These are the folks who are supossed to KNOW the law and protect us?

This is an article from the Western Oregon University Journal written last week about an arrest of a student named Jeffery Maxwell for a non-crime of being in possesion of a concealed weapon in a public building - which is perfectly legal in Oregon as per ORS 161 if you have a license to carry concealed, which he does! Pay particular attention to the statement that the University is ABOVE the law! OH REALLY!

Mid-morning arrest startles students

Individual brings weapons on campus in violation of state law
By: Erin Huggins
Posted: 2/4/09

Last Wednesday morning at 11:16 a.m., Campus Public Safety (CPS) and Monmouth Police identified, detained and arrested Western student Jeffrey Maxwell in the downstairs student area of Werner University Center (WUC) for violation of ORS 166.370, Possession of a Firearm in a Public Building.

CPS had sent an e-mail on Tuesday, Jan. 27, alerting the campus community about an individual who had been seen loitering around the pool area and the residence halls.

Wednesday morning, CPS received a call reporting a person matching the description given in the e-mail who was carrying a knife on campus. Because weapons were involved, Assitant Director of CPS and CPS Officer Mike Hanson called Monmouth Police Department (MPD) for back-up. Sergeant Kim Dorn, Officer Matthew Olafson and a recruit officer from MPD, along with Hutchinson and Hanson, were unable to locate the individual upon an initial search of the campus.

However, shortly before 11 a.m., CPS received another call about the individual and the MPD officers returned to campus.

Maxwell, who was sitting at one of the study tables across from the Service and Career Learning Center, was approached from behind by Joe Hutchinson from Campus Public Safety and MPD officers. Hutchinson asked Maxwell if he had any weapons concealed on his person.

On first response, Maxwell answered he had a knife. Hutchinson then put Maxwell's hands above his head. The second time he was asked, Maxwell said he had a gun.
After the weapons were removed, officers took him into the Calapooia Room. A few minutes later, he was escorted into one of two police cars parked on Church Street outside of WUC.

Responding to why they did not evacuate WUC, Hutchinson said CPS did not know what weapons were involved and did not want to alert the suspect by a sudden flood of students leaving the building.

"If we had known he had a gun, the scenario would have been totally different," Hutchinson said.

Maxwell was initially approached because of his resemblance to the individual in CPS's e-mail, although Hutchinson said CPS has not confirmed whether or not Maxwell is the same person described in the e-mail.

Hutchinson said there have been no sightings of the person since the arrest last Wednesday.

Dorn said although Maxwell did have a loaded firearm on his person, he did not use it in a threatening way and was cooperative with the police.

Maxwell had a valid permit for possessing concealed weapons; however, the permit does not allow people to bring weapons inside public schools, private schools or courthouses.

"Even if you have a concealed weapons permit, you can't have a weapon concealed on your person if you're going to be in any buildings on campus." Dorn said. "In this instance, he just didn't know."

Hutchinson said Western firearm and munition policies are administrative and correspond to Oregon University System policies, which are not necessarily the same as state regulations.

"We go one step further and say, look, no weapons are allowed on campus, period,"Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said he asked Maxwell why he had a gun on campus, to which Maxwell replied, "I was just scared after Virginia tech. I was just really worried about my safety."

Several students witnessed the arrest, including senior Alica Tresidder, who said she initially thought the event was a drill.

"I thought they were practicing," she said about officers involved. "They had it under control. I didn't feel threatened at all."

Sophomore Carrie Miller said she thought the suspect was being arrested for drug possession, "not such serious things as a loaded gun."

"I had a test I was down here [WUC] studying for. How am I supposed to concentrate for the next hour?" she questioned shortly after the arrest took place.

Senior Alecia St. Germaine said her first reaction to the situation was fear.

"My stomach started turning and I wanted to leave," she said.

In addition, knowing an armed person could just walk onto campus makes her feel a little uneasy.

"I have night class," she said. "Usually, I'm fine walking to my car. Now I'm going to second guess that."
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© Copyright 2009 Western Oregon Journal

In response to this arrest, Oregon Firearm Federation has been asked and has accepted the request to defend Maxwell against these bogus charges. This should prove to be a very valuable case for all concelaed license holders. I encourage all Americans concerned about the arbitrary infringement upon our Constitutional Rights (in the name of law enforcement), to contribute to this students defense fund (see post below). The following post is from the OFF website:

Legislators Join OFF In Defense Of Lawful Gun Owners.

Representatives Kim Thatcher and Bruce Hanna joined OFF and the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation today in defense of a college student (and Marine Corp veteran) who was falsely arrested at Western Oregon University last week.

The student was charged with "possession of a firearm in a public building." The college has barred him from classes and the state has charged him with the same crime. The student was involved in no unlawful activities nor was he engaged in any actions that would discredit a responsible gun owner. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There is one small problem. The student has a valid Oregon concealed handgun license. He is statutorily exempt from the prohibitions on gun possession in public buildings.

Apparently neither the college nor the Monmouth Police are acquainted with the law.

The student contacted us last week and we agreed to defend him against these charges, brought by people who seem incapable of reading.

The student is going to face a "hearing" at the college early next week and OFF and our attorney will be there. Our foundation has promised to defend the student and provide whatever legal assistance he requires.

This is an important case. Our foundation filed a lawsuit against the Oregon University System several years ago for the same attack on gun rights, but the court found that since the plaintiff had not been arrested or expelled, they would not consider the case.

This case is different. The WOU student was singled out and arrested in spite of the fact that he had committed no crime.

He has been trespassed off the school property and had his academic career damaged for a "crime " that does not exist. We are committed to defending him.

It is ironic that at a time when when universities are begging for armed guards, some are also demanding that trained gun owners be disarmed.

No matter how this battle goes, it will be expensive. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to our legal foundation to help us cover the costs of the student's defense, we would be grateful for your help. You can donate at http://oregonfirearms.org/ofef/index.html

Please be sure to note that your donation is for OFEF so you receive a receipt for tax purposes.


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