Well the situation with Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover’s comments about “your rights are suspended” has continued from a simmer to a slow boil. There are several blogs and forums that have now caught on, and it was even on the Moon Griffon Radio Show (about 1 hr 5 mins into mp3).

KTBS Channel 3 ran a story on it including a sort-of retraction from Mayor Glover. The funny thing is that Glover tries to say he was taken out of context. That’s absurd! You can read the full text and watch the full conversation for yourself.

One of the problems is that Shreveport Mayor Glover assumes that Robert Baillio’s weapon was on his person. We all know what happens when we “assume” something right?

Glover: I also know that my right to continue to holster my pistol or otherwise have it within my reach and control has been suspended in the interest of my safety, the officers and the public.

Source: http://www.votetherecord.com/?p=1577

If you read Glover’s response to Matt with VoteTheRecord.com, you can see that Mayor Cedric Glover is also very arrogant. “Flair for the dramatic…”? Give me a break. That is borderline elitism.

As you can see in the police video, the officer went to Robert’s truck, performed an illegal search and seizure and confiscated a weapon that was not easily within Robert’s reach nor on his person. The officer’s politeness and demeanor are not the issue, although his handling of discharging live ammo on the street should be. The issue is the Shreveport Mayor’s policy – one that Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover states repeatedly is explained to each and every officer.

I was in Academy Sports a few days ago buying some .223 ammo and started discussing the issue with one of the gun counter guys. We had a nice discussion, but this guy stated “I’m kinda comfortable with seizing weapons in the interest of getting the drug dealers.” I almost went into shock. Do what? That is a very dangerous path to travel!

Many of the posts and comments on this issue are missing the bigger point – INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS and ILLEGAL SEARCH AND SEIZURE.

As a glaring example, you can see in this highlight of the Shreveport Police Procedure SPD 602.03 – officers are required to “Immediately identify yourself and advise the driver of the reason for the stop.”

The officer clearly did not do this as the video shows. He first asked about weapons, for no apparent reason other than some pro-gun bumper stickers, then approached the truck, and illegally searched and seized the weapon. As much as I hate to say it, sounds like Robert needs to contact the ACLU on this one.

In the end, Glover is starting to get a lot of heat on this issue, and I hope it continues to increase. We simply cannot have a mayor of any city whose line of thinking is so flawed, and he won’t admit his mistake.

The next Shreveport Mayoral Election is in 2010. Time to make Cedric Glover a one-term mayor. Time for citizens to stand up for our rights.

WATCH THE VIDEO —– Watch/listen to this first!

Police Video of Weapon Seizure

GunTalk Magazine Podcast - Robert’s 1st Interview

What Happened – by Robert Baillio

KTBS Channel 3 Story – Video 

Full Text of the Glover Interview  – Corresponds to the Video

MP3 File – Glover Interview (same audio track as video – corresponds to full text)

YouTube Video – Part 1 (for iPhone users)
YouTube Video – Part 2 (for iPhone users)

This situation almost defies sanity. Fortunately, we have audio to go along with this post and a transcript of the audio. Please read on and then listen to the audio at the end. You just won’t believe what is said by the Mayor of a major southern U.S. city.

According to Mayor Cedric Glover of Shreveport, LA, when you are stopped by the police department, your “rights are suspended.” That’s right – even if the stop is a traffic violation – your rights as a citizen have been suspended. Huh?

Recently, a friend of mine was stopped for allegedly failing to use a turn signal. Sounds simple enough. Here is where it gets interesting.

One of the first things out of the officer’s mouth: “Do you have any weapons in your vehicle?”

He did not initially ask for a name, registration, or proof of insurance. He asked if Robert Baillio was armed. If that isn’t a case of profiling, then I don’t know what is. The picture clearly shows the bumper stickers on Robert’s truck windows. Failure to use a turn signal? Sure it was.

Robert was trying to be polite and cooperative and responded, “sure I do.”

Then the officer marched over Robert’s truck, removed the weapon, unloaded it, and temporarily seized it.

This just smacks of both profiling and unreasonable search and seizure. It is debatable whether Robert actually used his turn signal or not which is a traffic violation at worst. There was zero probable cause for a search and seizure. There was zero indication that Robert Baillio had been involved in any sort of crime. It is legal in the state of Louisiana to carry a loaded weapon in a vehicle. Robert’s gun is registered. He has a concealed weapons permit. Robert made no attempt to hide anything, and was courteous to the officer.

The officer asked Robert if he was a member of the NRA. 

Do what? What does that have to do with a failure to use a turn signal violation? Why would a Shreveport Police Officer need to know that?

The officer never issued Robert a ticket. As a matter of fact, he even followed Robert to travel 2 blocks to Nan King Chinese Restaurant so Robert’s could get his take-out Chinese food before they closed. The officer followed him there and finished the traffic stop in the parking lot!

If Robert was so much a threat with his weapon, why was he even allowed to get back into his vehicle?

See the point?

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It’s Glover’s Policy – and it needs to be rejected by citizens
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Here is where it gets more interesting. This problem is a systemic one that starts at the highest level of the Shreveport city government. No, I’m not a tin-foil hat conspiracy theorist either. Mayor Cedric Glover states very clearly and repeatedly that the policy is in place.

Mayor Cedric Glover: Your rights have been suspended.

He stated that fact 11 times in the 19 minute phone conversation. This was not a slip of the tongue, and he did not mis-speak. Mayor Cedric Glover meant what he said.

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Anti-Gun Group
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Did you know that Glover is a member of the “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” group – headed by Michael Bloomberg from New York? Can someone define exactly what an illegal gun looks like? Maybe a true fully-automatic weapon is illegal as defined by law; however this group is obviously against any gun.

The polarizing rhetoric of gun politics on all sides only obscures the tragic reality we see every day on our streets: violent criminals with easy access to firearms.

Well if they can see the violent criminals, why aren’t they arresting them? It is all semantics – the guns aren’t illegal at all. The “violent criminals” who use them are acting illegally. If these mayors think they can find the guns, then they can certainly find the owners – the violent criminals.

Read Part 2 Here

**Edited 6-15-09:
Removed text transcript -  made thread to long
Full Text of the Glover Interview  – Corresponds to the Video

http://mybossier.blogspot.com/2009/06/shreveport-mayor-says-that-when-police.html

http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2009/06/totalitarianism-in-one-city-shreveports.html

http://nationalgunrights.org/blog/?p=95&cpage=3#comment-422

http://www.talk540.com/shows/moon/moonwed.mp3