[Vision2020] Say It Ain't So, Area Man

[Ted Moffett]

The law is the law in this case, as the citing of law code below reads.

The spirit of the law should be followed, however, some may argue,
rather than a rigid literal reading of the law; thus for someone with
no intent to do bodily harm and no actual harm occurring, and no
intent to engage in "unlawful touching or striking of another person
against the will of the other" touches someone else, battery charges
are absurd.

However, a literal reading of the law regarding battery indicates it's
best to never touch anyone unless you are on good enough terms to
assume they are not going to bring battery charges for "unlawful
touching...against the will of the other," regardless of how innocent
or harmless the touching was, unless you have legal empowerment to use
force.

Law enforcement are empowered to use force in some cases, but
Carscallen is not a law enforcement officer.  I'm not sure being
"ambulance first lieutenant" legally allows the use of physical force
because someone was "riding in an ambulance with a current member
responding to a medical call at Walmart without department clearance,
which included paperwork regarding patient confidentiality guaranteed
through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act."

If Carscallen was told to stop using force, by the individual bringing
battery charges, and he did not immediately stop, well... technically,
it could be battery.

I was charged with battery recently and the police citation read "that
I touched so and so on the chest."

There was no "consideration of potential charges," as appears to be
the case with Carscallen, as the article states: "The report will then
be forwarded to the county prosecutor's office for consideration of
potential charges.  Prosecutor Bill Thompson said he expects the
report to be completed quickly, as will his office's handling of it.
"I think that's to everyone's interest," he said. "We don't have the
details at this point as to what occurred."

I was cited for battery by law enforcement within an hour or so of law
enforcement taking a statement from the person making this charge,
thus ordered to appear in court on a given date to plead one way or
the other.  Has Carscallen been cited for battery and ordered to
appear in court to plead guilty or innocent?  It appears the person
bringing the battery charge against Carscallen is not being taken as
seriously as was the individual who charged me with battery.

Here is a brief account of what happened when I was cited for battery:

I was in a cross-walk riding my bicycle east across Mountain View near
the Hwy 8 intersection, when a vehicle approached heading north.  I
stopped in the cross-walk to either allow the vehicle to pass in front
of me, or perhaps get motioned through the cross-walk by the driver of
vehicle, when the driver pulled over to the side of Mountain View,
exited the vehicle, approached me as I stood in the cross-walk, and
verbally confronted me.  During this brief face to face, I stood
holding up my bicycle in the cross-walk, in no way initiating any
physical contact, when out of the blue this individual shoved me down
to the pavement.  I immediately got up, left my bicycle on the
pavement, made no move towards this individual, and walked towards
Hwy. 8 to avoid this individual, to attempt to contact law
enforcement.

I was pursued by this individual to Hwy. 8, where I accidentally
quickly located a Latah Sheriff's Dept. deputy driving east on Hwy. 8.
 I immediately told the officer, who had stopped with his lights
flashing, that the individual pursuing me committed battery against
me.  The officer then immediately warned this individual away, by
name.  He knew who he was, by name, without asking.  The person who I
insist committed battery against me later lied to law enforcement that
I had touched or shoved him.

I had no witnesses to what happened when I was shoved to the pavement,
so it was my word against his, I suppose.  But the Latah Sheriff's
deputy who I had first contacted to report the battery wrote an
official statement that ommitted the fact that I was being pursued by
the individual who, I allege, committed battery against me, pursuit
that was obvious when I first contacted this officer; and also
ommitted the fact that this officer immediately warned this person
away, by name, thus indicating somehow this officer was in some way
personally acquainted.

I was intent on defending myself in court, to put the person who had
commtted battery on the stand, if possible, and force him to commit
perjury, if he was intent on this course of action, even if it meant I
might be found guilty for a crime I did not commit, with no proof he
was committing perjury.

But the city prosecutor dropped all the charges in this incident.

What happened in this case just described was first person experience
how an innocent person who is a victim of a crime ends up having the
law enforcement/legal system turn them into the criminal!  No wonder
some people are hesitant to report battery, domestic violence or rape!

I requested support from Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse
regarding these false battery charges against me, and much to my
amazement, did receive their support, for which I am grateful.  As I
told them, I did my best to avoid physical violence in this case, and
to thus be charged with battery was cruel irony.

However, I talked to Mayor Nancy Cheney in her office about
questionable conduct of local law enforcement during the period these
false battery charges were pending, with copies of Moscow police
reports I presented to Cheney, that were false and/or misleading, and
her reponse was truly incredible; either a naive defense of the
angelic honor of law enforcement, or the response of a public
relations concerned politician wishing to avoid an embarrassment for
law enforcement, or some other state of mind I cannot divine.  One way
or other, regardless of her intent, I never received a follow-up from
Cheney on this matter.

I would wager Carscallen will receive support from the "powers that
be" to avoid criminal prosecution regarding the alleged battery, given
his favorable position as a well-liked local personality, etc.  If it
was Carscallen bringing battery charges against a homeless drifter
passing through town, I assume it possible a different bias regarding
battery charges might be in operation.

Or am I to assume the local law enforcement/legal system is totally
devoid of any bias ever, that everyone always is treated exactly the
same before the law, before blind-folded lady justice (
http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/themis.html )?
------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On 2/25/12, Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com> wrote:
>
> Unfortunately:
>
> TITLE 18
> CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
> CHAPTER 9
> ASSAULT AND BATTERY
>   18-903. BATTERY DEFINED. A battery is any:
> (a)  Willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of
> another; or
> (b)  Actual, intentional and unlawful touching or striking of another
> person against the will of the other; or
> (c)  Unlawfully and intentionally causing bodily harm to an individual.
>
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
>>
>> Carscallen under investigation for alleged battery
>>
>> By Brandon Macz, Daily News staff writer
>> Moscow Fire Capt. Dan Carscallen is under investigation for battery
>> stemming from an argument Sunday with a former volunteer at Gritman
>> Medical Center regarding department policy.
>> Latah County Sheriff's Lt. Brannon Jordan said his department
>> received the battery report from Benjamin Dill, 24, following the
>> altercation at the emergency loading dock of the hospital, where he
>> claimed Carscallen, 43, had grabbed him by the arm.
>> Carscallen said he approached Dill at the hospital after learning
>> the former ambulance volunteer had been riding in an ambulance with
>> a current member responding to a medical call at Walmart without
>> department clearance, which included paperwork regarding patient
>> confidentiality guaranteed through the Health Insurance Portability
>> and Accountability Act.
>> "He didn't want to hear any more from me and he started walking
>> away," said Carscallen. "I took hold of him on his coat, on his arm.
>> He asked me to let him go and apparently I didn't let him go fast
>> enough. ... I was acting in my capacity as the ambulance first
>> lieutenant. I guess if that's what somebody considers an assault,
>> that's their deal."
>> Jordan said there were no witnesses at the time of the alleged
>> battery, but part of the continuing investigation will involve
>> recovery of security video recordings from Gritman. The report will
>> then be forwarded to the county prosecutor's office for
>> consideration of potential charges.
>> Prosecutor Bill Thompson said he expects the report to be completed
>> quickly, as will his office's handling of it.
>> "I think that's to everyone's interest," he said. "We don't have the
>> details at this point as to what occurred."
>> Fire Chief Ed Button said Carscallen will not face administrative or
>> disciplinary action.
>> "The issue of assault to me doesn't really hold true or ring true,"
>> said Button. "All he was trying to do is have Ben comply with the
>> permission slip needed to be in the vehicle. ... We could have done
>> that retroactively."
>> Carscallen, who is also Moscow City Council president, said it is
>> unfortunate the altercation has resulted in an investigation.
>> "I just didn't want to make anymore of it than it was," he said.
>> "I'm afraid it's going to embarrass him even more than me."
>>
>> ---------------
>>
>> This is the Dan "Area Man" Carscallen with which I am familiar.
>>
>> <image.jpeg>
>>
>> Christmas 2010
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc1U8kwqsCo
>>
>> --------------------------------
>>
>> Seeya later, Moscow.
>>
>> Tom Hansen
>> Post Falls, Idaho
>>
>> "If not us, who?
>> If not now, when?"
>>
>> - Unknown
>>
>