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Lucille
01-05-2013, 10:37 AM
If you’re not David Gregory...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/guns/2013/jan/4/miller-if-youre-not-david-gregory-extended-version/#ixzz2H6tfJt2d


While the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is in the third week of mulling over what to do about NBC anchor David Gregory flouting the District’s firearms laws on national television, a U.S. Army veteran is still grappling with the fallout from his arrest on the same charge.

James Brinkley, a federal government employee, was arrested in September was arrested in September on two counts of possession of “high capacity” magazines and one for having an unregistered weapon. He fought the charges and won, but he's still out his legal fees and officials haven’t yet returned his gun.

Mr. Brinkley noted that the D.C. police firearms registry website does not say that so-called high-capacity magazines (over 10 rounds) are illegal to transport. That’s because they are not. They are banned from being possessed in the District, and Mr. Gregory knew that when he brandished a 30-round rifle magazine on his show during an interview with the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre on Dec. 23.

Mr. Brinkley believes the NBC anchor is receiving special treatment because of his high-profile job. “I’m an average person," said Mr. Brinkley. "There seems to be a law for us and a law for the upper echelon. I got arrested -- and my magazines weren’t in the gun -- and Gregory has not gotten arrested. They say it’s an ‘ongoing investigation.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if they said, ‘We decided not to place him under arrest’ -- even though it’s against the law in D.C.”
[...]
Just like Mr. Gregory, Mr. Brinkley called MPD in advance to ask for guidance on legally transporting his gun during the drop off. The police told that the gun had to be unloaded and locked in the trunk, and he couldn’t park the car and walk around. (The District’s transport law mirrors federal law in this respect.) Unlike Mr. Gregory, who apparently disregarded the response provided by the police, Mr. Brinkley followed the police orders exactly.
[...]
Police chief appears to be protecting NBC’s David Gregory

Unlike most of the rest of the country, violent crime in D.C. was up 3 percent in 2012 and assaults with a deadly weapon were up 6 percent. Before Chief Lanier took down the crime map stats in the fall, assaults with a gun were up 20 percent. Her spokesman, Gwendolyn Crump, could not give the final statistic for the year end.

Asked how many people were arrested in 2012 for “high capacity magazines,” it took the police department five days to tell me that there were “more than” 105 arrests for possession last year. One of those was Mr. Brinkley, but none were Mr. Gregory.

Mr. Brinkley was publicly humiliated and thrown in jail. He was forced to spend time and money to defend himself for violating the same exact law that millions of viewers watched the NBC anchor violate. It’s wrong for Mr. Gregory to get special treatment.

deadfish
01-05-2013, 12:00 PM
I missed this one, thanks for posting.

Here's another in case anyone missed it

MILLER: Two systems of justice
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/1/two-systems-of-justice/


In July, The Washington Times highlighted the plight of former Army Spc. Adam Meckler, who was arrested and jailed for having a few long-forgotten rounds of ordinary ammunition — but no gun — in his backpack in Washington. Mr. Meckler, a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says he had no idea it was illegal to possess unregistered ammunition in the city. He violated the same section of D.C. law as Mr. Gregory allegedly did, and both offenses carry the same maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/1/two-systems-of-justice/#ixzz2H7omEyuw
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

Lucille
01-11-2013, 02:19 PM
D.C. police won’t arrest David Gregory
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/guns/2013/jan/9/miller-dc-police-wont-arrest-david-gregory/


Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has concluded its investigation into NBC anchor David Gregory without an arrest.

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier’s spokesman Gwendolyn Crump emailed Wednesday morning: “Emily, MPD has completed the investigation into this matter, and the case has been presented to the OAG for a determination of the prosecutorial merit of the case.”

I've asked Ms. Crump several follow-up questions about the case, including why Mr. Gregory was not interviewed and why a search warrant was not issued for the subject's home and office.

Ted Gest, the spokesman for the District’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG), told the decision whether or not to prosecute Mr. Gregory will come "possibly this week."

Richard Gardiner, a firearms attorney, said that MPD referring the case to the OAG without arrest is not unexpected. “This is not unusual for high-profile cases. The police investigate the facts and give the results to the prosecutor to decide whether to bring charges,” he explained.

I asked Mr. Gardiner if it was normal that the police would not interview the subject, Mr. Gregory, as part of their investigation. “I’m not surprised at all they didn't interview him,” he said. “The police usually only interview people who are not sophisticated and wealthy because the police figure they don’t have counsel and so don’t know that they can say, ‘no.’”

The police chief has led a inquiry for three and a half weeks into whether the “Meet the Press” anchor broke the firearms law on Dec. 23 when when he held up a 30-round rifle magazine on his D.C.-based show. Magazines over 10 rounds are considered “high capacity” by the District and banned. NBC called MPD in advance of the show for permission to break the law and was refused.

While Mr. Gregory got away without being arrested or going to jail, the police arrested 105 other people in 2012 on charges that included possession of “high capacity” feeding devices.

One of those cases was James Brinkley, an Army Veteran and federal employee, who was handcuffed, arrested and jailed for possessing two so-called high-capacity magazines and an unregistered firearm. The OAG refused to drop the charges, despite overwhelming evidence that he was legally transporting through Washington.

Mr. Brinkley refused to accept a guilty plea and went to the expense of taking the matter to court. At trial at D.C. Superior Court, Mr. Brinkley said of OAG’s Assistant Attorney General Rachel Bohlen: “I thought I was going to lose because the prosecutor was so rough. She was coming at me like I’d shot somebody.” Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Carroll Wingo acquitted Mr. Brinkley of all the charges.

So while the rich and powerful NBC anchor knowingly broke the firearm law, he was never subjected to the humiliation of being arrested by the police for breaking the same law as ordinary, law-abiding citizens like Mr. Brinkley did last year.

Justice can only prevail if the prosecutor's office at least offers Mr. Gregory a deal to plead guilty, pay a fine and be put on the Gun Offenders’ Registry, like so many others who have been caught up in the city’s inane firearms laws.

Fat chance. Laws are for the little people.

sailingaway
01-11-2013, 02:21 PM
snort.

Petar
01-11-2013, 02:26 PM
Citizens arrest?