Weare, NH Police Settle with FSP President for $57,500!

[Keith and stuff]

The Weare Police Department settled with the Free State Project President for $57,500.
by Ian | Jun 4, 2014
http://freekeene.com/2014/06/04/weare-police-settle-with-fsp-president-for-57500/


After being trounced in the 1st federal circuit court (http://freekeene.com/2014/05/23/fsp-president-wins-federal-case-against-weare-police/), the Town of Weare and the notoriously corrupt Weare Police Department have settled with Free State Project President Carla Gericke to the tune of $57,500!

After Weare police had arrested her for “wiretapping” for recording a traffic stop then dropped the charges, Carla sued. She had recently won an “interlocutory” appeal case (http://freekeene.com/2014/05/23/fsp-president-wins-federal-case-against-weare-police/) where the 1st circuit decided (again) that there is an established right to record government police doing their job in public and that police cannot claim “qualified immunity” from personal liability when arresting videographers.

The civil case against Weare, the WPD, and the individual officers was remanded back to the federal district court to move ahead to trial, but now that trial has been canceled with the news that Weare has given up and settled the case for over $57,000! Plus, there are no restrictions on her discussing the case, as are typically found with settlements. Congratulations to Carla and her attorneys for this epic win!

You can like the Facebook page for the Department. Notice all of the bad reviews?
https://www.facebook.com/wearepolicedepartment

On the other hand, the lawyers representing Carla have a lot of positive reviews on their Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/Martin.Hipple

[Keith and stuff]

Here is the press release the lawyers issued after the won in the 1st Circuit Court, before they settled with the Weare PD.

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Right of Activist to Record Police Traffic Stops
A Federal appellate court has upheld the constitutional right to record police traffic stops, the Law Office of Martin & Hipple has announced. In doing so, the Court allowed a lawsuit against several New Hampshire police officers to proceed.
Concord, NH (PRWEB) May 30, 2014


According to court documents (No. 12-2326), on the evening of March 24, 2010, former Weare, NH police sergeant Joseph Kelley pulled over a motorist. Carla Gericke stood approximately thirty feet away and attempted to record the interaction. Soon after, Officer Brandon Montplaisir, also of the Weare, NH Police Department, confronted Gericke. Montplaisir eventually arrested Gericke and the Weare Police seized her camera. For recording, she was charged with illegal wiretapping, a felony carrying prison time. All charges were subsequently dropped.

On May 9, 2010, Gericke sued the officers in the Federal District Court for the District of New Hampshire (docket number 11-CV-00231-SM) claiming that recording police is a First Amendment right and that charging her with a crime for recording violated that right.

Gericke’s lawsuit is one of many lawsuits recently filed against the small-town New Hampshire police department, which has come under significant criticism in recent years, as reported by the Concord Monitor.

Court documents show that the officers argued that the right to record police officers should not extend to traffic stops, which the officers argued were “inherently dangerous.” Gericke’s First Amendment claim, they argued, should therefore be dismissed under a process known as “summary judgment.” After losing this argument in the District Court, the officers appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals on October 29, 2012 (appellate case number CCA 12-2326).

In its May 23, 2014 order, the appellate court flatly declined to limit the right to record at traffic stops. Referencing Glik v. Cunniffe, a 2011 case where the same Court had upheld the right to record an arrest in a public park (No. 10-1764, 2011 WL 3769092 (1st Cir. Aug. 26, 2011), the Court wrote in its opinion that “First Amendment principles apply equally to the filming of a traffic stop and the filming of an arrest in a public park.”

“I feel vindicated and happy,” Gericke said soon after the decision was handed down. “This was a traumatic experience for me. I had never been arrested before. It’s good to know that the courts won’t allow the police to hide from public scrutiny.”

Rulings from the First Circuit Court of Appeals are binding precedent in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island and Gericke’s attorneys believe this case will have far-reaching effects. “The case will be cited for many years to come, especially because only a handful of courts have weighed in on the right to record,” said Attorney Stephen Martin of the Concord firm Martin & Hipple, and lead counsel in Gericke’s case against the police officers.

Attorney Martin’s co-counsel, Attorney Seth Hipple, agreed. “The only reason you know Rodney King’s name is because someone had a camera,” he said.

The case will now proceed to trial, unless a settlement is reached.

For more information or to request an interview with Gericke, Hipple or Martin, please email Kari DePhillips at karilee(at)contentfac(dot)com.

[FindLiberty]

I hope they can all just get along and live in peace and harmony now...

Go FSP!

[Keith and stuff]

This is the same corrupt, small town police department that settle 3 lawsuits earlier this year. My understanding is that there is still at least 1 civil rights lawsuit against the town. Another might happen because the town police killed a drug dealer this year.

February 11. 2014 6:13PM
Lawsuits involving Weare police settled
By NANCY BEAN FOSTER
Union Leader Correspondent
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20140212/NEWS06/140219796


WEARE — Three lawsuits against the town stemming from police department troubles have been settled out of court, but taxpayers will be picking up the tab for higher premiums next year as a result of the settlements.

Primex, a risk pool that insures the town against losses from things such as fire, workers compensation, and lawsuits, has increased Weare’s yearly liability premium from $117,200 for 2013 to $193,146 for 2014, according to Finance Administrator Tina Connor.

The increase of nearly $76,000 is a result of an overall increase in insurance premiums, said selectmen Chairman Tom Clow, but it also reflects the settlement of three lawsuits involving the police department.


According to settlement documents, the town doesn’t admit any wrongdoing, and the men who filed the suits have agreed not to discuss the terms of the agreements and have withdrawn their actions against the town.

Selectman Tom Clow said that settling the suits is a “giant step forward” for the town, which now has a new police chief, John Velecca, and several new officers.

“We’ve made a lot of positive changes at the police department,” Clow said. “Retirements have changed the culture of the department, and the new chief is very experienced and very straightforward. The staff respects him for that.”

[jllundqu]

Bump. Forwarded.

[jllundqu]

This actually established (affirms, rather) some good case law.

Activists and photographers now have a Circuit Court decision affirming the right to film "police carrying out their duties in public." This would include federal buildings, checkpoints, traffic stops, etc.

THis opens up some interesting possibilities.

[Cleaner44]

Nice! Let the police subsidise freedom for a change!

Now will the taxpayers demand a change in police policy?

[Keith and stuff]

Nice! Let the police subsidise freedom for a change!

Now will the taxpayers demand a change in police policy?
They replaced the chief and I think 3 other officers since the arrest in 2010. 1 of the horrible police officers that was responsible for this was fired for doing a whole bunch of other things wrong. Now he is suing the police force. He claims he told disability for PTSD or something and was fired because of that, instead of the long list of horrible things he did. Hopefully he loses and has to move out of New Hampshire to get another job.

Here is a story on it. The guy should be facing decades in jail for his many, many illegal acts. Yet, he does nothing but lie and claim he is a victim. http://www.wmur.com/news/fired-officer-files-lawsuit-against-weare/26312196#!VgwXv

[eduardo89]

FSP claims to be fiscally conservative.
Milks taxpayer for $57,500.

[Keith and stuff]

FSP claims to be fiscally conservative.
Milks taxpayer for $57,500.

The FSP doesn't claim to be conservative. The FSP had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Some evil people broke the law and took away the civil rights of the FSP president. She was exercising her right because her friend was being stopped and she wanted to record it for his protection. The police violated her civil rights, maybe because she is African American. She found a civil rights lawyer to take her case. A bunch of liberals in Boston believed that even though 1 of the liberty folks was carrying a firearm and it was at night, that the police went out of their way to violate her civil rights. The police department realized that each individual officer could now be individually sued for damaged. They freaked out and their insurance company settled the civil rights violation. It was a very small amount but it had already been 4 years and that was long enough for the person's life to be partly on hold. She she have sued the department and each officer personally for 100k? Absolutely, they targeted her on purpose. They know it was against the law but violating her civil rights was the most important thing to them. However, she was super nice and settled and is now moving on with her life. Everyone in the town owes her a great deal of gratitude. In fact, everyone in RI, ME, MA, NH and PR should thank her. She just won a major battle for all of their civil rights. She is a hero, as is her lawyer.

Your comment was both inappropriate and unfunny trolling. I didn't negative rep you only because I knew you were trolling.

[eduardo89]

FSP claims to be for limited government. You can't have limited government without fiscal conservatism.

The FSP president sued and got $57,500 from the taxpayers. That is the antithesis of advocating for limited government. The government will have to steal those $57,500 from NH citizens.

I am not trolling.

[Keith and stuff]

FSP claims to be for limited government. You can't have limited government without fiscal conservatism.

The FSP president sued and got $57,500 from the taxpayers. That is the antithesis of advocating for limited government. The government will have to steal those $57,500 from NH citizens.

I am not trolling.
The FSP doesn't claim to be for limited government or anything like that. It claims to want to recruit 20,000 liberty activists to move to New Hampshire. Once they move there, it's up to them.

And I explained that the insurance company will pay this. Towns have insurance companies to cover things like this. If enough things like this happen, the insurance companies increase the cost of insurance to the town. Ideally, that gets the town thinking about these problems that it's government is creating and in the long run, less of these self-created problems happen. That will financially benefit everyone in town because insurance costs will increase at a slower rate. Not only that, since millions of people, including 10,000s of government bureaucrats will hear about this, it might lead to reduced police corruption in CA, NY, MA, Mexico, TX and so on.

We don't know what the eventually impact of this great win will be. At the very least, the Weare police officers will violate the civil rights on the people in Weare with reduced frequency and Constitutional law books will be rewritten. When people ask the question of how does moving to NH as part of the fsp and getting involved in the local activism I choice increase freedom in other states, this is a great example. The millions of people in the area covered by the 1st district court can know sleep knowing they have an extra protection. You behavior reflects poorly on you. I wish you would stop :(

[Mani]

This is great news! Cops are smacking phones out of people's hands with regularity now and arresting them. This is a huge win.


And for the county, how long is it going to take for them to realize the Police need to stop violating people's rights? If they are losing lawsuits left and right will that force a change?

I think in a big city it won't make a difference, but maybe in a smaller county, that kind of information can spread fast enough that the residents can demand the Police to be held accountable for their actions, and force them to change.

At least that's my hope.

[Anti Federalist]

The "in your face" activism that these folks have been rightly vindicated for, is the exact same "in your face activism" that open carry advocates are engaging in, that you disapproved of.

I support all manners of "in your face activism", and, contrary to Eduardo's comments and speaking as a NH taxpayer, I hope the taxpayers do get presented the bill for this.

Maybe then they will get off their ass and start paying attention to out of control cops.

[Anti Federalist]

FSP claims to be for limited government. You can't have limited government without fiscal conservatism.

The FSP president sued and got $57,500 from the taxpayers. That is the antithesis of advocating for limited government. The government will have to steal those $57,500 from NH citizens.

I am not trolling.

As a bona fide NH taxpayer, I wish they would have sued for 57 million.

Maybe when people start losing their homes because they can't pay the taxes on them to pay for the out of control cops, they'll start paying attention.

Or, glory hallelujah, they'll do what a small number of northern New England towns have done already and abolish their police departments.

[Keith and stuff]

As a bona fide NH taxpayer, I wish they would have sued for 57 million.

Maybe when people start losing their homes because they can't pay the taxes on them to pay for the out of control cops, they'll start paying attention.

Or, glory hallelujah, they'll do what a small number of northern New England towns have done already and abolish their police departments.

It has certainly happened in New Hampshire over and over again. Westmoreland and Salisbury to name two recent towns.

[Anti Federalist]

It has certainly happened in New Hampshire over and over again. Westmoreland and Salisbury to name two recent towns.

Well, that is encouraging, I was unaware of those two most recently.

[Mani]

It has certainly happened in New Hampshire over and over again. Westmoreland and Salisbury to name two recent towns.



And I'm sure those two towns, all the citizens have barricaded themselves into their homes otherwise they will be killed by drug dealers and criminals right??? :rolleyes:

[Anti Federalist]

And I'm sure those two towns, all the citizens have barricaded themselves into their homes otherwise they will be killed by drug dealers and criminals right??? :rolleyes:

It's anarchy down there I tell ya, anarchy!

Crime index (0 - 100 lower number is better) - 2

http://www.townhunter.com/Townhunter/city/NH/Salisbury_NH.htm

[Keith and stuff]

And I'm sure those two towns, all the citizens have barricaded themselves into their homes otherwise they will be killed by drug dealers and criminals right??? :rolleyes:

Nah. I believe in both situations, the state police do all or almost all of the policing now. Neither town ever had a full time force anyway, so the state police would help anyway. It took the state police a little longer to respond but they are both sleepy towns anyway. I have no idea about the number of police calls in Westmoreland but police calls are down around 50% in Salisbury :)



In Salisbury, whether you call the cops about a suspicious car or report an active domestic assault, the New Hampshire State Police will show up. No matter the seriousness of the incident, time of day or day of the week, state troopers will respond to any call you make from this town of 1,382 people.

For three years now, they’ve been the only police in town – and residents say it’s working.

Although Salisbury never set out to eliminate its police department – its two-man force quit in November 2010 – residents rejected a motion at last year’s town meeting to add money back to the police budget for new officers. That leaves Salisbury the only town in Merrimack County without its own police force, even a part-time one.

People in Salisbury point to two factors they say show the system is working: Calls are down by 50 percent since 2009, and the selectmen say they haven’t received a single complaint.

“I have been so impressed with the state police; they always seem to go above and beyond anything I ever expected from them,” said Ken Ross-Raymond, chairman of the board of selectmen. “They’ve been doing a fantastic job for us up here.”

This raises questions that nearby communities have wrangled with over the years: Do small New Hampshire towns really need their own police departments? And, if they eliminate them, what are they losing?
http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/10201596-95/three-years-after-losing-local-police-salisbury-content-with-state-troopers

[Keith and stuff]

The New Hampshire statewide newspaper covered this yesterday. One of the comment was really annoying.


PAUL LUNDWALL said:
John the idea is to obey the traffic regulations and not get pulled over. I have been driving for around 45 years and have never been pulled over for doing the right thing it has always been for a good reason.
Everyone cannot be as perfect as Paul. It's great that every police officer he has ever interacted with was a superstar. However, his point shows that he had no idea what the story was about. Carla wasn't pulled over. Someone else was pulled over for a BS reason and was attempted to record the situation in an effort to help protect the person that was pulled over. The Weare PD claimed that it was illegal to try to protect people was police abuse by standing 30 feet away and attempting to record the situation.


June 06. 2014 7:37PM
Weare settles police lawsuit over arrest for video recording
By DOUG ALDEN
New Hampshire Union Leader
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20140607/NEWS07/140609237


MANCHESTER — The town of Weare has agreed a $57,500 settlement in a lawsuit filed by a woman who said her First Amendment rights were violated when she was arrested for video recording police during a traffic stop.

Carla Gericke, president of New Hampshire’s Free State Project, was arrested in March 2010 and initially charged with illegal wire tapping. Although the charge was dropped, Gericke filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the town, police department and arresting officers, saying her arrest was retaliatory.

“I’m thrilled the case is settled,” Gericke said in an email Friday. “It was a long road, but the payoff is that we now have binding precedent affirming the First Amendment to record police traffic stops. I also am cautiously optimistic that the settlement will cause law enforcement to be more hesitant to arrest videographers exercising their rights. I think we’ve already seen positive change come out of this case in that regard.”

Charles Bauer, the attorney representing the town, was not available to comment on the settlement filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Concord. According the settlement, the agreement to end the litigation is not an admission of “liability, wrongdoing or culpability.”

A federal judge denied a motion by Weare to dismiss the case in October 2012. The defendants appealed and on May 23, Judge Kermit V. Lipez of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a police claim that the officers had “qualified immunity” in charging Gericke, saying she was not compromising safety during the stop on March 24, 2010.

There are three additional paragraphs that I didn't quote, if you want to read them.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20140607/NEWS07/140609237

[pcosmar]

FSP claims to be fiscally conservative.
Milks taxpayer for $57,500.

perhaps when the city is bankrupted they will do away with the liability of the Police Dept.

[pcosmar]

FSP claims to be for limited government. You can't have limited government without fiscal conservatism.

The FSP president sued and got $57,500 from the taxpayers. That is the antithesis of advocating for limited government. The government will have to steal those $57,500 from NH citizens.

I am not trolling.
No they don't have to get it from taxpayers.. They can sell their assets.. Sell that armored truck,, or the fleet of cars..
Fire some of the tax ticks.

[Anti Federalist]

People in Salisbury point to two factors they say show the system is working: Calls are down by 50 percent since 2009, and the selectmen say they haven’t received a single complaint.

This raises questions that nearby communities have wrangled with over the years: Do small New Hampshire towns really need their own police departments? And, if they eliminate them, what are they losing?

No, they do not.

I'd like to see the cop shop closed in my little NH town.

One of the problems is that the place becomes CopLand after a while, as they recruit and hire their asshole buddies.

Before you know it, you got 50 cops extorting a living out of 3000 people living in town.

[NoOneButPaul]

I wish I could find employment in NH, what a wonderful place to visit and probably live.

[Keith and stuff]

RT covered the court win.
Americans have First Amendment right to film police, US appeals court rules
http://rt.com/usa/162272-police-film-appeals-court/

RT also covered the Weare PD insurance settlement.
Woman arrested for filming police wins $57,000 settlement
Published time: June 08, 2014 14:44
http://rt.com/usa/164576-police-lawsuit-filming-us/

I have no idea why RT included this silly photo with a person carrying as many cameras as possible in the article.
http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/28/2e/00/00/000_par3009754.si.jpg

[Keith and stuff]

The Weare PD settle another suit. Some upper middle class guys tried to setup a poor Hispanic man on drug charges. He realized it was a set-up so he fled. They saw him trying to leave, so they executed him. Rather than risk paying millions for the murder in court, the Weare PD and it's insurance company settled for $300,000.


WEARE, N.H. (AP) — The town of Weare will pay $300,000 to the family of a 35-year-old man killed last year by a police officer during a drug sting that was sharply criticized by the state's attorney general.

The Concord Monitor (http://bit.ly/1ywNzNs ) reports a settlement agreement was signed June 10. The town's insurance company has given the payment to Alex Cora DeJesus' estate.

DeJesus was killed Aug. 14 while fleeing a sting in a parking lot. Two police officers opened fire, hitting an unarmed DeJesus once in the head. After a lengthy investigation, Attorney General Joseph Foster called it an "ill-conceived" plan and a "rash and poorly-planned response" that led to DeJesus' death.


Nadeau had been working for 25 of the previous 29 hours and an expert in police shootings said fatigue may have played a significant role in the shooting.

As DeJesus backed out and started to speed away from the sting, Officer Kenenth Cox fired twice, hitting the car but missing DeJesus. Nadeau fired his shotgun, hitting DeJesus in the temple. The car kept going until it drifted off the road into a grove of trees a hundred yards away.

Foster said evidence disputed Nadeau's contention that he thought the speeding car was going to hit him or another officer

The settlement means the family agrees not to sue the town.

Lesson learned. If you ever want to go around killing, beating and caging innocent people for no reason at all, make sure you get an insurance company and a lawyer first!

http://hosted2.ap.org/NHCON/c26bcf5af6bd4fda84f3e73888f72aef/Article_2014-06-21-NH--Officer%20Involved%20Shooting-Settlement/id-18a15b679bcb47f6a7bc65664c5dd300

Nadeau had been working for 25 of the previous 29 hours
Pretty damning article. Was he making overtime to shoot a fleeing, unarmed man in the head with a shotgun?

[Keith and stuff]

http://www.scribbleoneverything.com/images/uploads/WallDecals/cartoon/bam.gif

The Law Offices of Martin & Hipple issued the following press release today regarding the recent settlement of William Alleman's case, the last in a string of lawsuits filed by people arrested for recording Weare Police Department officers while on the job. In addition to money damages, the Weare Police Chief issued a written apology for Mr. Alleman's arrest and admits that it should never have happened. Says our client, Mr. Alleman: “I feel good about the settlement, but I feel great about the fact that our police chief has, in writing, admitted that recording the police is not a crime.”

As far as I know, Bill Alleman has zero connection to the FSP. Still, the Weare PD Chief Velleca referenced the case that the President of the FSP (not acting in her role) won against the Weare PD. Plus, did I mention that Weare PD will now wear cameras on their body while dealing with the public, to help discourage the Weare PD officers from violating the law.

Here is the whole press release.

Weare Police Chief Apologizes for Illegal Arrest and Prosecution

Chief Velleca promises further training and education for department

WEARE, N.H., July 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Weare resident Bill Alleman has won a settlement in his civil suit alleging retaliatory prosecution on the part of the Weare Police Department. In July of 2011, Mr. Alleman was arrested for recording Officer Brandon Montplaisir with his mobile phone. A New Hampshire District Court judge dismissed the charges approximately four months later, noting that recording public officials is a right protected by the First Amendment. Alleman then sued the Weare Police Department for retaliatory prosecution, claiming that he was arrested and prosecuted for exercising his First Amendment rights in Alleman v. Montplaisir, et al. Federal Case No. 1:12-cv-00282-JL. On June 25, 2014, the town of Weare agreed to a settlement including a written apology from Weare Police Chief John D. Velleca.

In his apology, Chief Velleca said, "After reviewing your case and applicable case law, including the recent decision in Gericke v. Begin (http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/12-2326P-01A.pdf), we have concluded that your arrest... should not have occurred. Accordingly, we regret and apologize for your arrest and prosecution." Promising continued changes in the culture of the department, he continued, "I... provide the officers with the training and guidance that will assist them in rendering professional, intelligent, and competent police services. I will continue to educate our officers on the importance of understanding and respecting the rights of all citizens, as well as the influence new case law has on policing."

The settlement is the most recent in a string of lawsuits alleging that civil rights violations have been committed by the Weare Police Department. In Gericke v. Begin, the case Chief Velleca references in his apology, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that gathering information on government officials "serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting 'the free discussion of governmental affairs.'"

"I feel good about the settlement, but I feel great about the fact that our police chief has, in writing, admitted that recording the police is not a crime," said Mr. Alleman. "I really hope we've seen the end of this unlawful nonsense in New Hampshire," he added. "Public servants need to understand, finally, that they're 'at all times accountable' to the people."

Mr. Alleman's attorney, Seth Hipple, echoed his client's sentiments. "The precedent set in Gericke v. Begin is just now starting to ripple through the courts," said Hipple, "and I look forward to seeing many more victories for the First Amendment and government accountability in the coming years."
http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/07/15/650730/10089236/en/Weare-NH-Resident-Wins-Settlement-Against-Weare-Police-Department-Announces-The-Law-Offices-of-Martin-Hipple.html