Many Police Don’t Understand Open-Carry in Michigan
Johann Deffert recently filed a lawsuit against the City of Grand Rapids, the police chief, and three officers for alleged civil rights violations when police stopped him for openly carrying a gun.
The incident happened on March 3, 2013, when a woman called 911 about a man walking down a public sidewalk, wearing camouflage pants and openly carrying a pistol in a holster. When the dispatcher asked if the man was making threatening gestures, the answer was “no”. Officers were sent to investigate, and when the first officer arrived on the scene, he immediately drew his firearm and ordered Deffert to the ground. Deffert was disarmed and held for around 10 minutes. He was released after the police determined the gun was legally owned and Deffert had committed no crimes.
Despite the shock value of seeing someone carry a gun in public, in many cases it is legal. A jury will need to decide if police officers acted properly when they stopped and disarmed Deffert. Generally, questions like these are considered in light of the United States Supreme Court ruling in Terry v. Ohio. Under Terry, the police can only stop someone for questioning and frisk for weapons if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.
Although the sight of an openly carried firearm may cause alarm for some, a “Terry stop” still requires this reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. The City of Grand Rapids, the police chief and the three officers will need to show that there were other reasons for the stop besides openly carrying a holstered pistol.
A similar case was brought against the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety and the Ottawa County Sheriff Department a few years ago. In that case, a festival patron was also detained for openly carrying a gun. The settlement resulted in a money award to the plaintiff and retraining for the Grand Haven police. Given the similarities between the two cases, it will be interesting to see how the City of Grand Rapids handles this lawsuit.