Two cops beat up by Homeowner.
 

Hope this isnt a repost. Thought some would enjoy this.



http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/p.../NEWS/703140547

Homeowner had 'a right to resist'

Judge acquits John Coffin on 5 felony charges; Coffin gets time served on 6th.
By TODD RUGER

todd.ruger@heraldtribune.com
SARASOTA -- John Coffin won't spend any more time in jail for beating up two sheriff's deputies inside his house, striking one in the head with a Taser gun he took from the other.

Circuit Judge Rick De Furia said at Coffin's trial Tuesday that he doesn't condone the violence against the deputies.

But Coffin, 56, had a right to defend his family and property because the deputies had no right to be in Coffin's house in the first place, De Furia said.

"Law enforcement was responsible for the chain of events here," De Furia said. "I think in situations like this, officers become so frustrated they go beyond what the law allows them to do."

The fight started when Coffin heard his wife screaming in pain, went into the garage and saw two deputies arresting her on the floor.

The deputies were trying to serve Coffin with civil papers that had been given five days earlier. They had entered the garage even though they did not have a search warrant or arrest warrant.

And they arrested Coffin's wife, Cynthia, 50, on obstruction charges even though she had no obligation to follow their orders to bring her husband outside.

"The most critical is the fact the officers broke the law by stopping the garage door from going down," and then entering the garage, De Furia said.

A jury was picked for the trial Monday. But the judge granted a motion by Coffin's attorneys, Derek Byrd and Brett McIntosh, and acquitted John Coffin on five of six felony charges Tuesday morning.

Coffin pleaded no contest to the remaining charge of taking a Taser gun from one of the deputies during the fight.

Before handing down the sentence, De Furia asked how long Coffin spent in jail after his initial arrest.

"You spent eight days in the Sarasota County jail," De Furia said. "That's your sentence. No probation."

Relatives applauded, and Coffin walked out of the courthouse with only a $358 bill for court costs. The sentence surprised even defense attorneys, who had suggested De Furia sentence Coffin to probation.

Prosecutors had asked for more than a year of prison time because of "the totality of the case" and the injuries to deputies James Lutz and Stacy Ferris, whose name is now Stacy Brandau.

The two deputies testified about their injuries Tuesday -- three blows to the head with the butt of the Taser gun knocked Lutz unconscious.

"I just ask that he doesn't get away with this," Brandau told the judge.

Assistant State Attorney Jeff Young told the judge the case "could have been over in five seconds" if the Coffins "had simply come out and cooperated."

"That is a man who took it upon himself to beat up two police officers," Young said.

De Furia said that while he believed the deputies' mistakes were not intentional, the Coffins had every right to lock doors, try to close their garage door and not cooperate.

"What took place in the house was unfortunate," De Furia said, "but Mr. Coffin ... had a right to resist."

Re: Two cops beat up by Homeowner.
 

In light of the fact that the deputies broke the law that is one seriuosly scary statement.

Glad to see it. LE do not have a blanket permit to do as they wish. They are supposed to follow the law as well!

How about this article...

Red-light fines to go to police, firefighters

Dallas: They'll pay if caught on cameras; some exemptions apply

By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
teiserer@dallasnews.com

Dallas police and firefighters will soon have to pay up if they run afoul of the city's red-light cameras.

Starting Sunday, any Dallas police officer in a marked squad car who is captured on the city's cameras running a red light will have to pay the $75 fine if the incident doesn't comply with state law.

Firefighters who run red lights will have to pay if they're not on an emergency run.

Many police officers are angry about the proposed policy. The prevailing belief among officers has been that they can run red lights as they see fit.

"I know that a lot of the officers are not real happy about it," said Senior Cpl. James Bristo, second vice president of the Dallas Fraternal Order of Police. "Nobody out here is just running red lights left and right."

See the rest of the article here.

exactly. cops need to follow the law just as private citizens do.

otherwise we have chaos.

Good. The cops here just turn their lights on when they get to a red light, zip thru, and turn them off again. :mad:

Whether or not the guy had a right to beat the ***** out of two cops in his garage, I think he is a dumb@ss. If I was getting served civil papers, my wife would not have hassled the cops and I would have came out into the garage to speak respectfully to the officers.

I feel ABSOLUTELY NO PITY for the recipients of "police brutality". When I have been pulled over in my car, I always have and always will answer with "yes sir/no sir". I am amazed when I hear stories of people cursing at or assaulting police officers, then later complaining of police brutality :confused:

true, if cops enter your house (unlawfully), and you start to attack them, no matter if you're in the right, there's a good likelihood that you're gonna get shot dead.

Most of the time I agree. However, in the not too distant past I arrived home and was immediately greeted by two uniformed officers. They proceeded to ask me who I was and why I was there (I had just taken the Porsche out and it was mid afternoon). Keep in mind that this is my house - completely paid in full / never arrested / no tickets / no previous problems with the law whatsoever. About at that point one of the officers broke out the hand-cuffs. I realize that it is extremely easy to talk a big game when telling these stories after the fact, but I am here to tell you there was 'a fixin to be a big problem'. Although I do not like violence, I would have not gone down without a fight. My claustrophobia coupled with my complete innocence would simply not allow it to happen. Oftentimes I see on COPS that they hand-cuff someone for their protection - it was not about to happen in this case.

I am also a yes sir/no sir guy with the police but IMHO they regularly abuse their authority. I have seen people beat up for no reason whatsoever, both in the big city and in smaller towns. It does happens-- that's why I make sure not to give them any excuse.

I show nothing but respect to every cop I meet. They do a tough job that I would never want. That said, I am fully aware of my rights. I am aware that they are at least equally aware of my rights. If they choose to violate those rights, they are now the criminal in this particular encounter. They lose their status as "respected public servant" the minute they do that with me. They very quickly transition to "miscreant criminal".

The courts still recognize a man's home as his castle. Things may get a little fuzzier on the street, but a man's privacy, and his rights, are more sacrosanct in his home than anywhere else. They stand inviolable in his own home. These two deputies knew that full well; of that there simply can be no doubt. They chose to violate his and his wife's rights, and the law, anyway. They thought they could get away with it because they are cops. In some cases they would have, unfortunately, been right. I'm glad they were not in this one.

The obvious next step is to prosecute these two deputies. Anyone think that will happen? They still enjoy relative immunity from prosecution. The most one can hope for is suspension without pay, of possibly being relieved of their duties. That ain't enough to deter the rest that daily undertake similar criminal violations of citizens' rights.

I have only witnessed it once in person, a guy in a stolen car led the police on a chase across town. When he wrecked the car, he resisted arrest and attempted to flee. When the cops finally wrestled him to the ground, they got a few licks in on him. IMO, he deserved all he got.

I find it hard to believe that folks who get beat, do not instigate it by resisting arrest or being confrontational.

I guess I grew up being taught to respect authority. On similar note, I do not have any problem with spankings being doled out by principles of schools and I feel that teachers have the right to demand excellance from students without having whiny b!tching parents filing complaints with the school every time junior comes home with a D or an F grade.

I'm thinking that the story told in the press isn't the whole story.

Bottom line is they did not have an arrest or search warrant, so anything beyond walking up to the door to knock would be illegal. Homeowners NEVER need identify themselves to police on their own property and often don't have to do so while walking down the street. If the Coffins knew they were about to be served, then it was totally understandable for Mrs. Coffin to close the garage door. This is totally legal. Those cops should have been prosecuted. I wonder how Mr. Coffin was finally arrested. Did more cops come to get him or did the two he beat up finally get control of him? I would be surprised if they didn't give a bit of a beating in the process and he should be able to sue for that. Check my thread on the "You and the Police" book.

Far different situation, Tim. I agree that in a case like that, have at 'em. Give 'em one for me while you're at it. In Coffin's case, though, they came onto his property illegally. They came into his home illegally. His wife presumably asked them to leave and they did not comply. She tried to close the door and they held it open. We are now up to four violations before they even touched her. They need to follow the law. They need to be held accountable. They are not the SS, or Gestapo, or KGB, or... yet. If we let them, they will certainly head that way. Every unchecked police force in the history of man has; that's why exercising our rights, and having the courts uphold them, is so important.

I think the main story should be about how a 56yr old man was able to beat up not one, but two cops. I think they need a refresher course or a physical fitness routine. I don't feel all that safe if I am relying on these guys to "protect" the people.

My wife worked at a hospital as a nurse and has funny stories about the ancient cops that pull security detail. One of them actual tazered a nurse trying to subdue a belligerent drunk because his hands shake so bad.

It probably is given it wasn't reported as told by eye witnesses. It was told after a court hearing, a matter of public record. But. the whole story may not end here. The cops still have the right to pursue civil litigation, which I'm sure they will do. Mr. Coffin won't be getting off with only $358, IMHO. I don't think it pays to mess with the police.

As with topics like politics and welfare, I agree with Tim's approach. (winking smiley goes here)

I'm a "yes, sir. no, sir" kind of citizen. Like Jeff, I have a lot of respect for good cops, and there are a lot of them. I think Mr. Coffin was technically in the right, but I would have STRONGLY advised a different course of action.

I'm also extremely nice and polite to cops. But I don't know that I could control myself if I saw my wife in cuffs on my own property and illegally at that.

Yep.