Youth fighting fine for protest honks

Seriously?!? That's what we pay taxes for? People protest in front of the police station all summer long and people honk. Go after the little thugs around here and stop real crime.Even a warning would have been harsh. He wasn't blasting a stereo.Guess it depends on if the police officer agrees with the protest you are honking for!

This is the very thing I don't like about our local police and judicial system. They go after law abiding citizens over the silly stuff because that's an easy $200.00 when they should be serving the tax payers and our community by fighting real crime.

Where is the police when people keep pulling up at the apartment complex and honk their horn?

This probably actually has more to do with the occupy movement then it does the law and how they (Police) act to that law.

Troy Prouty*

Regardless of what anyone else thinks about how the cops could be better spending their time..... "I gave a few honks from the corner of Union Block (across Davis Street from the bank) to the corner of Harvest Fresh (one block to the west)," he said. "I honked six, seven or eight times. I turned right (onto Cowls Street) at Harvest Fresh, and noticed the lights behind me." .... Last time I checked, "a few" was actually three or four...not six, seven OR eight times. That is excessive and obnoxious for sure. And secondly.. A person commits the offense of violation of use limits on sound equipment if the person does any of the following: Uses a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning or makes any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device."
Does what he did meet that criteria? It sure does. Therefore he deserves the ticket. Has nothing to do with who he was supporting. He violated the law...and when you do that you pay the price. I agree I've heard people toot their horn in support of all causes..but most do it once maybe twice.. not............six, seven, or EIGHT times. And if you're right next to several businesses (which he was) think of how irritating that would be to both employees and customers. I don't feel bad for the guy at all.

Your warning is in the DMV book that you read to get your permit. Pay the fine.

posted "Has nothing to do with who he was supporting"

So now you speak for the officer?

Get a life !

troy prouty*

Wow. No. I was not speaking for the officer. It's just I was under the assumption that most people understand that when you break a law...you have to deal with the consequence of your actions. Clearly it was stated that what he did was breaking the law..therefore he was issued a fine. Apparently I am wrong..not everyone understands that.

Be careful, apparently you can be considered a law breaker should your Burglar Alarm be obnoxiously loud enough to alert the entire neighborhood that there is an intruder in your home. At least in McMinnville, anyway.

Occupy supports individual freedoms and liberty. SOME Police, do actually enjoy and get off on being able to control us like sheep. That is only because most of the people don't know their rights.. It shows that law enforcement has gone too far. They are here to protect, not to collect $$ for their crime boss.

Those cops have fear that the movement of freedom is here to stay, and they will not have the power and control they have now.

George Orwell 1984 anyone?

There are other cities to live in other than McMinnville....

Other cities with the same police mindset..You realize their conditioning is in form of training and reports from "Homeland Security" and other federal agencies..

Quota anyone?

I'm sure the officer was short this month?

He broke the law, it was excessive, pay the fine. As a teen I was in the passenger seat of a friends- mother's car. There were four of us on a midnight run to Jack in the Box. Two of those riding with us were over 18. As we passed by another car my friend gave a two horn salute.

We were immediately pulled over- now here is where it gets fun. We were instructed to put our hands on the roof of the car, that is when we noticed we were at gun point. We were told to exit the car one at a time keeping our hands on up on our heads. The males were frisked- they were over 18. The females were instructed to sit on the curb. After being detained about 10-15 minutes or so, we began to get a bit annoyed as the officer refused to tell us what we were pulled over at gun point for. He told my friend it was illegal to use her horn. While one officer searched the car without permission from anyone, let alone the underage driver (17) my friend kept asking what they were doing, what was going on- the officer responded that the round crystal hanging down from the rear-view mirror was a violation, he let us back in to the car and we went on to JITB, no ticket, no citation of any kind. This was California.

I learned long ago not to horn unless it is to alert another driver in an emergency. Boy needs to pay the fine, and learn from his error, not whine about being held accountable for is actions. I personally find it distracting when drivers horn for no reason, I immediately begin to look around for something dangerous coming at me. Good job coppers, keep Mac horn free- rules are rules.

What about wedding reception procession's following newly weds through town, on the way to their big party, horns blaring all the way. Is that a ticket-able offense these days?

How about high schoolers reveling on the way out of the parking lot after a big Home Coming Game win? Are they cited as well, these days?

Gotta wonder what the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan would think after having read this article.

I'm think'n they'd probably be laughing at what we Americans seem to feel a need to deem as intolerable behavior...and, LOL.....

Heck, we're becoming so civilized in this country, that I really do believe that we are not far from a time that even laughing at someone, may..or..will be construed as bullying.should our government not agree with our reason for doing so.

LOL, that is.

Case law has been decided on this in Oregon long ago in 1991. Click Here for Case Story
Here is some more info, not so much for the story but the first comment. Click and Read the Comment
Basically the meat is this:
"...the honking by supporters of the 99%/Occupy Wall Street movement would almost certainly qualify as expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees American citizens the right of free speech, and the city regulation being enforced would violate the Constitution.� For example, the court expressly distinguished Immelt's case from one in which the Oregon Court found that "horn honking was in fact speech since the context there demonstrated 'support or disapproval of a political issue or a matter of public concern.' "�

I spoke with our Chief on this subject, he expressed that "the honking went on too long" but having talked with witnesses and having been at the protest myself before and after this incident, people are honking once or twice and in some cases a dozen plus times in support. The question for police, was it reasonable to assume that the honking was to support the protesters and is that protected speech? Officer Smith is alleged to say it is not free speech to the defendant. Case law suggests differently. This action will suppress folks from exercising their free speech rights and that is a shame. When the local judge ruled on it against this defendant, he got the thumbs up signal from two officers standing in the back of the court room before they exited. Another day at the office, squelching free speech, sad indeed. People make mistakes. My suggestion is drop the case MPD and reaffirm folks right to honk if they choose. The other option is to unnecessarily expend resources to attack free speech.

Click Here for Case Story

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19910717&id=TpFTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zoYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6961,5369126

Here is some more info, not so much for the story but the first comment. Click and Read the Comment

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/10/seattle_police_ticketing_drive.php

Your 1st amendment right to free speech is very limited here in America, unless you're homosexual.

Mike is right, They already have "Free Speech Zones" In some larger cities in other states.

Look son, you do the crime, you pay the fine. But then again I'm part of the 1% so I'm not very objective about it...

If Irving Villarreal really wants to make a statement and support the supposed 99% how about he quits his job at JPH? Many 1%er's go to this fine establishment to enjoy the local cuisine. Instead of honking his horn and annoying the public he should step up and find a job that doesn't allow those horrible wealthy people to have a pleasant evening out.