Screen capture from the YouTube video posted by Capt. Robert Pierson, a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot.

 

Things are heating up for a Wyoming sheriff’s deputy to made a bizarre offer to a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan.  Capt. Robert Pierson says the deputy offered to release him if the Captain allowed the deputy’s partner to shoot him if he made an sudden movements as he drove away.

The deputy agrees to the account provided by the Marine, and furthermore, there is an audio recording of the stop.

The Marine has filed a civil rights lawsuit.

The deputy?  Well, we hope he has deep pockets.  Ditto for his department.

 

Combat vet sues over Wyoming traffic stop

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Marine Corp Times) — A Wyoming sheriff’s deputy who detained a combat veteran in handcuffs for openly carrying a pistol offered to let him go if he agreed to let another deputy draw his weapon and shoot if the veteran made any sudden moves while driving away, court records show.

Capt. Robert Pierson, a Marine Corps helicopter pilot who has served two combat tours in Afghanistan, has filed a civil rights lawsuit over the August 2011 incident.

Pierson, 31, of Pensacola, Fla., was carrying the pistol, which is legal in Wyoming, when he was pulled over by Deputy Corry Bassett of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

In a sworn statement this month, Bassett acknowledged he offered to release Pierson if he allowed Deputy Rob Andazola to draw his weapon and cover Pierson.

Pierson declined the offer and was released without a citation when a supervisor arrived.

12 thoughts on “Combat vet files suit in bizarre open carry arrest”
  1. Another case of liberal cop not liking the law of the marines. Hope you get all his money Capt.
    Semper Fi
    (vietnam)

  2. Better get ready people. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Have you flown anywhere lately? The TSA is full of thugs that can not get a real job so they are hired by the TSA to harass people that want to just fly from point A to point B. They get away with anything and they have no controls. Now they want to be unionized. Take a look at the teachers to see how that will end up.

  3. Ummm, that doesnt sound like professionally trained people. If that’s department policy, run either for sheriff; because the people are idiots, or run for the boarder.

    Another question would the idiot deputy agree to do this if the roles were reversed?

  4. Was the Capt. pulled over for any VIOLATION? Or was he stopped JUST because he was carrying “open carry”? In Wyoming, it IS lawful to carry “open” carry. Was the officer so stupid he didn’t KNOW that law existed in a “hunter’s” state?

  5. The police received complaint calls about the motorcyclist driving recklessly when he passed some vehicles. So I will give them a bye on the original intent of the stop, but after that it is a fail…..

    Uncle Frank

    1. Uncle Frank, I missed the part about the wussies that got passed and complained about a reckless driver. That must have been in the full version of the article in some Wyoming newsrag!

  6. These goons need to be put in their place. They do not even understand that the citizen’s right are paramount, not their safety and not the State’s hunger for power. Any government that does not respect, guard and defend the citizen’s rights is illegitimate and needs to go.

  7. It is rather ironic that the sign shown in the photo is of Freedom, Wyo. Home of the Cassul gun manufacturing company.
    Apparently the sign is not an indication of actual freedom, nor is it a motto for the Wyoming folks. Too bad and sooooo sad…The deputy will have to back to wrangling pronghorns or jackalopes!

  8. I have driven many miles through Wyoming and I don’t think I’ve ever been through the state w/o getting a ticket. However, that was back when the speed limit was 55mph. Wyoming is also the ONLY state I’ve ever been in that had me pay the fine to the Cop, of coure he pocketed the money but I didn’t have time to argue that. I was active duty, my wife was from Oregon and I was from Florida so everytime we PCS’d, we traveled alot in a short amount of time. One time I was trabeling east on through Wyoming & if anyone knows about Wyoming, the west bound side for quite awhile is approximately 200 ft higher then the eastbound side. Somehow, the cop traveling westbound shot me with radar and came bouncing down the hill to give me the ticket. Many times have I drove through wyoming in a white out at 2am w/o headlights. Yo can’t see with lightss on.

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