Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL)

Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
PO. Box 513, Newington, VA 22122 • 804-639-0600 • 703-372-3285 • 757-271-3705 • 540-446-5783

10/08/08 - Norfolk PD DOES IT AGAIN!!!

You're not going to believe what happened again last night, but please read on. Last night over 60 VCDL members showed up at the Norfolk City Council meeting to protest the Norfolk PD harassing a VCDL member, Danladi Moore, who was open carrying on a bus. A link to coverage by the Virginian-Pilot, along with video, is at the end of this alert. After the meeting, a dozen of us, including Danladi Moore, went to a restaurant in the Waterside Mall. We had a great time - good company and good conversation. All of us were open carrying as the restaurant sold alcoholic beverages. As I left the restaurant I said goodnight to Danladi as he and a friend were heading up an escalator to the second floor. Little did I know what was about to transpire in the next 50 seconds... Upon reaching the second floor and stepping off the escalator, a Norfolk police officer approached Danladi and his friend and told him that he couldn't have a gun in a public building. NOTE: It is my understanding that they Waterside Mall is actually owned or partially owned by the City of Norfolk. If so, they CANNOT ban guns there, of course. Danladi said that, especially as public property, he most certainly could carry there. The officer the handcuffed Danladi, who is black, and issued a him summons with a charge of trespass at that point and released him. His friend, who is white and also open carrying, was escorted off the premises and not handcuffed or charged. Hmmmm. Boy, Norfolk PD just seems to be digging themselves in deeper and deeper. I know that Dennis O'Connor, John Fenter, Richard Popkin, and I walked past several officers while open carrying at that mall and not a word was said to us. On top of all this, I was approached by a 20ish black man after the meeting, who said he had been open carrying as he walked down a street in his neighborhood in Norfolk and an officer stopped him and asked him about his openly carried handgun. The officer ask him for ID, which he wasn't carrying (no need for a driver's license if you are not driving). The gun owner did give his name and social security number to the officer. He said the officer told him that since he couldn't show proof that he owned the handgun he was carrying, the officer was going to confiscate the gun and charge him. Of course there is NO requirement to show that you own the gun you're carrying. So, not surprisingly, the actual charge was (are you sitting down?) carrying a CONCEALED handgun!!! I saw the summons that the gun owner had with him. Unbelievable. The officer sees the gun and then charges him with having a concealed handgun. An attorney was there and I hooked the two up. Of course, keep in mind there are two sides to each story and I have not heard the officer's side. Hopefully, whatever the truth is, it will come out in court. Finally, the City is requiring anyone who enters the Norfolk City Council building to sign in and show ID. If you don't show photo ID, they photograph you! Both requirements and the photograph are illegal under Virginia's Freedom of Information law. That is because they can be viewed as intimidation or road blocks to entry. VCDL members were refusing to show ID and, at first, the guards were blocking admission to them. Then, all of a sudden, the guards let everybody in without any interference at all. The guards just stood there shaking their heads. The word must have come down from on-high to back off. Here is coverage of VCDL at the City Council meeting (with video): http://tinyurl.com/4y556g Gun advocates say rights are violated by police officers By Debbie Messina The Virginian-Pilot (c) October 8, 2008 NORFOLK More than 50 gun-rights advocates descended on the City Council on Tuesday night to complain that their rights have been violated by Norfolk police. Many wore pistols on their hips. They were spurred by a police confrontation involving a man carrying an unconcealed weapon, which is legal in Virginia. Members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League claim that Danladi Moore, a Peninsula resident, was recently harassed three times, the last time in September while attempting to ride an HRT bus with a gun. That was after the city paid Moore $10,000 in July to prevent what could have been long and costly litigation after he had been stopped by police the first two times. "We simply want the city to educate the police so they don't continue to do this," said Philip Van Cleave, a Midlothian resident who heads the group. Councilman Paul Riddick responded: "If our police need to learn more about the laws, I think they're willing to." Riddick also said that in light of increasing gun violence in the city, police have a responsibility to respond to calls involving firearms. ------------------------------------------- ***************************************************************************