What Happened On That Night
On November 30th, 2013, Joey Posey decided to go for a walk with his stepdaughter Lainie (16 years old) and family friend Michael (19 years old) who is attending school for criminal law. Joey had been reading and studying up on Texas statute regarding Open Carry and was anxious to exercise his rights. Around 5:30-6:00 p.m. they decided to walk to Dairy Queen to get some ice cream and Joey decided to openly carry his AR-15. He also had on his person his normal licensed concealed carry weapon and a small pocket knife.
Public interactions at Dairy Queen went well, with no one showing distress or fear regarding the openly carried firearm. They then moved on to Corporal Ray’s Coffee Shop, a local coffeehouse named after the owner’s son who was killed in action. Public interaction continued to be favorable. On the way back home they saw some of Michael’s friends at the 7-11 and stopped to speak with them. Again, public interactions were positive. The trio then decided to head home and turned onto the street on which Joey lives, running directly behind the courthouse.
Joey then noticed a police cruiser shadowing them. Within a matter of moments four or more cruisers came down on the trio, spotlighting and surrounding them. The officers took cover behind their car doors, weapons drawn and pointed at them, demanding all three get facedown on the ground. Joey asked if they were being detained and was answered with another demand to get face down. One of the responding officers, Rusty Stewart, then called Joey by name and demanded he get down. They had been friends for years; he knew who Joey was and knew he was not a threat.
The trio was all searched. The officers confiscated Joey’s rifle, his pistol, and pocket knife all while a taser was aimed at his chest. Joey protested the search, advising the officers it was illegal and unconstitutional. After the officers completed the search and seizure, the three were made to sit on the curb and wait while the police radioed back and forth with dispatch trying to figure out what to do with them. After a lengthy wait the police made a formal arrest of Joey and provided the charges of disturbing the peace and displaying a firearm, both misdemeanors.
Once he was booked he then found out the charges were a misdemeanor for disorderly conduct due to the display of a firearm ($2,500 bond), and a class 3 felony for a weapon in an unauthorized area ($15,000 bond). He paid $1,800 to bail out and has contacted the police department several times to get a copy of the police report with the charges listed and events of the evening. He’s been repeatedly denied a copy of the report. Joey was advised to go to the District Attorney to get a copy of the report, but the DA secretary told him they did not have to provide him with a copy since the investigation was ongoing and to call back at a later date to speak with the DA.
To date, there has been no police report, no return of the firearms confiscated, and no resolution.
