Title: Cop Says “Open Carry” Advocates Should Be Shot Source:
[None] URL Source:http://republicbroadcasting.org/?p=6759 Published:Feb 13, 2010 Author:KTVU Post Date:2010-02-13 20:36:29 by christine Keywords:None Views:650 Comments:29
A controversy was brewing in East Palo Alto Tuesday night after a police detective made apparently joking comments through his Facebook account saying “open carry” advocates who visibly carry guns in public should be shot.
Now East Palo Alto has become a reluctant testing ground for a battle of constitutional amendments: one police officer’s ‘freedom of speech’ versus a group’s ‘right to bear arms.’
Area resident Adnan Shahab is an “open carry” advocate who frequently goes out in public displaying an unloaded gun on his belt. Such activity is legal in California with certain restrictions, such as staying clear of schools.
Shahab said he was offended by Facebook remarks posted by East Palo Alto detective Rod Tuason. Tuason published a comment that said he agreed with a friend that open carry advocates should come to Oakland, Richmond and East Palo Alto and — in an apparent joke — said officers should shoot the advocates.
If this detective worked for me I'd want to know what other constitutional rights he believes citizens should be shot for. He should know all about the Supreme Court decision, Castle Rock v. Gonzales in which the Supreme Court ruled that the police did not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm. This case leaves the prudent citizen in a position to be prepared to defend themselves when necessary.