In December, she got a speeding ticket from a Butler County Sheriff’s Deputy. She didn’t have her proof of insurance with her (although she was insured). She subsequently got her info to BCSO and all was fine.
She was in the process of moving from Hamilton to Trenton during this time. Apparently, after providing the required proof to BCSO, and thinking everything was taken care of, she was sent a letter from BMV, to her old address, requiring proof of insurance within 21 days. She didn’t get the letter. Her license was suspended and that notification was sent to her old address as well. So, from January thru April 30th, she is unwittingly driving on a suspended license.
On April 30th, as she is taking her 6 year old son to Frischs, she is pulled over by a FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP police officer. She states he was very aggressive in the way he approached her window. She already had her DL and CHL out and ready to hand to him, not having any idea why she is being pulled over. She states that he began by screaming at her, frightening her and the 6 year old. She is trying to question why she was pulled over and he is yelling at her that she knows her license is suspended. He sees the CHL and asks where the gun is and she tells him it’s in the center console. He orders her out of the vehicle. She still has her hands on the steering wheel and asks if she may turn off the car. He firmly tells her no, and she then exits the vehicle, with it still running. He puts her in his cruiser and for 10 minutes, while several other units are arriving for backup, her and the officer are in the patrol car while the 6 year old is still in her car. Engine running. GUN STILL IN CENTER CONSOLE.
He ends up confiscating the gun, and towing the car. She was NOT arrested. Her boyfriend arrived and the officer gave HIM the girls DL, CHL, and the ticket. The boyfriend asks about the gun and the officer tells him its up to the court.
The next day, she goes to BMV and gets everything straightened out. (She has NEVER been without insurance).
She is charged with driving under suspension, driving without insurance, FAILURE TO NOTIFY and it seems like there was one other charge that Im forgetting.
On court date she is told by her attorney that the prosecutor has dropped charges relating to the suspension and offered to reduce the M1 failure to notify if she is willing to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Her choices are M4 disorderly conduct or MM disorderly conduct, but either way, she is forfeiting the gun. Im not sure what the other parameters where in her choices between the M4/MM. Or, if she wants to go to trial it will be a M1 Failure to notify. On her attorneys advice she pleads to a MM disorderly conduct. There is no suspension of DL or CHL, but she no longer has her gun. She was told by her attorney that the decision to return the gun was “officer discretion”. She was told that the officer was keeping it for “department use”. The gun is a freaking Keltec PF9.
She tells me that in the police report, the officer notes that he saw the CHL within 30 seconds of approaching the window and asked her where the firearm was, and she told him. She tells me that before he saw the CHL, she was unable to notify because “He was going off. I was scared to death. He was acting like a psycho. Ive never seen or heard a police officer act like that. I didn’t know what was going on”.
She states that throughout the report there are numerous errors of fact.
She went to the FFT police department to file a complaint about the way she was treated. When verbally asking about dashcam video, she states she was told that “We don’t have dashcams in our vehicles”. She didn’t ask about audio recordings.
I know there is a lot missing in this story, and that’s mostly my fault because she told me about this a few hours ago and Im sure Im forgetting some of the details that she relayed to me. This is one of the most honest people I know. I have zero doubt she is being truthful.
If anyone has any questions I can speak to her to fill in the details.
She is furious about the way the entire stop was handled and the way things ended
I would like to know how to file a FOI request to get all relevant info for this stop (Audio/visual recordings, radio traffic, police reports, information regarding the confiscated firearm, etc).
Also any court records that are available.
I know the gun is a lost cause because she very reluctantly agreed to forfeit it, but it seems to me that a lot went wrong with her attorney.
I believe the officer that pulled her over is the new owner of a Keltec PF9.
Some of you may remember my encounter with Fairfield township a while back…
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Its late, Im tired, I hope this wasn’t a chore to read. I’m too tired to thoroughly proof read it tonight.
