JIM WALSH
courierpostonline.com
3 claim State Police order violated their rights.....
CAMDEN — When State Police stopped six motorcyclists on a Southampton highway in July 2009, the bikers received summonses — and an unwanted order.
They were told to remove their “colors,” the jackets that showed membership in the Pagans and Tribe motorcycle clubs.
“Now you are all going to take your jackets off,” Trooper Nicholas Carlini told the motorcyclists, according to a video recording of the incident. “Because on these highways these are the only colors you wear,” said the trooper, indicating his blue and gold uniform.
That order has led to a federal lawsuit, filed by three of the motorcyclists, that alleges actions by Carlini and other troopers violated their constitutional rights.
The case moved forward last week, when U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle in Camden said the motorcyclists could pursue several of their claims, including malicious prosecution, in court.
Defendants in the case — a group that includes Carlini, four other troopers and state officials — had asked Simandle to dismiss the complaint.
“We’re looking … for the court to rule the obvious: These people have a right to wear their colors,” said Boyd Spencer, a Norristown, Pa., attorney representing the motorcyclists. He contends his clients — James Coles of Gloucester City, Louis DeGailler of Brooklawn and Joseph Ballinger of Mantua — were stopped by the troopers because of their colors. Coles and DeGailler are Pagans, while Ballinger belongs to the Tribe, according to the lawsuit.
“This is a widespread practice of police officers harassing people with (club) patches on,” Spencer asserted in an interview Tuesday. “It’s not an isolated incident.”
A spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office, which is representing the defendants, declined to comment on the case.
The traffic stop, which lasted almost an hour for most of the motorcyclists, occurred as the riders were heading down Route 70 to a benefit for a sick child in Vincentown. The incident was taped by video-recording equipment in Carlini’s cruiser.
According to Simandle’s ruling, State Police claim the motorcyclists were stopped because they were wearing improper helmets. The judge’s ruling indicates Carlini did not inspect the helmets, however, and Spencer said his clients were cleared at a municipal court hearing.
Spencer also said the motorcyclists were charged under a law that covers motorized bicycles, which he considers an attempt to insult his clients. “We don’t think this was inadvertent,” he said.
The lawsuit also contends the traffic stop was improperly prolonged by the troopers’ demands that the motorcyclists remove their colors.
According to Simandle’s ruling, the videotape shows Carlini raised the issue again after a computer check showed, erroneously, that Ballinger had a suspended license.
“So are you going to take your jackets off, or I’m going to tow this bike,” Carlini said, according to Simandle’s ruling. The men did not remove their colors, and Carlini said, “I can stand here all night as well.”
The motorcyclists’ lawsuit in part asks Simandle to declare that police violate the Constitution when they stop bikers solely because they’re wearing colors.
“Everybody has First Amendment rights,” said Spencer, who acknowledged some motorcycle clubs have unsavory reputations. “The First Amendment is not there to protect the people we like. It’s there to protect the people we don’t like.”
Spencer also said the motorcyclists were charged under a law that covers motorized bicycles, which he considers an attempt to insult his clients. “We don’t think this was inadvertent,” he said.
The lawsuit also contends the traffic stop was improperly prolonged by the troopers’ demands that the motorcyclists remove their colors.
According to Simandle’s ruling, the videotape shows Carlini raised the issue again after a computer check showed, erroneously, that Ballinger had a suspended license.
“So are you going to take your jackets off, or I’m going to tow this bike,” Carlini said, according to Simandle’s ruling. The men did not remove their colors, and Carlini said, “I can stand here all night as well.”
The motorcyclists’ lawsuit in part asks Simandle to declare that police violate the Constitution when they stop bikers solely because they’re wearing colors.
“Everybody has First Amendment rights,” said Spencer, who acknowledged some motorcycle clubs have unsavory reputations. “The First Amendment is not there to protect the people we like. It’s there to protect the people we don’t like.”
Absolute power corrupts .............etc, wherever. Never trusted a uniform as a child, adult and now as a dinosaur even less.
