Illustrates a whole lot about what's wrong with my state's .gov

[brimic]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/dnr-ranger-faces-excessive-force-charge-gj4bs19-140612323.html

DNR ranger faces excessive force charge
e-mail print By The Associated Press
Feb. 27, 2012 |(9) Comments

Madison - Prosecutors have accused a state park ranger of threatening a motorcyclist at gunpoint.

Bernard Mark Garvey of Argyle faces one misdemeanor count of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon.

Investigators said in a criminal complaint filed Monday a cyclist named Michael Parrott entered Yellowstone Lake State Park on June 18, 2011, without a state parks sticker for his motorcycle and got into a scuffle with Garvey over the motorcycle's keys.

Garvey handcuffed him but Parrott managed to move his hands from behind his body to the front. Parrott told investigators Garvey pressed the barrel of his gun against Parrott's helmet and said "give me a reason."

Online court records didn't list an attorney for Garvey. DNR spokesman Bill Cosh says Garvey was relieved of his law enforcement duties on Aug. 3, 2011, and reassigned to other work.

So not only did this tool threaten another citizen's life over a minor infraction, if there even was an infraction to begin with, but his butt wasn't kicked to the curb for it.

I know the resident LEO appologists are going to point out that the motorcyclist wasn;'t exactly compliant. Big deal. DNR agents have been acting like they are above the law for a long time here.

[mtnbkr]

I guess I'm an appologist, but it seems the motorcyclist did everything he could to escalate the situation.  What might have been a ticket or even a warning was turned into a more serious situation.  The ranger didn't threaten the guy because he didn't have a sticker, which is the only "minor infraction mentioned".

Why did they scuffle over the keys, did the guy try to ride off?  Why did he move his hands to the front when they were cuffed behind, was he going to attack the ranger or go for a weapon?

I guess once the motorcyclist expressed his displeasure, the ranger should have stepped aside and apologized.

Chris

[brimic]

I suppose both the verbal and physical threat of the firearm was appropriate, I mean tasers should only be used on scofflaws like those violating leash laws.

[T.O.M.]

But..but...but...that's what they do on TV all the time!  You push your gun into the bad guys neck and make a smart ass comment!  Is that wrong?

Boy, I may need to rethink my whole home defense strategies!

 

[mtnbkr]

ok, I went back and read the Criminal Complaint linked in the article.  The article lacks a LOT of the detail in the actual complaint.  Yeah, the ranger needs to go.

Chris

[AJ Dual]

People always insist they know "a good one", although generally speaking, that's because it's a DNR ranger from their small town who has to be amicable to the people he lives with.

The rest of them are constantly on a fishing expedition. Pulling stunts like a hunter who bagged his deer approaching them for directions to the tagging station, and citing him for having an untagged kill etc.

I have never once had a good interaction with a DNR ranger/agent in WI.

[K Frame]

Imbued with the spirit of Chuck Norris, he was.

Pennsylvania had Game Wardens, full-time state employees, and deputy game wardens who were volunteers and, for the most part it seemed, repressed cops who couldn't pass the psych evals.

The deputy game warden in my neck of the woods went to my church and was, without a doubt, one of the biggest aholes I've ever met.

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

just fired?   where are the criminal charges

[brimic]

just fired?   where are the criminal charges

If you read the print at the end of the article that I highlighted in bold, it says that he wasn't even fired.

[Lee]

Why do you  need a sticker anyway?

[K Frame]

"Why do you need a sticker"

It's a "pay to play" thing. Helps support the park facilities by charging, directly, those who use park facilities.

Or, it's another indication of big bad gubmint owning your soul. That sticker gives them the rights to break down your door without warrant, rape your dog, shoot your wife, and drink your beer.

People really need to read the fine print...

[Perd Hapley]

Or, it's another indication of big bad gubmint owning your soul. That sticker gives them the rights to break down your door without warrant, rape your dog, shoot your wife, and drink your beer.

"That's what government is for, Ron, to provide services to people." --Leslie Knope

[roo_ster]

"Why do you need a sticker"

It's a "pay to play" thing. Helps support the park facilities by charging, directly, those who use park facilities.

Or, it's another indication of big bad gubmint owning your soul. That sticker gives them the rights to break down your door without warrant, rape your dog, shoot your wife, and drink your beer.

People really need to read the fine print...

It is the mark of the beast...or just one more stupid sticker some self-important twit thinks rates windshield space.  Similar to the "Carry this card and join our store club and purchase tracking service" types.  No, buddy, I have no desire for your card to take space  in my wallet or your sticker to take space on my windshield.

As far as pay-yo-play, though, I am all for it.

[RevDisk]

Imbued with the spirit of Chuck Norris, he was.

Pennsylvania had Game Wardens, full-time state employees, and deputy game wardens who were volunteers and, for the most part it seemed, repressed cops who couldn't pass the psych evals.

I believe they changed it to "conservation officers".  No, I'm not kidding. 

Everyone's biggest gripe that I know of is that Game Wardens tend to trespass. It's legally allowed, with some major quibbles (not supposed to enter area right around any house or enclosure, as it is curtilage) under "open fields doctrine". 

Most officers tend not invoke this, because it's a) not a good idea with a highly armed population, b) legally murky and c) tends to annoy folks. A lot of the Fish and Boat Commission folks facepalm all the time. Fish wardens tend to be a bit more on the diplomatic side. 

Allegedly, the PA Supreme Court smacked the Game Wardens over the head about it.

http://pgchallofshame.com/news/news38.htm

[MechAg94]

It seems to me that down this way, there are too few game wardens to get in too many people's way.  In the county I work on the coast, there are only 3.  Lots of public land and waters to watch before worrying about private land too much.

[K Frame]

Yeah, the trespassing thing got the deputy whatever he's called now in a ton a trouble years ago.

I was at a friend's house in the rural part of our county, and he and I were shooting. I guess we were 16 or 17. Perfectly, absolutely, 100% legal.

Deputy *expletive deleted*bag comes SCREAMING up the driveway (bad move) does the blind 90 degree curve at the top of the drive WAY too fast, and ends up taking out my friend's father's grill (TURBO bad move).

DD gets out screaming that we're hunting out of season and he's going to put us in jail. I guess the fact that we were underage and shooting beer cans... well, OK.

Things got REALLY strange after that.

My friend's father grew up in Nazi Germany and was never one to take *expletive deleted*it from anyone cloaking himself in the thin crust of quasi government authority.

State police had to come out and settle everything out.

Turns out that Deputy Dipshit was in a bad mood (I knew him, he was always in a bad mood) and decided to toss his weight around to make him feel better about himself. State cop told him he was responsible for killing the grill, didn't have even the barest hint of a reason to come onto the property (it was the middle of the day in July), and if he was smart, he'd tuck his tail between his legs and leave.

It didn't end there, though. My friend's father was pretty high up in the state government's civil service, so he knew what strings to pull and buttons to push to make sure that Deputy was relieved of his deputy duties.

[AJ Dual]

You'd think SOMEONE would have stumbled over the idea that being buddy buddy with everyone as much as possible would give the wardens/agents thousands of eyes and ears out in the woods and lakes looking for poachers and whatnot.

That there aren't many/any like this, tells me there's some sort of pathology in the way most state DNR's function, and their culture.

[brimic]

You'd think SOMEONE would have stumbled over the idea that being buddy buddy with everyone as much as possible would give the wardens/agents thousands of eyes and ears out in the woods and lakes looking for poachers and whatnot.

It seems to go further than that...
My BIL, who is a cop in a rural area of the state, has had enough history with the local warden that he and plenty of others in local PDs or the Sheriff's Dept will only grudgingly help the warden out.

[K Frame]

Generally the wardens themselves, the guys who are employed, aren't too bad.

I've known a couple.

They're a LOT better than the deputy wardens I've known.

[Balog]

A lot of the semi-cop type jobs are filled with folks who fail to pass even the relatively meager standards of the local police dept. Hence power tripping douches grasping for awwwthoratay.

[RevDisk]

You'd think SOMEONE would have stumbled over the idea that being buddy buddy with everyone as much as possible would give the wardens/agents thousands of eyes and ears out in the woods and lakes looking for poachers and whatnot.

That there aren't many/any like this, tells me there's some sort of pathology in the way most state DNR's function, and their culture.

Out in the boonies, poachers either have the support (or apathy) of the people and no one saw nothing, or they don't. If they don't, there's no poacher in short order. Special circumstances do come up. There's an issue with Amish poachers in a certain area, and the local politicians don't want to chase off good business but the locals are not happy.  

Deep boonies (<1 person per 500+ acres), yea, tracking poachers can be very interesting work.


The criminal complaint basically alleges (by other police officers) that the DNR ranger lied in his official report, according to multiple witnesses. Biggie is that allegedly, the biker did not shut off his bike and there was a schuffle over the keys (ie assault of LEO). Except, the ranger told multiple folks that the biker turned off the bike voluntarily. Same that the biker had a pocket knife.

Biker's story is he didn't know he needed some special sticker, his buddies said he did. He hunted down a park ranger to get a sticker. Park ranger made unpleasant comments, biker made unpleasant comments. Park ranger said turn off bike, biker turns off bike. Biker gets cuffed, biker switches cuffs to front of him. (Probably only bad thing he did, not sure if illegal?) Park ranger puts handgun in muzzle contact with helmet, and threatens to execute biker. DNR brass say SOP is to hand over a temporary courtesy pass (and remind the person to buy a pass) or write a citation, not threaten to kill folks.

Edit: BTW, I assume it varies by state, but how illegal is it to remove your own handcuffs? I mean it's trivial to remove them with or without the key, so I would gather there are usually laws against it. Such poor "locks" (a simple spring latch, actually) can't actually be considered real restraints, yes? That and officers would likely not be amused?

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

not amused is an understatement. as a young man i could slip them over my wrists might still be able to. haven't had to try in quite a while.  it makes em real unhappy if i had been older i likely woulda got a tuneup

[brimic]

The criminal complaint basically alleges (by other police officers) that the DNR ranger lied in his official report, according to multiple witnesses. Biggie is that allegedly, the biker did not shut off his bike and there was a schuffle over the keys (ie assault of LEO). Except, the ranger told multiple folks that the biker turned off the bike voluntarily.

I'm wondering- was it illegal to shut off the bike, as in it being illegally parked if it were shut off, but if it were running, the biker would have been in the clear?
The rules may be and probably are different, but the nearest state park down the road that I go hiking in, you don't need a pass to drive through it, but you need to buy a pass to park (either a yearly pass or a daily pass).

It sounds almost like the nitpicky crap that DNR agents often used to bust people. One of the biggest that is even warned against in Hunter Safety courses is the uncased firearm in/on a motor vehicle. A warden would wait in parking lots (I've been checked in such places several times myself), the hunter would lean their shotgun against the fender of their truck after the warden tells them to carefully set it down, then the hunter is cited for illegally transporting a firearm.

The good thing is that our recent CCW law did away with this.

[Ben]

It sounds almost like the nitpicky crap that DNR agents often used to bust people. One of the biggest that is even warned against in Hunter Safety courses is the uncased firearm in/on a motor vehicle. A warden would wait in parking lots (I've been checked in such places several times myself), the hunter would lean their shotgun against the fender of their truck after the warden tells them to carefully set it down, then the hunter is cited for illegally transporting a firearm.

The good thing is that our recent CCW law did away with this.

We have the same thing happen here in CA, including cases where the hunter leans their gun against an ATV. In CA, it's a loaded firearm - don't know of any cases where someone was sited for doing that with an unloaded one. In our case it includes private property, which I would get busted for all the time if Wardens ever came on the folks' property. During dove season, me and the dog are always hopping from one section to another, and I just set the shotgun on the back rack of the 4-wheeler for the 5 minute ride.

[Regolith]

In Nevada, it is (or was - haven't checked for a while) against the hunting regs to have a loaded firearm in or on the vehicle. I had a teacher in HS who was cited for it and had his license and gun confiscated because when the game warden approached, he leaned his gun against the vehicle in order to be polite.