City of Bellevue ordered to pay attorney fees of $125,000 and stop falsely arresting pro-lifers
Omaha, NE – Four pro-lifers have won their Federal suit against the Bellevue, Nebraska, police chief filed after repeated false arrests under a residential picketing ordinance. The City of Bellevue was ordered to pay $125,000 in attorney fees after settling the case that Federal Court Judge Richard Kopf told the City they could not win.
Greg and Mary Hansen, Roscoe Corell, and Larry Donlan of Rescue the Heartland sued after they were arrested and jailed multiple times during peaceful residential protests in 2006 and 2007 on the orders of Bellevue Police Chief John W. Stacey. In every case, they were acquitted or the charges were dismissed. [Read about one of their unlawful arrests.]
“We were repeatedly arrested and thrown in jail even though the police knew we were not breaking the law. They just didn’t care,” said Donlan, who also drives one of Operation Rescue’s Truth Trucks. “It is unfortunate that the taxpayers of Bellevue now have to pay for the police chief’s irresponsibility.”
According to the consent decree, “The Parties agree, and it is ordered, that the Defendants and their agents will not issue citations, make arrests, or file criminal charges against the Plaintiffs” unless they are actually breaking the law.
“It’s a pretty sad day when American citizens must file a suit in Federal Court to stop police from arresting them for no reason other than some obvious personal bias. The Police Chief’s actions were outrageous, to say the least,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “We congratulate Mr. Donlan and the others on this victory. We trust that now the Bellevue Police will learn this expensive lesson on the First Amendment and will allow the pro-life message to be peacefully spread without further unlawful impediment.”
Read the Consent Decree and Judgment
I hope these prolifers do a complaint for each arresting police officers file and the Chief’s file now too!
As someone pursuing a law enforcement career, this really pains me. I agree 100% that the pro-lifers did the right thing…it just makes me cringe when I see police officers trampling on constitutional rights of citizens! I hope this really sends a message and to let pro-lifers know that not all police officers are pro-baby killing. Some actually have a conscience!
the thing to watch now is all these laws being passed that specifically target pro-lifers. Then a law enforcement officers hands are tied because our job is to uphold the law. and yet, there are many officers who are personally disturbed by abortion. so they sympathize with pro-lifers but still have to enforce the laws that are passed. so keep on fighting the good fight and make sure politicians “get it” that even if they take away babies rights, we will not also let them take away our rights!
Get ready for more of this. It is scarey and sad that there is now a Homeland Security for “homeland terrorists” and it will probably include whoever disagrees with Obama’s radical views of abortion, making pro-life demonstrations subject to this type of harrassment. We all need to pray and continue to protest this horrendous attack on the unborn.
Picketing a home is not peaceful.
Whether random or done in religious obedience, it is not peaceful. Even if it does no physical harm to individuals or property, it does violence to the psyche and emotion.
The protesters probably were within their (legal) rights, provided they remained on public property and were not screaming threats or hatred. But the home is sacrosanct. The only exception, in my view, would be a case of forced abortion. In that case, every individual has an obligation to intervene. I, personally, have never heard of such an act, something I would deem as tantamount to rape.
Then again, I’m not particularly fond of police harassment. Several years ago, a stupid local policewoman with the delicate charm of Nurse Ratched and the refined comportment of Roseanne Barr at the Super Bowl dumbly accused me of damnable things.
It’s probably safe to say I haven’t attained cosmic consciousness about this event. I should be forgiving, but I just can’t. I’d like to forget, but I’d probably rather carve out her uterus and hand it to Boy George to feed to his goldfish.
Such is the toll of sin and cruelty……
maybe if you stopped driveing those damn trucks around neighrborhoods with children outside playing this would not be such a problem.