Norfolk and visitor with a holstered .45 are tangled in a Catch-22

By MATTHEW ROY, The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK

Chester Szymecki Jr. was waiting for some music to start at
Harborfest when a sheriff's deputy approached.

It was a warm June afternoon, and thousands of people wandered on and
off the tall ships moored around Town Point Park. Szymecki had come
from Yorktown with his wife, their three children and two children
from their neighborhood.

Szymecki had brought along something else, too - a .45-caliber
handgun in a holster on his belt.

The deputy asked Szymecki whether he was a police officer. He said
no. And then, he said, uniformed city police began closing in. They
gave him a choice, he said: Leave the event or face arrest. When he
tried to say that there must be a mistake, he was disarmed and led
away, handcuffed, he recalled.
click here

Szymecki was charged with violating a local ordinance that the City
Council had passed in May, which set up rules to govern Harborfest.
Among them was a provision banning handguns and other weapons.

There's just one problem: A few years ago, the General Assembly
barred localities from enforcing laws governing the carrying of
firearms. That meant state law prevailed. And in Virginia, "open
carry" is legal.

Localities today generally do not have the authority to restrict
guns, said Mark Flynn, director of legal services for the Virginia
Municipal League. A state law last amended in 2004 says localities
cannot adopt or enforce laws regarding the purchase, carrying,
possession, storage, or sale of firearms.

Szymecki was given a summons and released. When he showed up for
court June 22, the case was withdrawn at the request of an assistant
city attorney.

The case has enraged the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun
rights group that has successfully challenged local gun restrictions
around the commonwealth. Szymecki is a member. In the past the group
has protested Norfolk's attempts to prevent the carrying of weapons
in city parks.

Philip Van Cleave, the president of the league, says members plan to
crowd the City Council chambers in protest at a future date.

The ordinance, he said, was "a huge mistake."

City Attorney Bernard Pishko said the city is not attempting to
challenge the state law by imposing restrictions on handguns.

Pishko described the gun ban in the Harborfest ordinance as an
oversight, a "housekeeping" issue. "This is one that we missed," he
said. An ordinance governing Afr'Am Fest in May contained the same
restrictions on weapons. Both ordinances were in effect only for the
few days the events ran.

Pishko said his office has since advised police that "the only gun
laws in effect for Norfolk are those in effect for Virginia."

Szymecki said the incident has changed the way he views the police.
He said he plans to file a lawsuit and have a "neutral court" decide
whether police violated his rights.

More on Chet vs Norfolk

A couple of notes on Chet Szymecki's arrest in Norfolk:

Chet did get his gun back on the day that the charges were dropped in
court.  However, the PD would not release the gun to him unless he
supplied his Social Security Number yet again.

Actually the PD didn't even want to do it then, but someone who knew
what the deal was with Chet got that little problem fixed.

The police did refuse to give Chet back his confiscated ammunition,
basically stealing it as far as I am concerned.  There is Stalin
smiling again at government bullies. :-(

Chet's wife will be suing Norfolk, too.  Wahooo!

Here is the official story of my recent arrest.

As many of you know, Chet is a friend of mine, A solid individual!
Sorry to hear his story but ready to support in any way!

VA-ALERT: Norfolk illegally arrests VCDL member!

And a lawsuit is being prepared.

Norfolk passed an ILLEGAL 'no guns' ordinance a few months ago (no, I am
NOT kidding) and ENFORCED that illegal ordinance against a VCDL member!

Bad, bad, bad mistake.

New firearms ordinances, other than those to control discharge or
hunting, have been illegal in the Commonwealth since 1987! But Norfolk
appears to have been passing a series of gun banning ordinances
pertaining to various festivals that the City has put on over the years!

Unbelievable. And Norfolk, of all places, KNOWS better than to do that.
(VCDL has had TWO large turnouts at City Council meetings a few years
ago to make sure that City Council was aware of Virginia's preemption
laws.)

But, Norfolk did it anyway and now it's time to pay the piper.

Worse, within the last month, Norfolk police have also harassed two
other gun owners who were lawfully carrying openly, one black and one
white - each was accosted on TWO separate occasions! More on those
incidents later in the alert.

Here's the story of the false arrest under an illegal ordinance (if you
take blood pressure medicine, now is the time to take it for this is
going to be very unsettling). Sorry for the length, but it will read
quickly:

Chet Szymecki arrived at Sail Virginia 2007, a tall ship festival in
Norfolk, with his family (wife, their three children, and two other
children from other families [all 13 and under]) around 2:30 PM on
Sunday, June 10th, 2007.

As luck would have it, Dennis O'Connor and I were also at that same
festival about the same time - but Chet didn't know that we were there
and vice versa! Damn, I wish I had known what was about to transpire!

Chet, who was open carrying on that beautiful day, crossed paths with
dozens of officers, with many being cognizant of the fact that he was
openly carrying.

At 4:30 Chet and family had just ordered some waffle cakes and returned
to a music area for an upcoming show. Chet was approached by a black
female Norfolk Sheriff's officer and was asked if he was a police
officer.

Chet responded, "No."

The officer then stated that Chet must leave the festival area
immediately since he was not permitted to carry a firearm there. At the
same time another Sheriff's deputy closed in, and one more hung back a
few feet. The officer began communicating on her radio and Chet was
expecting the situation to totally dissolve within minutes and he could
then continue to enjoy the rest of the show with no further
interruption.

Within a few seconds two groups of officers from the Norfolk Police
Department approached from two different directions.

The primary group had 5-6 officers, and from the look on a Lieutenant's
face Chet could tell that things were quickly becoming exponentially
worse.

The Lieutenant came within inches of Chet and in a very condescending
tone of voice stated that Chet had two choices: leave the park or go to
jail.

While appearing to be as non-confrontational as possible (one hand
holding his waffle cake and the other feeding his mouth) Chet began to
reply that this must be a simple misunderstanding since he is permitted
to carry.

Chet was cut off and, as the Lieutenant leaned in to intimidate him, the
Lieutenant raised his voice and just about shouted that Chet had only
two choices: leave immediately or be arrested.

Chet was still in shock and once again began to speak. Not waiting to
hear what Chet had to say, the Lieutenant immediately told the other
officers to arrest Chet!

In the following seconds Chet had hands all over him. One officer was
tugging at Chet's pistol, having much difficulty removing it. Chet was
worried about an accidental discharge with his family being literally
feet away.

Other officers were pulling Chet's arms around his back and cuffing him.
Chet offered no resistance.

Chet's wife began to speak and she was immediately pushed back by a
black female Sheriff's deputy!

Chet's children were just about panicking watching their law-abiding
father being stripped of his dignity while their mother was being forced
back and being told that she may be arrested if she failed to comply.

Chet's wife attempted to record the scene on her cellular phone and was
told she would be arrested if she did not secure her phone
immediately!!!

The police then forcibly escorted Ms. Szymecki and her children off the
property and left them standing on a street corner in Norfolk, all alone
and without car keys (Chet had them and the police would not retrieve
them). How very shameful.

A totally unnecessary use of force by the police on someone who was not
threatening anyone, leaving a wife and young children on a street
corner, totally unprotected.

Congratulations, Norfolk, those police-state tactics would have made
Stalin smile warmly at you.

While being whisked away, Chet stated that he was aware that he was
being unlawfully disarmed and detained and he demanded to be released
immediately.

That didn't draw any response.

After a few minutes when Chet and the police were in a clear area where
an Explosive Ordinance Disposal van was parked, along with many other
police vehicles, Chet was instructed to face a wall.

Chet informed the officers that the handcuffs were agonizingly tight and
repeated that he was not a threat to any of them and asked that the
handcuffs be loosened.

Two officers were behind Chet holding him - one officer replied while
squeezing the cuffs tighter that "they were not meant to feel
comfortable." Nothing like having a sadist on the police payroll. I
knew a couple of officers like this who worked the jail in San Antonio.

Chet was just sickened by the lack of professionalism and, as an ex-law
enforcement officer and law abiding citizen, SO AM I!

After a half hour or so, and asking a few more times to have his cuffs
be loosened, Chet was placed in the rear of a squad car. At that time
Chet's left hand was totally numb and his right shoulder was aching.

Chet informed the officer in the police car that Chet was a veteran
retired from active service and had sustained injuries in the line of
duty - Chet's right arm being one of the injured areas.

Chet informed him that his right Brachial Plexus nerve group was torn
from his spine and he had limited use and mobility of his right arm.
Chet stated again that he simply wanted the cuffs behind his back to be
readjusted.

The most the officer could offer was a suggestion on how to sit back in
the squad car in a comfortable way. Needless to say - Chet, who had done
nothing wrong, was very uncomfortable.

Several times one officer approached Chet and stated that "in a town of
200,000 or more like ours you cannot carry around a gun like you can in
other places."

Chet told the officer that that law did not apply since: (1) the gun
Chet was carrying was not classified as a "firearm" in that code section
and (2) Chet had a concealed carry permit which rendered the entire
section inapplicable to him.

Chet was told he did not know what he was talking about and Chet had no
business carrying a gun while in Norfolk.

Speaking of being ignorant of Virginia gun laws, that officer needs
remedial training. What a disgrace.

While in the cruiser an officer approached Chet and once again Chet was
offered a choice: sign a summons or go visit the magistrate.

Being unfamiliar with the entire process and not understanding the
gravity of the decision, Chet asked for additional clarification. The
officer was polite and informed Chet that signing a summons was not an
admission of guilt and he was simply promising to show up at a future
court date. By not signing the summons Chet would go in front of a
magistrate and this, along with the associated processing, would take
many hours. Signing the summons would only take a few minutes and then
Chet could be released.

DOES EVERYONE NOW UNDERSTAND WHY VCDL FOUGHT A BILL EARLIER THIS YEAR
THAT WOULD HAVE ALLOWED OFFICERS TO THROW SOMEONE IN JAIL FOR ANY CLASS
1 OR CLASS 2 MISDEAMEANOR AT WILL? Any doubts in your mind that these
officers would have done so to further humiliate and intimidate Chet if
they were given the option?

Chet asked what would happen if the magistrate realized that this was
all a simple mistake. The officer informed Chet that even if the
magistrate released him, the police could issue a bench warrant and keep
Chet in jail until his court date!!! Any doubt that these officers
would have done so?

It seemed that signing the summons was the proper choice and Chet signed
it. I agree.

Chet asked for his pistol to be returned and one of the officers stated
that it was being held as evidence. Chet asked him for a receipt for his
confiscated property. The officer stated that he had a pistol, one
magazine, nine rounds of ammunition, and a holster.
The officer said his verbal receipt was sufficient!

Like hell!

Chet was also forced to provide his Social Security Number - Chet asked
if this were voluntary or mandatory - Chet was told it was mandatory.
WRONG again, Norfolk Police! Chet was also forced to fingerprint his
summons papers in four areas.

Arriving home almost two hours later, Chet was forced to skip a
previously planned dinner engagement with another family and seek
treatment at a local medical facility. Chet said he has a high tolerance
for pain and discomfort but his right arm/shoulder and the back of his
neck was just killing him.

Chet was examined by the doctor and prescribed medications. The doctor
stated that since his arm has limited movement and the officers forced
it into this unnatural position for over an hour, muscles and ligaments
were probably strained.

Chet contacted me that evening and related the above story. The next
morning I was on the phone to Norfolk City Attorney, Bernard Pishko.

Mr. Pishko proceeded to tell me that the public streets for the event
were considered private property and thus guns could be banned. I told
him that the "Festevents" organization that was running the festival was
nothing but an arm of the City and could NOT ban guns.
I also said that if the private property part were true, why had Chet
not been arrested for trespass, but was instead charged under a City
ordinance?

Mr. Pishko said I wasn't a lawyer and didn't know what I was talking
about. He suggested that he could drop the charges against Chet, but
said that perhaps this issue should be settled in court. Mr. Pishko
said he was comfortable that the City would win.

Dream on, sir.

However, Mr. Pishko said the charges would be dropped and he kept his
word. The charges were "Nollo Prossed" at Chet's court hearing on June
22nd and Chet is now in the process of getting his record expunged.

Chet was charged under City Code 42660 Section 3c (weapon/firearm in
festival area).

In order to gather information the City may have on this incident, VCDL
has already sent Freedom of Information Act requests to the

* Norfolk Sheriff, to find out which officer started this whole thing,
along with any supporting information

* Norfolk Police, to get a copy of ALL radio traffic and other documents
relating to Chet's arrest.

* Norfolk City Attorney, on the City's relationship with "Festevents"
and to get a copy of the offending ordinance

The dollar amount of the lawsuit has not as yet been set, but I hope it
is enough to get the City's attention.

--

Two other law-abiding gun owners, one black and one white, were each
harassed TWICE by the Norfolk Police recently. Both were simply open
carrying.

The black gun owner, an articulate, polite, 23 year-old who has helped
at VCDL tables at various gun shows in the Tidewater area, had guns
drawn and pointed at him by the police on the first occasion.

On the second occasion, he was handcuffed, even after complying with
police demands to keep both hands on a nearby wall.

Both times the gun owner was released at the scene. But not after being
unnecessarily humiliated and manhandled.

On the second occasion, the police officers told him that if they saw
him open carrying again, they would handcuff him, run his gun for
stolen, and then release him again!!!

Forget looking for real criminals, just harass the good guys, Norfolk.
Unbelievable.

The white gun owner (Norfolk seems to be an equal opportunity
harasser) was also detained and then released.

--

VCDL has been sitting quietly on this until Chet's charges were dropped.
But these events cannot go unchallenged.

In addition to the lawsuit, VCDL will be attending a future Norfolk City
Council meeting to denounce the oppressive harassment of Virginia's gun
owners and demand an end to it.

The City of Norfolk and their police agents have a pattern of abusing
the law and law abiding gun owners. If you or I violate the law, we
risk fines and/or jail time. Why should local government officials be
immune from punishment for passing and enforcing an ordinance in
violation of state law? How long will the General Assembly let these
rogue officials get away with this abuse of the law?

WE NEED A **HUGE** TURNOUT TO MAKE SURE CITY COUNCIL GETS THE MESSAGE
LOUD AND CLEAR

I will advise when we have picked a date.

Tidewater - time to step up to the plate again.

Cigar Tax Bru haha 20000% increase?

Business: Cigarmakers in a panic

Cigarmakers in a panic

The federal tax on each cigar could rise from 5 cents to $10.

By JAMES THORNER
Published July 17, 2007
One of J.C. Newman's most popular brands is the Cuesta-Rey vintage cigar from the Dominican Republic.

» Fast Facts
Taxing tobacco
To pay for children's health insurance, the federal government has proposed raising tobacco taxes.
Cigarettes
2006 sales: 400-billion
Current tax: 39 cents/pack
Proposed tax: $1/pack
Percent increase: about 150
Cigars
2006 sales: 5.3-billion
Current tax: 5 cents/cigar
Proposed tax: up to $10/cigar
Percent increase: up to 20,000
In 2006, excise taxes from cigarettes brought the federal government $7.4-billion. Cigars brought in $225-million.

In the shipping and packing department, Daniel Matos, 32, pulls cigar boxes off the shelves to fill orders at the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. in Ybor.
Business News Video

Eric Newman punches the numbers on his calculator and gapes at the results one more time.

It's no mathematical error: The federal government has proposed raising taxes on premium cigars, the kind Newman's family has been rolling for decades in Ybor City, by as much as 20,000 percent.

As part of an increase in tobacco taxes designed to pay for children's health insurance, the nickel-per-cigar tax that has ruled the industry could rise to as much as $10 per cigar.

"I'm not sure in the history of man, since our forefathers founded the country in 1776, that there's ever been a tax increase of 20,000 percent," said Newman, who runs the Tampa business founded by grandfather Julius Caesar Newman. "They had the Boston Tea Party for less than this."

When it comes to tobacco sales, cigars are just a speck compared to cigarettes. In 2006, the nearly 400-billion cigarettes sold domestically dwarfed the 5.3-billion cigars.

But cigars are intertwined with Tampa's lineage.

Though the local industry has shriveled from foreign competition and domestic consolidation, cigarmaking still employs more than 1,000 in Tampa. About 900 work at the factory, offices and warehouse of Hav-a-Tampa, owned by foreign tobacco giant Altadis.

Newman machine-makes 35,000 cigars a day at 16th Street and Columbus Avenue and imports hand-wrapped varieties from Latin America. He estimates Florida makes or imports 80 percent of the cigars consumed in the United States and predicts devastation if the new taxes are approved this summer.

Many casual smokers are well heeled enough to plunk down $10 for a premium puff. But would they pay $15 to $20 for the same pleasure?

"Why don't we just go out of business?" Newman said. "Here, you can run our company, Mr. Government."

Here's the source of the controversy: The Democrat controlled Congress has sought an extra $35-billion to $50-billion for the state children's health insurance program. The program distributes payments to the states to help buy coverage for kids not poor enough for Medicaid.

Cigarettes, which accounted for more than 95 percent of tobacco tax collections last year, are the main focus of the bill. Federal taxes on a pack would jump from 39 cents to $1.

But the legislation has dragged cigars along for the ride. The industry operates under a 4.8 cents-per-cigar tax cap.

Under the proposed bill, taxes on "large cigars," a category that includes all but the tiny cigars sold in 20 packs like cigarettes, would rise to 53 percent.

A U.S. Senate version of the bill under consideration today in the Finance Committee sets the maximum tax per cigar at $10.

"We are a very small industry. We're the fly. The cigarette industry is the elephant as far as tax collections are concerned," Newman said. "We've been roped in with conglomerates that own cigarette companies."

Newman's eyes and ears in Washington, Norm Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America, was dumbfounded when the legislation went public Friday.

"I thought there was a typo. I thought they meant 10 cents per cigar, not $10 per cigar. I was stunned like everyone else," Sharp said.

Sharp's organization represents 66 members, including Newman, Altadis and Jacksonville's Swisher International, the global company that makes Swisher Sweets.

The association has lobbied to exclude cigars from the bill, but bristles at the public relations challenge: How do you oppose a sin tax Congress has rigged to help sick kids? Senate staffers couldn't be reached for comment.

In Newman's view other companies declined comment and left the talking to Sharp, it's not just unfair but also immoral to overtax a product enjoyed not by addicts but by worthy pleasure seekers. The average aficionado smokes about three cigars a week at about $3 to $5 apiece, according to the cigar association.

"A good wine. A good scotch. A good bourbon. A good cigar. It all enhances the quality of life," Newman said. "We're in the relaxation business."

The Bush administration may inadvertently come to the industry's aid. The president has vowed to veto the bill, not over the cigar provision but over objections to expanding federally financed health care for the non-indigent.

Several business in and around Ybor City, usually blind to the workings of Washington, will be craning their necks toward the capital.

"Things happen strangely in Washington," Newman said.

It only took 4 years..

However the key was the wife and kid being out of town!! Mighty Mo finally showed and would not leave. We almost had to take his keys and his gun and force him to stay in the Minihane suite.

Thanks for coming Mighty Mo, next time, bring your wife and kids and dont let there be so much time between visits!
Nutz

Remiss?

Yes I have been remiss on keeping this particular page current. Crackerz and Crazy Crumbz have me busy along with the other projects and chores in our lives. All is well and OV, quite honestly has been a little bit quiet. Surprisingly!!

Be sure you check out the other blog that Crackerz has, Crazycrumbs.blogspot.com

Oh and the Wiki for recipes, another one of the many projects both analog and digital that occupies my time. Drop me an email and I will include you in the read/write for the wiki!!

Hope all is having a great summer and not spending too much time in front of the key board?!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

34 years young today... As a gift to myself, i cooked for 13 and some young kids.. However I did not clean up the dishes and smoked a good cigar on the poarch with my buds!! Yee haw!! Dig the pix?