State Constitution means nothing to Casady

Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady is once again seeking to have the rights and privacy of Lincolns citizens stopped at the City Limits.

In his latest crusade to impose his Napoleonic dictum on the populace whose rights he has supposedly sworn to protect Tommy Boy wants the City Council to give him and his minions "authority" to "legally tresspass" on private property to issue citations for un or improperly registered vehicles.

But because the vehicle was parked in a driveway, the police were powerless to do anything about it, short of conducting a stakeout to bust the owner if they drive the vehicle off the private property into the public domain.

Well DUH Chief that is the way it is suppose to be. Neither I nor anyone else is required by state law to have either; A) a vehicle that is not running or B) is never used off of our PRIVATE property registered.

If I have an old 4 wheel drive for pulling stumps and plowing snow in my drive and that vehicle NEVER leaves my property I DO NOT under state law have to register that vehicle.

If a particular vehicle is NOT running for what ever reason I can let the registration lapse and when that vehicle is repaired or rebuilt the Department of Motor Vehicles will let me sign an affidavit to that affect and I will only have to pay the registration from the day I am re-registering it.

IT IS NOT AGAINST THE LAW TO HAVE AN UNREGISTERED VEHICLE ON YOUR PROPERTY.

Because I am required to show proof of insurance at the time of registration this SCHEME will also require me to carry insurance for a PARKED on PRIVATE PROPERTY vehicle that I am not driving either becasue it is broke down, I am restoring it or I simply choose not to use it on PUBLIC thoroughfares.

State law requires one to show proof of insurance at the time of registration.

Again there is no state statute that compells me to insure a vehicle that I am NOT operating on public thoroughfares.

Casady asked the City Council to amend city ordinance to allow police to go after improperly registered vehicles that are parked in “quasi-public” places, such as driveways and private parking lots. Basically, “anywhere a door-to-door salesman can go.”

Hey Chief, get this through your head; There is a big difference between You, your Officers and door to door salesmen.

A door to door salesman is a PRIVATE CITIZEN acting in that capacity. You are a PUBLIC OFFICIAL acting in an OFFICIAL CAPACITY.

I can tell a door to door salesman to get off my property if I don't like what he/she is selling. Under this grandiose scheme I do not have that option when you come sneaking around MY PROPERTY at three in the morning shoving your Badge in my Face. In addittion the opportunity for abuse is just too great.

Consider the following;

Officer in Court: Your Honor I could not plainly see whether the registration was current from the street, it is a rather long driveway and the license plate was obscrured by a bicycle leaning against the back of the car, under the authority of city ordinance I entered upon the property and in the course of my investigation I noted that ________ (fill in the blank) and subsequently arrested the defendant on a charge of ______ (fill in the blank).

Do I believe that the local gendarmes will under the colour of this ordinance use it to sneak around private property in the middle of the night as a pretext to discover other crimes they may or may not suspect? Unequivocally YES I DO.

The change would help police enforce registration laws, which police have been focusing on since early last month. The council will likely vote on the proposal during its next meeting on Monday.

If you have an unregistered and uninsured vehicle on your property you are not committing a crime. If this ordinance passes you will still not be committing a crime. Afterall the ordinance does not make it a crime to have the unregistered vehicle on your property, it only gives the Chief and his minions the authority to tresspass on your property at their liesure.

All this appears to be is a scheme to generate more revenue for the city coffers. What Casady proposes is that the City give him the authority to tresspass on private property and issue citations for something that IS NOT against the law.

If you value your property rights and privacy then contact your City Council Persons and tell them how you feel about this blatant disregard for the rights of the people that Casady is again perpetuating on the city.

If the City Council does pass this then they will have, once again violated the oath of office they took to uphold the Constitution and laws of the State of Nebraska.