Detective Advocates Shooting Law-Abiding Individuals Who Open Carry

Late last week this story started to find its way around the web. It was posted to Cop Block’s Facebook Fan page, twice, and we even tweeted about it. But today we came across this post by libertarian activist, Pete Eyre. Pete, an advocate for open carry, is also the man responsible for the Arlington Police officer video posted here last week. On his blog, Liberty is my Homie, he shared his views on the comments made by an active police officer about open carrying a firearm:

ARLINGTON, VA – Yesterday I was invited to join the Facebook group “America’s Gun Owners Say Fire Det. Rod Tuason” created by John Taylor (which has grown from 50 members to 3,500 since Friday). Why? Because of comments left by East Palo Alto Police Department Det. Tuason on a friends Facebook status about individuals open carrying:

Haha, we had one guy last week try to do it! He got proned out and reminded where he was at and that turds will jack him for his gun in a heartbeat! …Sounds like you had someone practicing their 2nd amendment rights last night! Should’ve pulled the AR out and prone them all out! And if one of them makes a furtive movement … 2 weeks off!!!

So Tusaon is pretty much saying that individuals who choose to carry a firearm openly (in CA those those that claim the right to create man-made legislation state that to be “legal” the firearms have to be unloaded…) should be shot and killed. And then the person who did the shooting will get a two week vacation paid for by money stolen from others.

Note the double standard.

Tuason believes that he and others with badges have not only the right but the duty to kill those carrying firearms simply because they don’t have the same piece of metal pinned to their chest. Unsurprisingly, Tuason has not yet been disciplined. And though he has refused to comment publicly on the issue he has deleted his personal Facebook profile.

East Palo Alto police Capt. Carl Estelle, responded to the situation by stating that:

We have to be careful because they’re on his own personal private Web page… We have to be careful not to violate his First Amendment rights.

Really? I’d bet if a manager of McDonald’s or Wal-Mart wrote that those open carrying should be shot and killed so that they could get a vacation they’d be canned. But this is what we’ve come to expect when an organization is granted a monopoly on providing a good or service. That organization, whether it be the East Palo Alto PD, the FDA or NASA, lacks the necessary incentives. They are sheltered from market signals and thus fail to respond accordingly. Fortunately, more and more people are choosing not to grant authority to these thugs.

I encourage you to join “America’s Gun Owners Say Fire Det. Rod Tuason” as a show of support for those individuals who open carry in East Palo Alto as they may have run-ins with the anything-but-serve-and-protect Tuason and his colleagues who are protecting him. And if you’re so-inclined, use the contact info on the Group to share your thoughts with those at the East Palo Alto PD.

For more, check out Bruce Benson’s The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State.

Like Pete states above, Police don’t have anymore rights just because they carry a badge. Here is the phone number to the East Palo Alto Police department: 650-853-3160 If you’re displeased with Det. Tuason’s statements let them know.

UPDATE: Pete recently posted this video of his phone conversation with a the  East Palo Alto Police department.