Police Rules?

[Tim30ky]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

OK, here we go. My brother pawned a computer he did not pay for ( he got it from a rent to own place ) and the police got a warrant for selling stolen property. I understand that and have no issues with it. The thing is, it is an odd story.

He recently got divorced after 4 kids and 17 years. His wife keeps threatening to have him arrested for everything under the sun because her friends husband is a cop and she tells his ex he can be arrested for this or that. However, they have not been able to do it because he had not broken any laws. He is not a violent guy, is good to the kids and she even asks him to take them when it is her time to have them so she can run around with her new boyfriend. She just gets mad at him over something and decides to say she will have him arrested.

Well, back to the computer. He had worked out a deal with the rent to own place to pay for the computer and they were going to drop the charges. However, his ex's friend and husband ( the cop ) found out about the warrant and arrested him. I know there was a warrant so the police can arrest him, but here is the thing. The way it was done is like this: The "wife" of the cop called my brothers ex-wife and asked where he was. She told them he was on his way to her house to pick up the kids for the night. Then the cops wife told her to stay inside and not to come out until they were gone. When my brother got there the woman and her husband ( the cop ) pulled up and arrested him. The cop was off duty, but put his uniform on and came to arrest him and his wife came for the arrest as well. Other cops came as well, but because the cop who is her friend was there to arrest him.

Is it legal for a family friend to basically hunt him down to arrest him and bring his wife with him? This is a case of his ex wife tells them he wont do this or that for her so the cop gets angry with him and makes it personal. He has joint custody of the kids and has not defaulted on his child support or anything, but she expects him to still take care of her even though she divorced him ( because he doesn't make enough money anymore ) and even though she has a new boyfriend.

I know the personal info doesn't matter as far as the law goes, but I didn't know how to say all this without putting it in here.

Did the cop break any laws by the way this was done? Or not follow procedure? & also, what about them "trying" to always find a way to have him arrested for something?

 

[HighwayMan]

Not sure exactly what you want to hear. There was an arrest warrant for your brother. And he was arrested.

I don't believe any laws were broken, but it is certainly unusual for an officer to take police action based on personal involment in a case like this. It might be a conflict of interest and the basis for a complaint against the officer.

While this is highly unusual, there appears to no criminal wrongdoing here.

 

[CdwJava]

It might not have been in policy, but I do not see that this was unlawful at all.

I live and work in a small town and I have been in much the same situation a few times before, myself. Sometimes, it is hard to avoid.

He needs to hire an attorney to try and deal with the charges at hand, not with the issue of who enforced the judge's order.

- Carl

 

[Tim30ky]

I just wanted to know if it was legal for him to do it the way he did it. I just can't believe it is legal for a cops wife to be actively involving herself in hunting him down because she is friends with his ex-wife & going with her husband to make an arrest. Also, this isn't a small town to the point everyone knows everyone. It is part of the MSA for Lexington ( not part of Lexington though ) which has about 600,000 people when counting Lexington and the MSA. I would also think it would be harassment or something illegal for them to keep threatening to have him arrested when he hasn't done anything and trust me if he had, they would make sure he was arrested for it. They were doing it months before this whole computer thing ever came up.

Also, we are talking to a lawyer over the actual charges in the morning and I'm going to ask him if there is anything we can do about the cop and his wife bothering him all the time. It just doesn't seem right to me that just because someone is a cop they and their wife can continue to harass him. If it were me or some other normal person I am sure I would be arrested for harassment or threatening someone.

The reason I wondered is because of this. My best friend owns a bar in the little small town I live in. Well his niece had her windows busted out ( at home, not at the bar ) and the girl who did it was a police officers sister. She did it in front of a few other people so there was really no way she could even deny it. Well the day they pressed charges on her, her brother came into the bar and wrote them a ticket or whatever you call it when they are written to a place of business. They went to court over it and the judge threw it all out of court so I was just wondering.

Thanks for the info.

 

[HighwayMan]

I just can't believe it is legal for a cops wife to be actively involving herself in hunting him down because she is friends with his ex-wife & going with her husband to make an arrest.

The fact that she was there doesn't mean much. There's not much difference between that and an informant or 911 caller being on scene to point out responsibe parties to responding officers.

If there was something else going on which you consider to be harassment then a criminal complaint should have been filed. Why was that not done?

People tend to throw the word harassment around alot. You need to find out the legal definition of harassment in your state before you can make any judgments based on something other than your emotions, which seems to be what's going on at this point.

 

[Tim30ky]

The cop and his wife telling him they will arrest him if he does not do this or that for a few months is harassment in my opinion. When a law enforcement officer makes something personal and starts threatening someone just because he is angry over a divorce then I would think he is now breaking the law himself. If a normal person can not do it, I would think it is against the law for police as well. I would look up the law for my state, but I can not find it. All I get is 100 pages for sexual harassment law when I try to search for it.

You say I'm going by emotions and that is "partly" true. I feel my brother was wronged so I was seeking legal advice & now got it through an attorney.

Anyway, I got what I wanted from the lawyer today & he is handling the situation from now on.

 

[Zigner]

I feel my brother was wronged so I was seeking legal advice...

Oh, you mean your brother who stole a computer and then pawned it and got arrested for it?

 

[CdwJava]

I just wanted to know if it was legal for him to do it the way he did it. I just can't believe it is legal for a cops wife to be actively involving herself in hunting him down because she is friends with his ex-wife & going with her husband to make an arrest.

Private individuals can do whatever they want so long as it is legal. There is no law prohibiting someone from trying to locate a person wanted for a crime, no matter the reason.

I would also think it would be harassment or something illegal for them to keep threatening to have him arrested when he hasn't done anything and trust me if he had, they would make sure he was arrested for it. They were doing it months before this whole computer thing ever came up.

If the officer behaved inappropriately, your brother can make a complaint to the officer's agency. However, he still has to deal with any criminal charges pending against him. Even if the officer was out of line it does absolutely nothing to help him out of his legal issues.

Your brother can complain to the agency and can see if a judge will issue a restraining order against the wife ... I doubt that will happen,but he can ask about the possibility.

If it were me or some other normal person I am sure I would be arrested for harassment or threatening someone.

It depends on what the law says, and precisely what the other people are doing. It coul dbe that the contacts are perfectly lawful and proper. We do not have a right to be free from annoying or rude people.

The reason I wondered is because of this. My best friend owns a bar in the little small town I live in. Well his niece had her windows busted out ( at home, not at the bar ) and the girl who did it was a police officers sister. She did it in front of a few other people so there was really no way she could even deny it. Well the day they pressed charges on her, her brother came into the bar and wrote them a ticket or whatever you call it when they are written to a place of business. They went to court over it and the judge threw it all out of court so I was just wondering.

Unless you know why the judge threw it out, you are merely speculating that it was retaliatory conduct. In this case I suspect it was. However, the case you describe concerned an officer acting on his own observations which thus clouded his objectivity and put his credibility in the matter in question. Your brother's incident did not involve the officer as the accuser, only as the arresting officer. Big difference.

- Carl

 

[Tim30ky]

Yes, I do know why it was thrown out of court. It was thrown out because the officer did not follow proper procedure. ( per the words of the judge )

Also, I know my brother will not get out of any charges. I just wanted to know if what the cop did by threatening to arrest him for months ( way before the computer thing came up ) was legal or not and if there was anything wrong with the same people who are threatening him being the ones who did it. You all have answered that.

Like I said, there is now an attorney handling it.

I'm sure people posting in this thread would want to protect their family as well.

 

[Zigner]

Yes, I do know why it was thrown out of court. It was thrown out because the officer did not follow proper procedure. ( per the words of the judge )

Also, I know my brother will not get out of any charges. I just wanted to know if what the cop did by threatening to arrest him for months ( way before the computer thing came up ) was legal or not and if there was anything wrong with the same people who are threatening him being the ones who did it. You all have answered that.

Like I said, there is now an attorney handling it.

I'm sure people posting in this thread would want to protect their family as well.

Don't project your twisted sense of familial obligations on to the other (law-abiding) members of this forum. If my brother were to have stolen something, I'd have no problem with him being arrested.

 

[Tim30ky]

Whatever.

Also, are you calling me a criminal? I hate to tell you this, but I have no criminal record whatsoever. Not even a speeding ticket & by protect I mean get him an attorney & do whatever I can to help my brother through a rough time.

 

[CdwJava]

Just as long as you are clear that even if the officer gets spanked by his agency for being out of policy it does absolutely zero to help your brother.

Ultimately, the defense will try to cast reasonable doubt on the accusations and the charges. Then a court will decide on the facts of the matter.

- Carl

 

[Tim30ky]

I know it isn't going to do anything about the charges. Thanks to the ones who actually gave advice.