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| Shelby Co. Sheriff Chris Curry |
As I reported yesterday, Lt. Mike DeHart stopped my wife and me as we parked on Sunday afternoon at the North Shelby County Library. DeHart claimed I had rolled through a stop sign while making a left-hand turn at the intersection of MacIan Lane and Keith Drive in the Broken Bow South neighborhood, where we have lived for 23 years.
I immediately informed DeHart that he was mistaken, but he took my license and registration and retreated to his patrol vehicle. When DeHart returned, he presented me with a warning for the "rolling stop" and then handed me some court papers, saying, "Mr. Shuler, you've been served."
When I quickly realized that I had been the victim of an unlawful traffic stop, I confronted DeHart and called him a "fraud" and a number of other choice words. We nearly got into a physical altercation, and he threatened to arrest me before my wife spoke in a tone of voice that made it clear DeHart was going to have to deal with her. A false move at that point likely would have put DeHart's career at risk--especially when it was clear he had no lawful grounds to stop us, and we were about to enter the veritable den of sin that is the North Shelby Library.
Rational thought seemed to enter DeHart's reptilian brain for just an instant, enough for him to return to his vehicle while we drove away and tossed the legal papers out our car window for him to clean up. (I despise littering, and certainly don't advocate it under remotely normal circumstances. But in this situation, I felt DeHart deserved a giant "up yours," and that's what the fluttering papers were designed to give him.)
Amidst the fracas, I wasn't even sure what the court papers were about, although we had a few of them still in the car when we got home. They involved a defamation lawsuit filed by Rob Riley, the son of former GOP governor Bob Riley.
What about the video? You can check it out at the end of this post, but here are a few key elements it reveals.
* The intersection where I supposedly rolled through a stop sign features fairly heavy traffic because it is less than 100 yards from the only entrance/exit to a neighborhood that includes probably 150 houses. Any driver approaching the intersection needs to be aware that he will be dealing with vehicles heading toward, and away from, heavily traveled Alabama 119.
* The intersection features a heavily obstructed view for anyone planning to turn left. As a driver approaches the stop sign, his view to the left is blocked by rows of trees, shrubbery, bushes, and other vegetation. Only when you pull even with the stop sign, do you have a clear view to see if it's safe to pull out. Any driver who likes the thought of serious injury or possible death certainly can roll through the stop sign while turning left. But a rational, coherent driver is extremely unlikely to do it--and I sure as hell didn't do it.
* DeHart claimed that he saw me roll through the stop sign while he was parked at the intersection of Keith Drive and Little Turtle Drive, which probably is more than 200 yards up a hill from where I was. A number of trees and bushes block the view from where DeHart supposedly was, and the stop sign in question isn't even visible.
I know that I did not roll through the stop sign on Sunday, and I know that Officer DeHart is a glorified liar and thug who violated our civil rights and committed any number of civil-law torts by detaining us without probable cause.
You are invited to view the following video and come to your own conclusions.
17 comments:
I believe you but I also believe IF I WERE you I'd get the hell out of Shelby County. From what I have heard from you and MANY MANY OTHERS I will not even be coming that way to do business.. Do you have a GPS.. Maybe this will help
That's happened before. In 2007, an Australian man successfully used GPS data downloaded from his car to show that he was traveling at or below the speed limit. The speeding ticket was eventually thrown out, as was one in England.
And a spat erupted two years ago in California's Sonoma County when a teenager received a ticket for allegedly going 62 mph in a 45 mph zone. His parents had installed a GPS tracker to monitor whenever he drove faster than 70 mph. Sonoma County won, but spent tens of thousands of dollars in the process.
Man, you live in a seriously wooded area, LS. I live in Oregon and have never been to Alabama. But the footage reminds me of the area where I live.
You probably have different sorts of trees than we have here. But the general scenery looks familiar.
Technically, the deputy didn't "pull you over" or perform "a traffic stop" since (as you state) you had already parked (on public property, no less), and were exiting your car. In any event, regardless of your claim that you were innocent of the traffic violation, you have been properly served by a duly-appointed officer of the law. The deputy did not need an "excuse" to serve you after you kindly documented that you were avoiding service. Good news is that you now have poor Rob Riley right where you want him.
When a deputy follows you in traffic and then blocks you in when you park, that's a traffic stop. More importantly, when he does not allow you free movement, that is detainment. When he does not have probable cause for said detainment, he is committing gross civil-rights violations, along with false imprisonment under state law. He is liable, as is his agency and anyone else who put him up to such actions.
Being "served" under such circumstances is not proper, contrary to your statement. The officer might be duly appointed, but he violated the law up one side and down the other, so the service is void. If you know anything about the law, you should know that.
Furthermore, I did not document avoidance of service. No officer ever informed me that he was trying to serve process. Based on what I saw, as documented in the videos, I was facing a bogus search warrant.
This all happened in one week's time. That doesn't even come close to the legal definition of avoidance of service. Many judges allow 120 days or more for service.
Deputies could have left a note on the door, informing me they have civil papers to serve, but they didn't do that.
I wasn't avoiding service. I was trying to avoid an unlawful search and seizure, which I figured would leave our house a wreck.
One other note:
I'm not sure how this involves "poor Rob Riley."
The only name I saw on the papers was Liberty Duke, and my wife saw that, in a blink of an eye. We might have a few other papers at home that I haven't looked at yet. But at the moment, I'm not aware of this involving Rob Riley.
Maybe you know something I don't know. Again, I wasn't properly served, so I'm pretty much going blind.
Obviously you are of some stature. They aren't sending mear deputies after you. They now have a Lt. Surely a Lt. in a country sheriff's dept. has other duties to preform than following a citizen around so legal documents can be served.
What a waste of tax dollars. Must be a low crime rate with no cold cases for officers to work on.
Not sure if it's my statute, e.a.f., or the stature of a person who wanted me served.
Talk to any police officer or sheriff's deputy, and they hate process serving. They see it as an imposition, something that should be handled by someone else. In the vast majority of cases I've seen, officers don't try real hard to serve somebody. If it doesn't get done, they don't care--it goes back to clerk's office and becomes someone else's problem. I've never heard of this sort of intense effort from a sheriff's department to serve someone. It's extraordinary in my experience.
The gang of cultists and the power behind them, all want you LS to shut the hell up.
It wasn't about a rolling stop.
Not about service.
It was and is about TERRORIZING you to (a) see how you would respond and now they've your wife and yours' 'behaviors' and doing the profiling of what to do next with how you 'reacted', both.
And then (b) to see what would happen with the blog, people in the community and that is the reason the fraud of all the fraud in broad daylight.
You know the laws, they know you know the laws, they're baiting your wife and yours' behaviors.
Get out like the warning says and don't think twice about them winning. They don't win when you're too smart to let them continue making you into a very scary happening to those that blog the truth in AL.
You can blog from elsewhere while suing properly and there are lots that can join and ask for protection from the outside, just like Jim Crow days.
LS, your wife and you are not safe.
The ugly true reality of that whole place that put an innocent governor into prison is proof the place is very unsafe for all. When what was done to Don Siegelman got not only executed fully, but with the clear reality that he was and is innocent.
You have taken the covers off the dead in the morgue and the killers want to put you with the cadavers, watch your self at all times and the Mrs., yes she is now being carefully considered of how to push all her buttons.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/172778920/Ulbricht-Criminal-Complaint
This is very important for you to see you were being definitely set-up.
Code Blue is a hospital saying for the patient is not breathing and that's not you, so perfect time to do what the Talking Heads sing about in staying fit to run run RUN, sure the no conscience want you gone.
Doesn't matter the SPIRIT MURPH can't be chased anywhere but home.
Did he cuts his lights on? Could you have walked away? Did he place you in the back of his car? Could you have driven away?
Doesn't sound like you were confined to me. Stopped, yes. Confined? No
I would suggest you read the post, @4:13. Your questions are answered there. The post never says I was confined; it says I was unlawfully detained. Detainment is the issue, and it's a fact that it occurred.
It also is a fact that the traffic stop was unlawful, violating our constitutional rights and making "service" invalid.
4:13 pm,
I think we all know what walking away would have meant! What a moronic thing to say!
I see no evidence in the video. Am I missing something?
video gone, was it posted by Shelby Co.?
Nation:
The video still appears on my computer. You might double check how it appears on yours now. Any disappearance, hopefully, was temporary.
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