“Just because I have a handgun on me and a license to carry should not be a big deal, but that is what made it the turning point.” It’s hard to come to any other conclusion based on the report and the dashcam footage (click the image above to view the whole thing). After calling for backup, the Rosenberg, Texas officer tells Alonzo Gonzalez he’s being cuffed and taken in for “fail(ure) to signal your STOP sign” and having “an obstructed view on your windshield through the driver’s side.” . . .
Guess you don’t have to do much in the Houston exurb to be hauled to the hoosegow. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that an internal investigation of the arrest cleared Officer Anthony Schnacky. Or that no one in the Rosenberg PD would talk to a reporter about what happened.
Mr. Gonzalez has filed a complaint against the department, but he’s probably not holding his breath waiting for a favorable outcome. Here’s a tip: watch your ass in Rosenberg, Texas.
[h/t D M]
What’s this I hear about Texas being a gun paradise? Or it could be the cop is just a prick…
I can’t say anything for certain about people’s personal opinions in Texas versus my home state of Ohio, but I know that we have much better gun laws than Texas.
Si don’t think it’s the Texas laws that are the problem as much as the Texas law enforcers.
The officer violated Texas law which requires that a Traffic Violator is to be issued a “Citation To Appear” and be released from custody — a physical arrest is warranted only when and if the Violator refuses to sign the Citation.
RPD terminated Officer Anthony Schnacky in a clear “CYA” move — attempting to forestall a Civil Rights Violation lawsuit.
Alonzo Gonzalez has a “slam dunk” ‘1983’ lawsuit here.
ps: I’m a retired 20+ year former Texas LEO/CLEO.
This?
” You probably won’t be surprised to learn that an internal investigation of the arrest cleared Officer Anthony Schnacky.”
Or this?
“RPD terminated Officer Anthony Schnacky in a clear “CYA” move — attempting to forestall a Civil Rights Violation lawsuit.”
Was the officer cleared or fired then?
@Geoff PR – Probably both. “Please resign voluntarily and the internal investigation will clear you.”
However! I did hear in another spot (though I can not vouch for the veracity of the info) that Gonzales had several unpaid traffic violations and might have had a failure to appear, in which case the officer was completely justified.
But Texans are better self promoters….
“Or it could be the cop is just a prick…”
Yes, just being a prick, but don’t know if he a Texas prick, due to Texas having a good economy, lot of people having moved to Texas from California, and bring LA that attitude with them. This was just one cop, most are polite and appreciate concealed carry, open carry – not so much
Interesting that Rosenburg often hosts the regional 4-H shooting championships. Haven’t looked at the vid yet, I have to guess there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Or–the cops were just pricks. it happens everywhere.
Update:
“In light of the recent media publicity regarding the traffic arrest of an armed CHL holder, we felt compelled to make a statement. The Rosenberg Police Department supports our 2nd Amendment rights, and all CHL holders. Please do not allow an isolated incident or the actions of one Officer to tarnish the image of the entire Agency. The arresting Officer is no longer employed with our Department. We stand with our Community.”
Via Rosenberg Police Department Facebook page.
I heard the same thing. Then I turned off the T.V. and quit watching old 1950s westerns on T.V. Land channel.
The childhood, television-fueled fantasies of Texas as a place of pure laissez faire firearms freedom (utopia or dystopia, depending on your view) is a myth. It’s such a wild myth that it fuels the equally wild countermyth that Texas is actually a draconian anti-firearms hell hole.
This is one, as yet unresolved, case. Just as with a DGU and anything happening anywhere at any time being possible, an apparent police violation of rights can happen anywhere. Let’s see how this place out.
Welcome to the Police State…
Says the typical hyperventilating American who’s never actully experienced the real thing.
(Obligatory “I’ve travelled this globe on every continent and personally fought every single police state from Nazi Germany to ISIS. I KNOW what a police state is!!!” in 3…..2…….1……)
Obviously wasn’t there (despite footage), only two people know the full story and I don’t trust either of them.
However, assuming it was just the mere fact the citizen was carrying, I’ve only been thanked by officers that I was carrying in Texas when I’ve been stopped for moving (alleged) violations.
Well, the written article can be found here:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/21/texas-motorist-says-officer-query-about-legal-firearm-leads-to-arrest/?intcmp=hpbt4
(I originally thought the photo was a video link; it’s not)
Second to the last line: “The station reported that an internal investigation concluded the officer who pulled Gonzalez over followed all proper procedures.”
Last line (kind of an important detail to leave until the very end): “It also reported that the officer had resigned and was no longer on the force.”
Is it just me, or do these two items, taken together, seem counterintuitive? He did everything right, but having done so, he then he resigned from the force?
They invited him to resign with a clean record, then found no reason to find any wrongdoing because he’d already quit.
It’s called CYA from the coming civil rights action. Since when is someone arrested and taken to jail for an infraction? Almost never. A driver’s license is bond, so he gets to jail and walks out again–but without his gun.
Wow this is something I fear happening to me in CA as a CCW holder, but never thought it could happen in a state like Texas.
asshats are not just indigenous to CA, they can be found everywhere, with and without badges. Always remember that.
Asshats without badges are harmless. Ergo, the badges are the problem. Get rid of them. Solved.
People love to fellate Texas. But it’s honestly a police state. And the gun laws are overrated there.
You can be arrested for almost anything and you have no legal recourse.
We have so many laws and regulations at this point that “Everybody commits at least three felonies every day.” (So I’ve heard.) And that doesn’t come close to the count of misdemeanors you/we/I might unwittingly accomplish in the same period.
Many (oh so many) years ago in a small southern California town I was friends with a local cop. He told me one time that if he had a hard-on for someone he only had to observe him walk for about one block down coast highway and he could find a legitimate reason to detain and question him and if he didn’t like the answers it would not be difficult to provoke him into at the minimum a misdemeanor bust. If he tried to run it became a felony.
I understand that the dashcam video above was heavily edited before its release (it has been reported) and that the driver apparently decided to give the officer some attitude when he first approached the car and before revealing he was carrying. This may have had something to do with the outcome.
“Did you really think we want those laws observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them to be broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against… We’re after power and we mean it… There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system, Mr. Reardon, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.”
–Ayn Rand, ‘Atlas Shrugged’, 1957
As a Texan, I have to agree with you. Texas rides the reputation earned by its ancestors, but couldn’t be further from those storied fellows. It’s pretty pathetic. If you want to be elected, wear a cowboy hat; that’s pretty much all there is to it.
Like anywhere, there are fantastic people and areas, but I’ve grudgingly come to accept that the myth of Texas is just hype.
Is this the same “Jared” who’s going to the federal pen for 15 years for “fellating” little boys?
There are several municipalities here that do not like the new open carry laws. Austin’s police chief Aceveda is the most virulent opponent. He was the one who got the legislature to delay the effectiveness until 1 Jan 16. He wanted time to “instruct” his officers as he put it. I suspect that his instructions are to find something, anything to make life miserable for those who dare to carry in his fiefdom. Hope I’m wrong but I do refer to him as assholeveda.
“There are several municipalities here that do not like the new open carry laws. Austin’s police chief Aceveda is the most virulent opponent.”
Something tells me Open Carry Texas is going to give ‘Chief’ Aceveda their full undivided attention.
And I hope TTAG’s Propaganda Militia Expeditionary Forces are there with the video rolling…
Like much of the rest of the country, big cities in Texas are run by Marxists willing to abuse their authority to enforce their own personal Stalin-esque opinion regardless of what the law says. These toads should be the first to be imprisoned when the current state of insanity subsides.
Texas is as much of a police state as any state in the Northeast. They just mostly happen to like guns.
There is an enormous difference between Texas and places like Idaho and the Dakotas.
Yes. And Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have gun laws that are 100 times better than Texas.
Great point. Too bad all the truly FREE gun states are COOOOLLLLDDDD.
I guess AZ is the best of the South, but I haven’t done any research.
To those that don’t know. VT and ME are Constitutional Carry states. NH you can OC with out any license.
If geography is your issue, here are other top states. Keep in mind that constitutional carry isn’t always the best if they have a lot of places off limits.
West. Utah, almost no places off limits.
South. Alabama, very few places off limits and very easy process for a pistol permit. Issues at 18.
Midwest. Kansas.
Pacific islands. Guam, not friendly to our standards, bad registration law, but shall issue for possession/OC and now shall issue for a CCW endorsement. Few places off limits.
18 for a shall issue possession/OC license. May issue for a CCW license at 18, shall issue for a CCW endorsement at 21.
AZ wins because of constitutional-carry, but it’s rapidly being overrun by California/NY transplants & border jumpers, and they like to bring their laws with them. Colorado is a good example of the direction they’re taking western states that were previously gun-friendly.
I live in N. Alabama, and open-carry is common enough that nobody notices. The virulent anti-gunners are pretty much restricted to Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, and to a lesser extent, Birmingham. The city cops are never happy to learn you’re carrying, but neither will they promptly arrest & confiscate just because they don’t like it.
@anaxix.
Blame the Fed for the overrunning. It’s virtually entirely funded by cheap money for nothing flowing to statistically complacent statist. And hence, from everyone else. Widespread belligerence, Freemen style, looked like it could have a shot at scaring the rabble off back in the 90s, but the Fed, aided by local fifth columnists, won that battle. This is also why Utah is steadily climbing the ranks of gun friendly states, and is today about as good as it gets: Mormons are fertile enough not to be overran, financially well off enough that recruiting interlopers is expensive, and even today retain strong enough traditional cultural institutions to remain unattractive to the statist trash.
I live in Kansas and, frankly, I think we’ve got it as good as anywhere. Constitutional Carry, Open Carry, Shall Issue, Preemption, few gun-buster signs, no force of law where they are present, public property gun-free zones have to really be gun free and reciprocity with tons of states.
…But you have to go through the blockade states of New York/New Jersey to get there.
It’s sad to say that any peace office can arrest for any crime committed in their presence in Texas (other than speeding and open container – they must first try to issue a ticket). This includes no turn signal or no seat belt (Texas CCP Art. 14.01 and upheld by the Supreme Court in Atwater v. Lago Vista).
The police (or the ones holding their leashes) in Texas are running amok. They are the one that removed the no to be harassed amendment in the open carry bill. They are the ones hiding the facts in the Waco biker shootings, and lets not forget the pool part incident. The sad part is we, the Texas citizens, are allowing it.
As another poster stated if you have a CHL you must show the license on demand. But I can carry a handgun in my vehicle without a license and do not have to even tell them I have it. This is why I do not have a CHL any longer. I do not want to be harassed by the gestapo.
It makes for a strange dynamic. I’ve got a coworker who was thinking about getting a LTC (née CHL) until we had a conversation about his carry plans. He wants it as a car gun, and is a little wary of being mandated to declare his weapon if licensed (he is of a darker than Caucasian persuasion) and pulled over in boondocks West Texas. That unlicensed in the car is concealed is concealed, he is thinking about forgoing the license.
When a state’s laws make licensed carry available but encourage someone to carry without a license, you know they are Kafkaesque.
As for me, I picked up my license as a “why not” and because it’ll cover me if I carry while visiting family members in many other states. Admittedly, this is the first time I have heard of a cop arresting for carrying rather than letting the person off. Living near Rosenberg, it makes me rather uncomfortable about crossing the Brazos. We will be taking a different route to Matagorda.
You don’t have to disclose in Texas if you have a CHL. There is no penalty whatsoever; therefore, it’s just a recommendation at this point…. Which I wouldn’t recommend.
One set of rules for thee, and another for me.
Absolutely disgusting.
cops acting like thugs because they don’t like attitude. Hmm, sounds like the us versus them thing is completely true. Someday a cop is going to have an attitude with someone motivated and he’ll have his face sewn onto a soccer ball and delivered by fedex to his watch commander with a note saying, don’t be a dick.
Cop gets off without life-changing consequences, but the story notes he has resigned from the force. I’d love to see a future story where these types of guys are tracked so we can see what kind of departments are hiring them.
Looks like he was still there in June, when we won an award for pulling someone out of a burning car. No stories about him since (other than this one).
I lived in Katy just north of Rosenberg. Rosenberg is metro-Houston. They will pull you over in a heart beat and make every single effort to charge you for anything they can.
The Houston papers have reported the officer resigned.
I read an as yet unverified report that he actually had a warrant for unpaid parking tickets. It could happen.
not everyone in texas who carries a badge and a gun is necessarily trustworthy.
given the info from the video and article, it is not clear that the police were in any way justified. would like to see where in the department procedure manual it recommends, encourages or authorizes cops to do a full arrest for failure to signal an intended turn. the cop house says the two bad guys followed proper procedure. one could understand that if the cop procedure states that any motorist transporting a gun will be arrested, then the cops would be absolved by IAD, but still worthy of ridicule and contempt.
I’ve heard people familiar with the area say that drugs are very commonly run through there. Add in the financial incentive of civil forfeiture, and it’s pretty obvious why the cops arrested him. Take his stuff, make money, say “Nah all good” and then make the officer resign (to be hired by another agency or private security company no doubt) before any fall out lands.
I don’t think any decent lawyer would have an issue creating doubt as to the “reasonable cause” of the arrest, but if the unpaid parking tickets portion of the comments is true, then, whelp… let’s get angry at civil forfeiture for creating this environment.
Oh, and also cops are dicks.
Here’s a tip: demand that the U.S. Attorney General charge those involved in Rosenberg, Texas with deprivation of rights under color of law under 18 U.S. Code Section 242. A few years in prison and a personal fine of $10,000 to the arresting officer ought to cool his jets.
Add Cleburne to the list and it is hardly a big city. If this guy doesn’t end up with his firearm being stolen he is doing better than being stopped in Cleburne. I know and have dealt with cops that were even more polite after learning I am carrying (as they should be) and I have also run into cops in Texas that have drawn on me after I told them I was carrying. This was done with finger on the trigger of his GLOCK no less while I was not being at all threatening.
We have a decent gun culture in Texas with maybe just above average laws but things continue to improve. I have always believed the main area where we are near the top is firearm use in combination with our Castle Doctrine.
In addition to firearms our knife laws have greatly improved to include automatics (switch blades) and all types of gravity knives. In other words there is a trend for reversing a lot of arms related nonsense.
As bad as things are here in Texas I am off to shoot a few of my suppressed SBRs with up to 100 round capacity and my full auto Thompson with 50 round drums all the while conceal carrying with 16 rounds of 9mm HSTs on tap. Maybe one of these days I will have some ability to defend myself and enjoy cool firearms. 😉
Add this to the Waco biker situation, I bet many are thinking it is time to start shooting bad cops.
Cops that infringe on civil rights should be shot.
Sounds like the town of “Rosen-BOIG” is due for a name change, might I suggest “Bloom-BOIG” or “Whine-BOIG in honor of the notorious anti-gunners from NYC and Boi-Gen County N.J. respectively.
Clicking the video takes me to the Fox news story, and no where to click to start the video. Anybody else have this problem?
Yes, you have to click on the TV station link near the top of the article to see excerpts from the dash-cam vid.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/driver-files-complaint-after-traffic-stop-in-rosenberg/36532140
Some of our comments here think they need to act like new york cops recently. It’s getting a little irritating, truth be told.
I am a PA resident and was driving in Ohio last weekend to see family. I was pulled over in a small town for exceeding the speed limit. Huron, Ohio is one of those small towns where the speed limit fluctuates between 50 to 35 to 40 to 45 to 55. I knew as soon as he passed me and turned he was going to pull me over. I did so, flashers on and hands on wheel. I advised the officer that I had a sidearm and a permit from PA. Showed him all my documents and waited. I was given a warning and thank you for the heads up on the firearm. My daughters (11 and 9) remarked what a nice police man he was.
This may be very much like so many other stories in the news right now. There are two sides, yes, but are we hearing the full story of either side? Sorry folks, but my view of the media is way to jaded these days. Is this a civil rights violation? Or is there more to the police side? Are the cops really prejudice? Or does this guy have other outstanding violations? And no, I do not necessarily believe what we are seeing in the video. That are too many other videos out there showing situations one the news that seem to be very clear cut, only to find out later they were edited or you could not see the whole context or etc…
“Here’s a tip: watch your ass in Rosenberg, Texas”
However, from the original article: “It also reported that the officer had resigned and was no longer on the force.”
Here’s a tip: in a defensive gun use, you should shoot until the deadly threat is stopped, but in an anti-police screed, you should keep shooting your mouth off even After the improperly acting officer is no longer with the force? Curious, that.
I was a LE officer in another state for many years. I have noticed that many of the Texas LE officers (especially city cops, and some deputies) have a huge ego problem. Couple this with their general ignorance of case law, and constitutional law, and they keep stepping on it. We would have never gotten away with some of the immaturity I see here in Texas. Why some of these guys still have badges is beyond me.
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