where's the part of the story where the ACLU is defending him in court? On May 18, 11:04 am, Jonathan <[email protected]> wrote: > *Man Who Clashed With Cops Over Legal Gun Was Also Armed With Audio > Recorder* > Posted: 05/17/2011 5:38 AM > By DAVID GAMBACORTA > [email protected] 215-854-5994 > > MARK FIORINO'S story has three elements that tend to get people worked > up - gun rights, Philly police and YouTube. > > 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. > > "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." > > The cops, department officials later admitted, were wrong. They didn't > know that a person who has a license to carry a firearm can openly carry > it in the city. > > But the story doesn't end there. How could it? > > After Fiorino posted his recordings on YouTube, they went viral. Members > of pro-firearms forums on the Web took a particular interest in the > incident. > > The Police Department heard about the YouTube clips. A new investigation > was launched, and last month the District Attorney's Office decided to > charge Fiorino with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct > because, a spokeswoman said, he refused to cooperate with police. > > Fiorino said he plans to sue the city whenever his criminal case is > resolved. > > Police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers said the department believes that Fiorino > wanted to get into a confrontation with cops, that he wanted to see them > lose their cool so he later could file a lawsuit. > > Or, as one cop was overheard saying on the YouTube recording: "He set us > the f--- up, that's what the f--- he did." > Terrified to be powerless > > Fiorino, an IT worker who lives in Montgomery County, grew up in > Feltonville. > > A handful of his friends fell victim to random crimes over the years - a > mugging here, a beatdown there, the kind of stuff that happens all the > time in a big city. > > It was enough to make him think about being able to protect himself if > he ever ran into trouble. "It would be terrifying to me to be > powerless," he said. > > So, about a year ago, Fiorino said, he got a firearms license and began > openly carrying his .40-caliber Glock. > > "I did research for quite a few years leading up to making a decision to > carry," he said. "I was ready to take on the responsibility." > > His gun went with him everywhere - to the store, you name it. > > After he began carrying, Fiorino said, he was stopped a handful of times > by cops in Montgomery County and other parts of the state. The > encounters were civil and quick, he said, and usually ended when an > officer checked out his firearms license. > > He also had encounters with Philadelphia cops last year near the > Philadelphia Museum of Art and on South Street. > > "Both times they told me what I was doing was illegal," he said. "They > patted me down and said, 'We don't care what you consent to.' > > "The second time, they did an official confiscation, and it took me five > months to get back my gun." > > It could be argued that Fiorino should have stopped openly carrying his > gun because it invited police scrutiny. But that argument couldn't be > more wrong, said John Pierce, co-founder of OpenCarry.org. > > Pierce, of Minnesota, said his website offers information on gun rights > "from a legal perspective, a public-policy perspective, not from a 'my > cold, dead fingers' viewpoint." > > "According to the Pennsylvania and U.S. constitutions, open carry is > Mark's right," he said. > > "To say he has to give up that right in order to stop being persecuted > by the state, well, that doesn't sound like the America we want to live in." > > Pennsylvania allows citizens to openly carry firearms across the state, > but with a simple caveat: A person who carries a weapon openly in > Philadelphia also must be in possession of a firearms license. > > Fiorino said he was following the law on Feb. 13, when he decided to > take a walk to AutoZone while he was in the Northeast, visiting his mom. > > It was a nice day, warm enough for him to head out without a jacket, > leaving his holstered Glock fully exposed. > > Fiorino's firearms license was in his shirt pocket, he said, along with > his driver's license. > > Oh, and a digital recorder. > > 'Get down on your knees' > > Fiorino was on Frankford near Placid Street when Sgt. Dougherty spotted > him from his police cruiser, stopped and called out to him. > > An unnerving back-and-forth started to unfold like a bizarre routine. > Dougherty would bark an order, and Fiorino would make an alternative > suggestion. > > Fiorino offered to show Dougherty his driver's and firearms licenses. > The cop told him to get on his knees. > > "Excuse me?" Fiorino said. > > "Get down on your knees. Just obey what I'm saying," Dougherty said. > > "Sir," Fiorino replied, "I'm more than happy to stand here -" > > "If you make a move, I'm going to f------ shoot you," Dougherty snapped. > "I'm telling you right now, you make a move, and you're going down!" > > "Is this necessary?" Fiorino said. > > It went on like that for a little while, until other officers responded > to Dougherty's calls for backup. > > Fiorino was forced to the ground and shouted at as he tried to explain > that he had a firearms license and was legally allowed to openly carry > his weapon. > > "You f------ come here looking for f------ problems? Where do you live?" > yelled one officer. > > "I'm sorry, gentlemen," Fiorino said. "If I'm under arrest, I have > nothing left to say." > > "F------ a------, shut the f--- up!" the cop hollered. > > The cops discovered his recorder as they searched his pockets, and > unleashed another string of expletives. > > Fiorino said he sat handcuffed in a police wagon while the officers made > numerous phone calls to supervisors, trying to find out if they could > lock him up. > > When they learned that they were in the wrong, they let him go. > > That might have been the end of the thing, too, if it hadn't been for > the recordings. > > 'He did it intentionally' > > The weeks passed, but Fiorino couldn't stop thinking about what had > happened to him on Frankford Avenue. > > "They treated me like a criminal," he said. > > "The organization that's supposed to be the embodiment of the law didn't > even know some of the most important laws at the street level." > > He decided to put the recordings on YouTube. > > "I wanted people to know this is an example of what can happen if you > exercise your rights and freedom in Philadelphia," he said. > > Fiorino said he didn't lay a trap for the cops. He regularly carries a > recorder with him in case he ever has to use his gun and then offer > proof of what transpired, he said. > > "I'm not trying to set anyone up," he said. > > "It was a setup. He's done this kind of thing before," said Evers, the > police spokesman, referring to Fiorino's encounters with authorities. > "He did it intentionally, and he audiotaped it." > > Evers said the department decided to take a second look at the case > after learning about the recordings. > > Any number of things could have gone wrong during Fiorino's > confrontation with Dougherty, Evers said. > > For one thing, Evers said, Fiorino could have been shot. Cops who raced > to the scene could have gotten into a car accident or injured pedestrians. > > Ultimately, the D.A.'s Office decided to charge Fiorino with reckless > endangerment and disorderly conduct. He's scheduled for trial in July. > > Fiorino's attorney, Joseph Valvo, said the move to file criminal charges > against Fiorino was retaliation for his posting the recordings on YouTube. > > "They're embarrassed and using creative theories to come up with > charges," he said. > > Up to speed > > If there is a positive to Fiorino's saga, it is this: The Police > Department is trying to make sure none of its officers are ever again > caught not knowing basic gun laws. > > "Our officers weren't up to speed [because] we never really addressed > it," said Lt. Francis Healy, the department's lawyer. > > "In the last several weeks, we've done a lot of training and put out a > lot of information about what is allowed and what's not allowed. Right > now, our officers are better-versed on the subject matter." > > Healy said he emphasized the importance of officers being polite and > professional if they have to stop a person who is legally carrying a > firearm. > > "You can use caution, but you don't need to curse them up and down and > put a gun in their face," he said. > > At City Hall on Saturday, about 30 gun owners staged a protest of > Fiorino's recent arrest. > > The protesters and cops got along fine. > > "These aren't bad people," Healy said. > > *Philadelphia Police Violate Rights Of Open Carrier At Gunpoint > (Audio)*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-vUYeJXSrA > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-vUYeJXSrA> > -- > > Freedom is always illegal! > > When we ask for freedom, we have already failed. It is only when we > declare freedom for ourselves and refuse to accept any less, that we > have any possibility of being free. > > "Why should we bother with 'realities' when we have the psychological > refuge of unthinking patriotism?" > Gary Leupp - Professor of History, Tufts University
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