Veteran sues city of Alpharetta He says he was demonstrating, police say he was panhandling
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- A veteran who says he was demonstrating outside Alpharetta City Hall is suing the city, alleging that it violated his constitutional right to free speech.
Jeffrey Gray was handcuffed during the demonstration last year and cited for panhandling. Gray denies that he asked anyone for money, saying he simply stood outside city hall with a sign that read “God bless our homeless veterans.”
The full story: 2wsb.tv/3Q2OuV7
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He gives them every opportunity to not violate his rights. This is about police ego.
Cop lied on his report stating that Gray was panhandling yet he had zero proof, rather he violated Gray's civil rights and now will face a lawsuit. The officer needs to be held accountable for filling a false report which is a felony.
don't worry, the union and his buddies in the department will protect him...despite the fact that panhandling itself is a protected 1A right and ordinances to the contrary are unconstitutional.
he is a cop, he can do what he wants!
Apparently you've never heard of qualified immunity.
even if he was panhandling it was an unlawful arrest ,the SCOTUS has upheld panhandling as 1st amendment protected speech
Doesn't qualify if he filed a false report! @@wadewilson8011
Jeff Gray is the premier civil rights activist of the last 10 years. His work has exposed the appalling lack of training and discipline that seems to be rampant in local police departments, and the utter disdain local police and officials have for basic human rights. His signs should be displayed in the Smithsonian or the Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Jeff Gray is half of the equation. He gets out there and records the cops violating his rights. Violating ALL of our rights. An absolute hero.
FiRE is the other half of the equation. If all you do is document the cops violating our rights then we've lost our rights. You MUST hold them accountable, so FIRE representing Gray in court is just as important. They're both heroes.
Jeff is a national hero. His videos are the best. Always polite and explains exactly what he is doing.
Exactly he's a real patriot to the America our forefathers created, not the abomination that it is today.
If you only like him because he's polite and always explains what he's doing then you're missing the point. He could be rude and never explain what he's doing and it would be legal all the same. The point is the govt can't curtail speech no matter how it makes them feel.
@@ra2186 I like him over every other auditor because he is nice to people and not going around being a nuisance like lot of people like to do. Jeff goes somewhere visible but still out of the way and just spreads a positive message that more people really should care about
Jeff won't be a hero for long
@@patriot4life450what does this even mean?! 😔
Jeff has been educating ignorant police and government officials like this for 10 years. Based on what I still see, I think he has at least another 10-20 years of work ahead of him.
He needs help, maybe a civil oath patrol.
They'd do it again tomorrow to someone else. They're only learning to leave Jeff alone! They could care less about your civil rights. They're only concern is taking as much from you as they can.
@@EnufAlrdy909 part of Jeff's lawsuits is they change their policies, you're over here playing checkers and Jeff's out there playing chess.
@@dirtyfacegeorge9938also any money is donated to homeless vets programs. He only ask for $1776 all that gets donated.
It's not a matter of educating. They know what they are doing, they just choose to bluff their victims as far as they possibly can.
I never met a cop who wasn’t a liar, tyrant and incompetent in doing his/her job. Always record the police.
My Dad told me many years ago, never trust a cop!
And they are constitutionally allowed to lie to suspects in the course of an investigation. So they are TAUGHT in the academy that they have that allowance and it snowballs from there. Given all that I'd never trust ANYTHING a cop tells me.
Unfortunately nowadays I'm inclined to agree with you, 5 years ago I would say most cops are decent, I no longer believe that. They need to do 2 years of code schooling before allowed to be police. Most do not know the laws.
Well since the courts ruled they are allowed to lie to citizens, why would anyone believe a word they say? Our government needs a complete rehaul from the top down.
@@brandonlantier Because kids are taught to always believe the police because they are there to help you.
All these cities you see that Jeff Gray visits have city ordinances that walk all over your civil rights, he's pushing back against this overreach.
The laws do not neccesarily violate your rights ! It is the cops bending , twisting , and in this case lieing ,about the law to make you a criminal when you are doing anything they do not like or approve of ! Officer indescretion !
@@chavitacanta008 quite often, idiotic local government make ordinances that directly violate our rights and laws. And the biggest problem is panhandling, because it is legal thanks to the supreme court. Evil/stupid white blue blood types try to make panhandling illegal. If it was up to me, the blue blood types would get prison time for making such unlawful, unconstitutional ordinances.
@@chavitacanta008 Gray does not panhandle. I have watched a few of his YT videos, and if someone gives him money, he gives it back.
Even if he did panhandle, SCOTUS has said it is protected First Amendment activity. Arresting someone for it is violating Constitutional rights.
@@jeffreypierson2064 It's funny when Jeff starts asking for money when they try to tell him panhandling is illegal
@@chavitacanta008boot taste that good to you that you lick it over the internet? What a waste of free speech. That right should not apply to boot lickers.
The City of Alpharetta was wrong! That is the news story.
THAT COP FABRICATED CHARGES - THE GUY WAS NOT PANHANDLING.
Even if he was, panhandling has been declared by many courts around the country as free speech.
Im in the UK and even i know the US supreme court considers panhandling "An appeal for charitable donations" Every politician asks for donations it is no different
@@showlett33 yes but that’s irrelevant here - the guy did not ask for money his poster was making awareness to an issue
@@bonneymac38 Ive been following Jeff and his work for years, i know exactly what he is doing. He is the reason i looked into US supreme court decisions on the subject
Cops fabricate charges a lot, not just against Jeff. It's not uncommon at all. Courts told cops they could lie and they do -- all of the time, even in official reports, on warrant applications, and in court. As lawless a gang cannot be found.
Panhandling is not a crime.
If it were, the the fire department couldn't do it.
@@BeardMan01
I can understand why the petty tyrants in many towns and cities whose building, is in many cases the nicest in the whole town don't want people panhandling or 'demonstrating' on their precincts, but they must either recognize the rights of the people, which include the homeless or doing something to alleviate homelessness which causes the problem in the first place. The idiot actions of one man and the stupid petty legislation the elected moron support has now caused an increase in insurance payments the city tax payers have to shoulder, money that could be spent elsewhere and perhaps even on the homeless.
your absolutely right. asking for charitable funds is legal. aggressive panhandling is illegal.
_ ganglike organization but legal - then coddling them with qualified immunity !?!
@@caaabatl8692 False. "Aggressive Panhandling" Is protected under the first amendment
Panhandling is a Constitutionally upheld activity. 1st Amendment.
But he wasn’t panhandling!
@@bonneymac38 Doesn't matter. He didn't break any laws.
Thank you Jeff.
I'm not a lawyer, but a far as I understand, this is settled law. City has no chance. 1) He was making declarative statement "God Bless Homeless Vets", in public, on public property = First Amendment. 2) No city, county nor state law supersedes the constitution. 3) even if it did, he was not asking for money. So he was not panhandling. I expect a settlement, and another donation to the Veterans charity, once the citie's lawyer can talk down whoever's ego is getting in the way of actually following law.
Even if he was panhandling, the courts have ruled panhandling is protected under the 1st amendment
You would be right because they already settled this case.
Every state and federal government violates the 1st and 2nd amendment every day. Look at the FCC and every gun law.
Even if he was asking for money (panhandling) that is also covered by the same 1st amendment and legal in all 50 states. No state law can change it. Its the same thing when cities like NTC try to ban firearms, the 2A does not have to bow before a City or a State.
@RichardHeadGaming Yep this is exactly it. Panhandling can only be subject to time place and manner restrictions which must be posted
Ignorance of the law is NO excuse according to the courts...UNLESS you are a COP.
Preach! 🙌
What a Clown. How can this Cop keep his job? What a liability to Alpharetta!
Go Jeff Grey!! Need to say or point out he asks for $1,791.00 which is a symbolic amount due to what occurd in our country in 1791!! This money is also usually awarded to a verteran non profit organization. The city tax payers can thank the officers for costing them even MORE money for not knowing our constitutional rights! Freedom is scary deal with it!
Yes! Xizang, that is extremely significant.
Jeff sues for the amount of $1791, symbolic of the year 10 ratified amendments were signed to the bill of rights.
And no, he isn’t trying to get rich. In fact he absorbs the costs, donating the lawsuit settlement to charity.
That is a true patriotic hero!
*only thing I’ve always wished (but it’s a minor difference)- sign should read ‘God Bless OUR Homeless Vets’
But the way it’s written, could be read as better because, me being Canadian, I like to read it to include ALL vets. Since the poor treatment of vets also occurs here in Canada.
Panhandling is protected free speech. Any city ordinance that says otherwise is unconstitutional
They can't deny anything. He recorded the whole situation
Eliminate qualified immunity
And absolute immunity as well - NO public servant should not face civil as well as criminal liability for incompetence or malfeasance!
NOW!!!
Could not have said it better myself but let me try: Eliminate Qualified Immunity.😂
Unfortunately, law suits are the only way to force a city into compliance. We can thank our founding fathers for this right!!!
Goes to show how much they really appreciate our service doesn't it?
Considering the us govt turned troops on ww1 veterans in Washington DC. Imagine what pigs with immunity will do to the people.
Ikr
So what? Enlistment doesn't make us immune from disrespect. How he was treated has nothing to do with being a vet.
Well that's where the phrase actions speak louder than words really resonates. Someone can tell you all day that they appreciate your service when you're all dressed up in your uniform but when you're a homeless person who may be dirty/smelly then you're a blight on society and need to move along.
This is how people really feel about veterans. It's disgusting that people would harass and arrest a veteran for saying God Bless Homeless Veterans 🙏 this Lieutenant should be removed from any position of authority F O R E V E R!
To be fair to Lt. Furr, he is an American cop, so he has every right to believe he can do whatever he feels like because no cop is ever held accountable. Interesting that Americans love to moan but never work together to change their own lives for the better. All that potential wasted by getting stuck in their religious Us vs Them behavior.
It's sad that cops need special training in order to be decent human beings.
You can't train decency.
Most cops have 50 tattoos on their arms....
You could weed out 90% of the psychos by not hiring people with terrible decision-making skills.
The city is so screwed - he anticipates that they're going to act like a bunch of Nazis so he records from start to finish. There's absolutely no way they win this suit.
God bless Jeff Gray
Back the blue until it happens to you
A C A B
Facts
He never backed the blue lol
Back over the blue!
@@nashvegas4476 He isn't talking about Jeff, clearly
This man is doing important work of exposing corruption.
The police officers should serve time and have to pay out of THEIR pockets for violating the oath that they took to the US Constitution and violating a man's rights. Disgraceful.
The News could point out that 'panhandling' is protected free speech as demonstrated by courts, even though Jeoff wasn't panhandling
The news doesn't want to upset their relationship with the police and local government
Exactly, they are nothing more than complicit bootlickers fawning for the next juicy story their pseudo-masters (the government) choose to feed them to keep them on their leash. The Watergate story would have never been broken with tame lapdogs like these sorry excuses for reporters. They should watch Jody Barr and the grow a set, otherwise they are nothing more than a useless propaganda mill!
Panhandling is protected free speech, whether some idiots write a law against it or not.
@mselliot2
Surely most cities have access to legal advise on the ordinances they produce. This should never got on their books.
@wjf0ne exactly right. They know they can get away with it till someone sues them and the homeless don't usually have the means to sue them.
@@wjf0ne Most cities and townships (even small ones) have either a fulltime city legal team or an attorney on retainer. They have access and regularly get opinions on legal matters. The attorney cannot force them to abide by their advice. Plus the attorneys can give them bad advice as well.
@@wjf0ne They just dont care anymore.
He literally records himself not panhandling
& he won.
smart veteran
How doesn’t every police agency in the nation and especially in the south not know about Jeffrey Gray by now?
Most cities have an "aggressive panhandling" ordinance, key word "aggressive" Panhandling in any city is legal according to the SCOTU 😅
This Oakes in comparison to the North Carolina Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office gunning down my 2 unarmed neighbors in their own home last December 13th
Reform police now
End qualified immunity
According to FBI statistics, police kill approximately 1,000 people a year. 95% of them were unarmed.
WSB, you don’t get it.
If he was black wsb would then be on board and call him a hero.
Corporate media is complicit in the tyranny to profit from the press pass lie. Free press is the real press!
@@kanibist8330 Or part of the alphabet mafia.
The police DID violate his rights. Mr. Gray never asks for money and when people offer him money he declines it. Mr. Gray shows how ill informed and tyrannical may police dept are.
Sometimes when the cops tell him panhandling is illegal, he asks the cop for money.
Jeff is a modern day patriot!! So grateful for his service during and after the military!!
Jeff should start suing for big money and see how scared these dumbass city councils and police departments get. Cities that continue to employ corrupt and ignorant police officers are going to learn if the pay-outs get large enough.
He sues for $1791, change of ordinances, police training, _and legal costs_ . That's where the big money is. That he gets nothing himself makes it harder for cops to defame him. They still do, we all know the truth, it makes the cops look even worse.
People sue for hundreds of thousands-to-millions every single day. Literally every single day. It changes nothing.
Also, many places are putting caps on their payouts. That way it doesn't hurt them too bad.
'Beat up by police? Sorry, you won't get 10 million. There's a cap at 75K. Good luck with those lifetime physical and mental injuries.'
nice theory but demonstrably untrue ,even municipalities that have been sued for massive amounts continue to behave like tyrants ,the taxpayers pay for it and there is one thing you can count on from LEO ,when they are caught being stupid (daily) they will continue to double down and escalate the stupid to epic proportions
Panhandling is a 1st Amendment right!
While that is true, it doesn't change the fact that the only time Jeff even asks for money is when some self-righteous cop or karen comes up and tells him he can't. While I'm not surprised by the ignorant karens, the police should be better informed about the scope of the 1st amendment.
Unfortunately I know. We have bums at every stoplight in my city begging for money. This isn't the america I grew up in
@Burger_pants Privaledged I don't think is the right word here. How could they be privileged or not if they were not even born yet?
@@matthewm9261 your always free to move to a country that dont share our penchant for freedom and which does not have a constitution that protects free speech
@douglasoligney1001 asinine statement on your part. This country has been destroyed by big businesses in military industrial complex, prison industrial complex k street lobbyists. Grow up
I've been following honor your oath investigations for a long time! He's such a good man
this should tell you everything you need to know about police in today's world.
"God bless the homeless vets" is free speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly. That localities arrest someone with such a benign & positive message is a reproach against them.
Looked pretty open and shut to me. Too bad qualified immunity protects the cop from liability.
These cops have way to much time on their hands. Even if what Jeff was doing WAS illegal, I can think of about 10,000 things more important for these guys to be doing.
They "got a call". If they get a call, this type of cop is all in from the get go. No investigation needed for Lt. Right Here.
Law enforcement needs to watch UA-cam more often. This veteran is a well known auditor and gets arrested (or threatened to be arrested) for this behavior all over the southeast. He's well known and his actions are perfectly legal. Law enforcement needs to also learn the constitution.
The city will drag it out as long as possible, then settle with him. The city cannot win this case.
The bottom line is, POLICY AND ORDNANCES DO NOT OVERRIDE THE US CONSTITUTION !!!
He doesn’t panhandle. He conducts himself in the same manner every time, and he doesn’t ask or accept money. The officer is a liar, the department is corrupt and the city is complicit in violating this man’s rights.
Whether he was demonstrating or panhandling, he was not committing a crime. Panhandling cannot be considered a crime.
Another perfect example of someone who took their rights and scratched on the blue line and found out there’s a swastika underneath it.
God Bless The Homeless Veterans
FYI, PANHANDLING ISN'T A CRIME... IT'S PROTECTED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT. THAT'S WHY HE GOT PAID
Grey has never asked for money. Fire fighters at intersections asking to "fill the boot" IS an example of panhandling and is legal. - Retired firefighter
"Don't trust your lying ears and eyes." -Alpharetta, GA.
The officer should be fired not only for lying, but for being INCREDIBLY STUPID.any officer threatening Jeff is too stupid to be given a badge.
Finally making an impact on main stream media!
Don’t sue for money,,,sue for badges
Badges!! We dont need no stinking badges!!✌🏼
@@MrMarkar1959 the treasure of sierra madre with humphrey bogart movie or the monkees tv show with micky dolenz ?
sadly they can’t grant you that in a lawsuit. the citizens of Alpharetta have to standup, go to public meetings, and let their voices be heard in order for that to happens.
AGREED!100%
Alpharetta responded to the lawsuit denning allegations that police officers violated constitutional right YET
in the police investigation report it stated that officer DID violate policy's & citizens rights (it is in jeff's video)
(oh that "$1791" should and MUST come out of the OFFICERS pocket not the taxpayer)
I love how Jeff doesn't ask for money and will politely decline when offered, but if challenged not to ask for money by police he always asks that same officer for money.
They don't know what to do then. Hahaha.
They can try to deny it all they want. The whole interaction was captured on video up until the point where the cop unlawfully turned his camera off but the audio recording was still on and receiving on his Apple watch. They want us to believe them over our own eyes and ears, pathetic.
Not illegal to panhandle so either way arrest was illegal.
PANHANDLING IS NOT ILLEGAL....IT IS PROTECTED BY THE 1ST AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION.
The dumbest cops ever. I live thousands of miles away in a different country and even I know he has NEVER panhandled.
Not true. In lots of his videos he'll ask the cop for money just to show that he can panhandle. It's a right.
God bless the homeless vets, Jeff gray and America.
Panhandling is FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
God bless Jeff and the homeless vets.
The city jumps off the cliff. Denies the laws of physics all the way down. Lesson not learned?!
More people need to hold the Government accountable, not just the police .
God bless Jeff and the vets.
Unfortunately it's all too easy for Jeff to find cops who do not know the law all over the southeast USA. His videos, and his behavior is always professional. I cannot say the same for all the cops he encounters.
Pan handling is clearly free speech
FYI:
PANHANDLING IS PROTECTED BY THE 1ST AMENDMENT AND BACKED BY THE SUPREME COURT.
Upholding the Oath the took to fight t*rrorism both foreign AND domestic!
Thank you Jeff!
As a veteran I applaud you sir. Never knew a homeless veteran until about a month ago. Man I worked with was at the VA. They was helping him get a place. Thank you all.
Why aren’t police trained in Constitutional law at the Academy?
BECAUSE THEY ARE MADE TO VIOLATE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS AND TO CRIMINALIZE INNOCENT AMERICANS.
Because it would be more difficult to get them to violate citizens’ rights and exert unlawful control over law abiding citizens like Jeff. The more ignorant the police and the citizenry, the easier it is to have the group with government issued guns control the other.
The same reason our children aren't educated in Civics anymore. An uneducated population is a controlled population.
Because the people who are doing the training don’t know the Law
Because half the country are bootlickers and citizens don't demand better police.
What’s gets me is he does this in front of libraries and they say you can’t practice your free speech on our property even though it’s public property
Ga... Horrible state
Of course they deny they violated his rights, when they dont' have any idea what those rights are. Corrupt, corrupt.
Good for him.
Even if he was panhandling, its legal to ask for help. Federal Courts have ruled on that. Any panhandling ordinances in this country are illegal. Panhandling is legal folks. Every person has the right to ask for help.
Alpharetta can deny all they want. We saw the video and they absolutely violated his first amendment right. He was not asking for money. He was simply out there with a sign making a statement.
It isn't "almost $1800".
It is $1791 in honor of the First Amendment's ratification.
Gray never asks for money. In fact, he refuses any money offered.
Cops denied they violated his rights, well how did mr grey win the lawsuit then?
Worst part is the news anchor doesn't know that panhandling can not be illegal. Politicians panhandle all the time, they even come knocking on your door. What is the difference between on the street or on your front porch?
Panhandle is not illegal even if he was doing that
You should watch Jeff's record of his interactions with a cop outside city hall in Laurel , Mississippi
A great example of how a smart, courteous, friendly policeman should behave.
So they have to train for the first amendment, but they’ve already sworn an oath to protect it. If that’s not backwards, I don’t know what is.
What a failure of this station to actually tell the value he asks for in his settlements, its symbolic for a reason.
The thin blue line is the largest gang in the nation.
I see the city writing a check. Violating the rights of a citizen comes with a price.
You can safely bet that Jeff's going to win the lawsuit. And Alpharetta will join the list of unconstitutional towns and pay the symbolic $1778? to benefit veterans.
Good job Jeff. You have begun to get the message out of how overreaching law enforcement needs to be held accountable for violating citizens' rights.
GOD BLESS THE HOMELESS VETERANS!
Dude this is so cool. I'm from Marietta, GA Watched you on the local news. GREAT JOB! Don't stop there.
So what even if he was panhandeling. Its protected by the constitution. Its legal to panhandle
Authoritarians very counterintuitively do not like the rule of law. Particularly equal enforcement of it. And they really hate rights in general.
What a polite guy… I’ve just spent a couple of hours watching his channel after finding him here… what an absolute gentleman…
Retired Soldier what a sneaky cowardly backhanded way of calling him a veteran without using that term in fear of reproductions and also to keep him from drawing public sympathy it's obvious that you report is biased whether you admit it
the reporter doesn't get it. jeff settled for $1791 not nearly 1800 dollars. 1791 as in the year the bill of rights was ratified ,obvs the reporter is two-ply
Hell yeah, Jeff will win again
👍🏼👊🏼🦖🍺
Love to you and your message Jeff, keep up the good work.