Arrested for locking mailbox…?
December 232009
The previous tenants to my brothers apartment called 911 cause my brother padlocked his mailbox and put his name and the word "only" on it, it already had a slot to drop letters in. Previous tenant was driving by and getting mail out of it, previous tenant was evicted. He "argued" with officer that it is his mailbox and his aparment and offered to show his lease. Told he is under arrest for disorderly conduct and to stand up from his chair on the porch. He refused to get up, officer pulled him up, threw him to the ground splashing mud on him and officer, and dry tazed him. While face down on ground he did say the F word. He is charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault on an officer. The officer told him he owed him a new uniform. Also my brother is in liver failure and on disability. I witnessed this with my mom and my neighbor. I have pictures of his bruises and tazer marks. I have statement from postmaster that it is legal to lock his mailbox. We told the police it is his mailbox and we were told it is a civil matter. This is a small town, who do I go to? I have no money for a lawyer. Public defender recommends pleading guilty to lesser charges. What do you think?
Update: Legal Aid said they cannot take a case with criminal charges pending against my brother. Seen a lawyer, said my brother cannot file a lawsuit against a police officer unless the charges againt my brother are dropped. So lawyer wants money up front to get charges dropped, then pursue compensation, attorneys fees, etc. Why didn’t the officer let us verify who lived where by showing him the lease????? And none of this would have happened.
Ok, it is correct term is "drive stun", not "dry taze". No I am not familiar with those terms and we are not troublemakers.
I think you get a lawyer anyway. You can pay over time. This is too important not to let the police get away with blatant crime against your brother. Be loud. Tell the courts you want a different, competent public defender. Call the ABA. There are organizations which supply legal aid to those who can’t afford it. Actually, it’s called Legal Aid. You have a computer, google it. Fight. That cop needs to go to jail himself. I’d say he was disorderly. Does he not know that tazer guns and water can kill. He endangered your brother’s life. He really needs NOT to get away with this, and if you don’t stand up against this, he will get away with it and do it over and over again.
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I think your brother shouldn’t give police officers a hard time anymore.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I think you get a lawyer anyway. You can pay over time. This is too important not to let the police get away with blatant crime against your brother. Be loud. Tell the courts you want a different, competent public defender. Call the ABA. There are organizations which supply legal aid to those who can’t afford it. Actually, it’s called Legal Aid. You have a computer, google it. Fight. That cop needs to go to jail himself. I’d say he was disorderly. Does he not know that tazer guns and water can kill. He endangered your brother’s life. He really needs NOT to get away with this, and if you don’t stand up against this, he will get away with it and do it over and over again.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Previous tenant is a criminal. It is a federal offense to remove mail from a box that does not belong to him. Call the local postmaster, file a complaint and ask which office of the postal inspector to contact.
Not clear from your story who got arrested: previous tenant or brother, as you say "previous tenant was evicted… he argued with police." What? Who? Why would ANYONE argue with the police? You do what the nice man with the badge tells you to do then you sue him, his department, the city and anyone else within earshot, and settle for a million dollars.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Legal Aid Society
Call first, find out where to go & what time to show up… your brother will have to be there…
Then he can discuss it with them… they will let him know if he has any kind of case that he can file
They may or may not elect to take the case
I don’t think they can provide legal advise unless they take the case… but it is worth going there & finding out
http://www.legal-aid.org/en/probono/volunteerprobono.aspx
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December 23rd, 2009 at 2:14 pm
It sounds like the police officer used unnecessary force. Yes, he did have the right to throw your brother down, but the tazing wasn’t needed.
Nobody owes him a new uniform, as that was caused by his own actions.
Your brother was NOT arrested for locking the mailbox although that was the cause of the situation. I doubt he could be arrested for assault on an officer as he didn’t actually touch him and cops normally wont charge you for say F*** off or anything.
He COULD be charged for abstructing justice though and the others, all of which are his own fault.
I personally think that he should plead guilty, because when(not if) he is charged, it will be a lighter sentence if he admits to doing wrong. His punishment will probably be equivalent to a slap on the wrist.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Well honestly you should make a case against the officer for false arrest or battery i mean the officer told him to get up he didn’t then threw him down in mud and tazed him that’s, at least where i live illegal id consult a lawyer or someone you know that the cop acted irrationally and make a case you can’t just tazer someone because they say no. That could be considered assault you said you have evidence and witnesses right. I hope this helps
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December 23rd, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Is your brother on medication for the liver failure? If so, some of the medication causes individuals to act or react in irrational ways…hold on…what I am saying is that he can use this in court. Also, he can file a civil lawsuit and a harassment claim against the police officer who arrested him. He has a right to lock his mailbox. The ex-tenant can also be sued for tampering with mail and mailbox…a Federal offense. Call the post master and ask him to file the correct forms in order to pursue stopping this individual from opening the mailbox. Call an attorney in your area, some will be willing to take your case on a contingency which means you don’t pay unless money is allotted for compensation.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
The fact that you even know the term "dry taze" kind of says something. The average citizen who has never had a problem with the law would have no idea about what that means.
The police may have over stepped for sure.
But he is in a no win situation. He could have stood up, explained what was going on in a calm even manner and that would have been that. Obviously your brother has some sort of attitude. If a man with a badge asks you to do something you comply.
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December 23rd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Stick with the public defender and plead not guilty. The PD will likely be a better lawyer than any private one you can afford. If you DO go with a private attorney, make sure he was a former Public Defender.
Once the case is won, then sue.
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