by Rich_B
11. December 2010 11:00
A few letters were mailed today. One is to the Wallingford Police Department, one version is to the Old Saybrook Police Department.
Old Saybrook FOI Letter
Wallingford FOI Letter
These letters were sent certified mail with return receipts. Both of these police departments have proven to be non-responsive or resistant to supply information in the past, so I am covering my bases.
The letters were also sent to the mayor of Wallingford, First Selectman of Old Saybrook and the town clerk of each just for the record. I didn't feel it necessary to make these certified mail as well.
It looks like these should all arrive on Monday, and I will post the return receipts when I get them.
I will give each department one week to contact me before I contact them and find out what is going on. They need to abide by the law here and get me this information. In the past, I have had nothing but problems with Lt. Mikulski providing information that he is supposed to be provide in accordance to the law. It is sad that a citizen has to be the one to look up statutes and explain them to records divisions in police departments so that they can get public records that they are entitled to.
This will not be the same as those incidents. They need to step up their game and make sure they do things correctly. We will see if they can do things correctly.
Tags: abuse under color of law, complaint, detainment, detention, disorderly conduct, illegal detainment, old saybrook, open carry, wallingford, starbucks, wrongful arrest
by Rich_B
2. November 2010 16:35
I spoke with Alison Perreault on the phone today. She was apologetic like the manager Greg Thompson was. She seemed to understand the national policy pretty well and understood the gravity of the situation. She says she is going to be having a regional meeting with a bunch of the stores and will bring this issue up.
I requested a letter that say I may patronize the restaurant whenever I want as long as I am following the laws of our state. She reluctantly agreed. She said it was not 'standard practice'. I informed her I don't believe any of this is standard practice, but explained that without the letter I could be risking a trespassing charge should the Old Saybrook Police Department get called out there again.
Lets hope I get the letter and that is the end of this issue on the Starbucks end.
by Rich_B
2. November 2010 15:50
Letter from Alison Perreault - Starbucks DM
November 2, 2010
Dear Mr. Burgess:
As we spoke on the phone today I wanted to personally welcome you back into our Starbucks location in Old Saybrook, CT as well as all of our locations. I have included our position on carrying guns in our stores below.
Again I apologize for the treatment from our Baristas to you and want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
Starbucks Position on Open Carry Gun Laws
(updated March 16, 2010)
We recognize that there is significant and genuine passion surrounding the issue of open carry weapons laws. Advocacy groups from both sides of this issue have chosen to use Starbucks as a way to draw attention to their positions.
While we deeply respect the views of all our customers, Starbucks long-standing approach to this issue remains unchanged. We comply with local laws and statutes in all the communities we serve. That means we abide by the laws that permit open carry in 43 U.S. states. Where these laws don’t exist, openly carrying weapons in our stores is prohibited. The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in the legislatures and courts, not in our stores.
At the same time, we have a security protocol for any threatening situation that might occur in our stores. Partners are trained to call law enforcement as situations arise. We will continuously review our procedures to ensure the highest safety guidelines are in place and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement.
We have examined this issue through the lens of partner (employee) and customer safety. Were we to adopt a policy different from local laws allowing open carry, we would be forced to require our partners to ask law abiding customers to leave our stores, putting our partners in an unfair and potentially unsafe position.
As the public debate continues, we are asking all interested parties to refrain from putting Starbucks or our partners into the middle of this divisive issue. As a company, we are extremely sensitive to the issue of gun violence in our society. Our Starbucks family knows all too well the dangers that exist when guns are used irresponsibly and illegally. Without minimizing this unfortunate reality, we believe that supporting local laws is the right way for us to ensure a safe environment for both partners and customers.
Sincerely,
Alison Perreault
Subscribe