Philly Police Harass, Threaten to Shoot Man Legally Carrying Gun
A story in today's Philadelphia Daily News shows why it's so important that citizens be allowed to videotape cops - it can be citizens' only way to fight back against police abuse of power.
This incident happened several weeks ago in Philadelphia to Mark Fiorino, a 25-year-old IT worker who carries a gun on his hip at all times for self defense. He got the gun after several friends were mugged.
But he didn't count on attacks by police:
On a mild February afternoon, Fiorino, 25, decided to walk to an AutoZone on Frankford Avenue in Northeast Philly with the .40-caliber Glock he legally owns holstered in plain view on his left hip. His stroll ended when someone called out from behind: "Yo, Junior, what are you doing?"
Fiorino wheeled and saw Sgt. Michael Dougherty aiming a handgun at him.
What happened next would be hard to believe, except that Fiorino audio-recorded all of it: a tense, profanity-laced, 40-minute encounter with cops who told him that what he was doing - openly carrying a gun on the city's streets - was against the law.
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"Do you know you can't openly carry here in Philadelphia?" Dougherty asked, according to the YouTube clip.
"Yes, you can, if you have a license to carry firearms," Fiorino said. "It's Directive 137. It's your own internal directive."
Fiorino was right. It was perfectly legal to carry the gun. But that didn't matter to the cop:http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/blog/2011/05/16/philly-police-harass-threaten-shoot-man-legally-carrying-gun#ixzz1MdFZoFu0
To read the "first" reason to not visit Philly, click here.
To think, that at one time, the seat of our national gov't sat in Philadelphia, it makes the blood boil to see our freedoms treated with such disdain by city government employees. I do hope that Mr. Fiorino gets a lawyer and sues the city and the police for millions.
Current Mood: Awake
Current Music: The Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
My Carry Pistol: Makarov PM 9x18mm
3 comments:
Gotta love Philadelphia. Police have hauled people in for taking photos of oil refineries.
I also carry a Makarov in the warmer months. Outstanding weapon.
Mark was recently aquitted, and the last I heard, a civil suit was moving forward.
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