Tree crew calls cops on tattoo

Police were called to a Maine man's home after a tree cutting crew mistook a tattoo of a firearm as a real firearm.

by AWR Hawkins 19 Mar 2014

Homeowner Michael Smith works during the night and sleeps during they day. When the tree crew got near his house during day time hours they woke him up and he walked out shirtless to see what was going on.

According to CBS Connecticut, members of the cutting crew saw the tattoo of a gun on Smith's stomach and believed it was a real one. They called police who showed up to the scene with "assault rifles" drawn.

Police realized the mistake and Smith was not charged.

He said his tattoo has not been confused for a real gun before.

 

We'all gut tats o firearms on r guts… don't cha know. Can't wait to see the local news on this one! BTW… open carry is legal (still) in Maine, so I'm wondering what the h*ll the tree service guy told the dispatcher to end up with cops showing up with assault rifles locked n loaded…

Aaaaaaaeeeeeeeeee…. it's a half naked man !!!! With A Gun !!! (In a state where every resident owns 10 each… ) Funny story right there…

 

Just owning a gun (ignoring that it is a tattoo) is good enough reason to show up with rifles drawn? Cops need to stop being so quick to treat the public like the enemy.

Also, the guy was on his own property AND if it would have been a real gun, it was holstered.

 

That's right… open carry. I didn't see anything on the news about it. Sure would like to know what put the cops in swat mode.

 

Open carry on his own property. Which makes the story even worse.

 

Wonder if they shot his dog.

 

Don't even get me started on that.

 

I'll say this then shut up - we have been living in a fascist police state for some time now.Just lots of citizens are finally waking up to that fact.

 

Yeah… I think here in Maine, somebody kinda over reacted… a lot. The tree crew, the dispatcher or the cops… or all 3.

 

If your eyes are that bad you cant tell a tattoo from a REAL gun in broad daylight from 50 feet away then just maybe you shouldn't be working on a tree crew and/or around dangerous machinery.

 

http://www.kjonline.com/ ck here for the full story. That wouldn't happen if he wore his pants like the big boys do. all that area he has exposed is normally covered by undershorts, if he even bothered to wear some.

 

I had some really good, real looking bullet hole stickers on my black Harley Heritage Softail
When I came out of the store I was in the police had my bike blocked in, Someone had called them about the bullet holes. I had so many people try to poke their finger in the holes, Because they looked so real and yes the cops did it too

Also pretty funny I had one on each side of the gas tank

 

Maybe… but I'm pretty sure if he'd been naked… they prolly still shouldn't shoot him for a tattoo…

I read the newspaper story… good grief… after they made it clear, it was all a misunderstanding, the news reporter then went ahead anyway to list 8 stories of standoffs with police where most of them ended in deaths. All of those guys had weapons… not "lethal" tattoos. While the guy's idea of a great tattoo, might not be so great… at least he's alive… talk about a botched call right from the start.

 

Protecting you rights is certainly very important. When cops are present, they are in charge, right or wrong. Easy to settle later alive, than being "dead right". I would always encourage cooperation. But no need to offer anything extra.
There was a big stink earlier this year, I think it was in Portland. A guy was carrying a weapon in the open. No laws broken. Cops stopped to ask him what his intention were. They guy didn't cooperate. Made a big stink that ended up on the evening news. With so much violence going on, people are uneasy when guns are displayed as in this case where the gun was being carried in the open in a densely populated area. I think the cops only wanted to make sure this wasn't some wacko. The guy felt the cops only wanted to invade his rights, and that he felt harassed. I have a friend who is a school teacher, also an ex Marine. He has a holstered hand gun that he wears into dept. stores. I asked him why he was doing that. He said because he is protecting his rights. This guy is about 6 ft and 250 lbs. I can't imagine anyone messing with him. A lot more public education is needed for this two positions to coexist.

 

Oh, you all should live in Illinois.

 

Good thoughts Save. I remember the case you mentioned. The larger picture, I think, hasn't got anything to do with the choice of tattoos or weapons of any kind… it's about people getting away from treating others the way they'd like to be treated. That lack of caring about others is driving the violence, and you're right, all that violence makes everyone jumpy. That jumpiness caused the tree guys today to over react about a man with a gun tattoo. That caused the dispatcher to assume there was an emergency involving a gun. That caused the cops to assume the same and they responded ready for a possible armed guy with an attitude. I think the guy is lucky he didn't get shot. And, it all started from an over reaction. Crazy.

 

And to think... when I was in high school it was common to see rifles or shotguns in cars and trucks in the school parking lot from October through December. Nobody ever gave them a second look. So many of us went right to the woods as soon as school was out. And now a tattoo brings in SWAT.