Starvin Larry

I got handcuffed, driven off to jail, and spent 12 hours in a cold cell, wearing nothing by my wet gym clothes and no socks.

The most interesting thing happened during the attempted booking, when I refused to answer questions. One of the cops asked: “Constitutionalist, right?”

Let’s parse this out a bit, since there’s a lot going on.  In addition, I spoke with Vitaliy by phone, and he filled in some details.

1. They demanded that he leave two minors alone with them.  Would you leave your minor daughter alone with two cops when there is no reason to do so?  Or would you find it odd and highly inappropriate that they demand you leave while they keep the two minors?

2. They arrested him for refusing to endanger the teens.  Think about that.  They arrested him because he refused to give two minors to two deputies, choosing instead to stay with them and ensure their safety.

3. Once they got him to the station and were attempting to book him, they asked if he was a Constitutionalist simply because he asserted his right to counsel and his right to remain silent.  When he took advantage of two very basic Constitutional rights, they slapped a label on him—a label that Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has had to answer for in the past.  (In recent days, more than one patriot has heard Spokane County deputies on the local scanner refer to people as Constitutionalists as if that is a codeword for “dangerous.”)

4. They told him he could go home, IF he submitted to fingerprinting, having his photo taken, and subjecting himself to questioning about things like his medical history.  When he refused, they said “I guess you want to be a douchebag,” and put him in a jail cell for the rest of the night—in wet clothes with no socks, by the way.

5. They refused him access to an attorney, and stated he could speak with a lawyer after questioning and compliance with their demands.

There are so many issues with this case that it defies reason.  Even the officer who released him admitted that the charges were bogus.  Unfortunately, Spokane County operates with impunity, and so Vitaliy’s wife had to pay $1000 to get her husband out of jail.  He has a court date on 1 July.

This is what’s happening on Ozzie Knezovich’s watch.  These are his men, and this is the conduct he allows and supports from his own deputies.  In case you think this is an isolated incident, let’s go back to May of this year, when a deputy shot and killed someone’s dog.  Then there was the pastor shot by one of Knezovich’s deputies in 2010 (after he hit the pastor in the knees with a baton).  Keep in mind that the deputy was on a lot next to their home in the middle of the night, working on a report.  When the pastor went to investigate what he thought was a prowler, he found the deputy in his car.  Rather than identify himself and/or reassure the man, the deputy told him to get on the ground.  When the pastor refused, the deputy hit him in the knees with his baton, and then shot him.  (The deputy was finally terminated almost five years later, in January of this year.)

Sheriff Knezovich claims to care about the Constitution.  It’s obvious, however, that’s just lipservice.  It’s rather difficult to claim that you and your department support Constitutional rights when you are singling out those who actually do.  By the way, is it normal for your deputies to demand that minor females be left with them without cause?  Is that something you train your men to do?

The deputy in question is Hayes, badge number 591686.  Let’s make him famous…and while we’re at it, let’s hold the sheriff responsible.  It’s about time his deputies stop acting like criminals.

LFA III% calls for Sheriff Knezovich to answer for this conduct, and for Deputy Hayes to, at the very least, be terminated.

For more details, read his firsthand account here.