table to have lunch, in that absurd getup . . .
. . . and they simply don’t see me.
Only “contact” I had doing that, repeatedly, over the past couple of months was a very polite inquiry from a very polite HCSO deputy, who ran a quick wants and warrants check as well as my permit — he politely explained that he figured I was likely legal, but that he’d been asked by a patron to check out the “scary guy” — took a business card, and then was on his way. Textbook — I sent his (and, for that matter, my) sheriff a nice note, and got a nice response. (We both observed all the formalities — when I wanted to get a business card out of the console, I explained what I was doing in advance, even though by then he’d clearly worked out that I wasn’t going to be pulling out any guns or knives.)
It’s not your rig that makes you invisible. It’s your unassuming good looks and demure taste in attire.
This is true.
I’m having a difficult time figuring this out. Is he the firearms instructor or the dance studio instructor?
What makes you think they’re two different places?
“Dance, varmint, dance I tell ya!” blamblamblam