welcome back to the civil rights lawyer Channel yesterday we just filed a federal civil rights lawsuit based on this body cam footage that comes to us from Brook County West Virginia but they have from Shepherds I don't they're very aggressive if she didn't have treats in her hand I think the dog would have ate her honestly Markham Wendell are you are you Wendell yep my dog got out it ran around the fence and it came right back in didn't hurt anybody didn't hurt anything I talked to a dog catcher so what's the problem my dogs are licensed they're kept in every day every time these [ __ ] call you guys you get you get cars come out here every time I need someone here every time let's go if I'm not then leave me the puck alone because I didn't break nothing like that you're gonna go to jail I could talk however I want no you can't freedom of speech no because again it's just really common no we are here to address a complaint no you're addressing their complaints dogs are harmless they are they love kids and those kids get on their backs and ride the you know it's disorderly conduct that's the world even we're done dealing with all this [ __ ] as you may have already guessed this case involves police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call in reference to this guy's two dogs escaping out of his yard and allegedly chasing This Woman's niece and they were so vicious that they had to be fought off with some sort of dog cookies this brings up constitutional issues involving one First Amendment freedom of speech can you use profanity can you use obscenities in your interactions with law enforcement is there First Amendment right to do that and secondly Can the police just come on to your property within the cartilage of your residence in your driveway in your yard and can they perform a warrantless arrest of you there can they refuse to leave take a look at this footage and then I will answer those questions hello it's okay block garages right there right next to this yeah the blue garbage cans okay there's there's nobody I don't know if anybody lives in the house anymore or not I know they had moved out and moved in with her mother up the street but they have three German Shepherds and um they two of them jumped the fence today and came after my niece I don't they're very aggressive if she didn't have treats in her hand I think the dog would have ate her honestly um so I scream for my husband to get his weapon and because they were coming over into our yard and it ended up eventually going out the end of the road but um the kids can't even that's my sister that lives there in the brick house okay and we can't even let my kids walk over there because we're afraid that the dogs they just like so aggressive at the gate when they're outside that you can't even you have to go with them they can't even play in this yard right here because of that reason and that's exactly what happened I was standing right up here and they jumped that corner I would have never never got to them never got to them and I'm telling you I I don't I really don't want them to have to see something horrible like that but that's the only way that it's going to stop them so are the the dogs in the house or in the building they he come outside and my husband said they come after the one of the kids and he said I try to keep them locked up they've been called numerous times before because they were killing my son's chickens chill chill um that's my son we all live for our family in this thank you guys and from second house down there on the right Markham yeah are you Wendell yep my dog got out it ran around the fence and it came right back in didn't hurt anybody didn't hurt anything I talked to a dog catcher so what's the problem my dogs are licensed they're kept in every day the only reason they got out today is because I was home they're not getting out they just got out today yeah okay what did they do what did they do wrong tell me do I have a do I have a fine to pay Mr Markham no I do I have a fine am I under arrest and we're trying to address the complaints no because every time you guys every time these [ __ ] call you guys you get four cars come out here every time I need someone here you never show up so listen am I going under arrest if I am let's go if I'm not then leave me the [ __ ] alone because I didn't break nothing like that you're gonna go to jail I could talk Oliver at once no you can't freedom of speech no because again it's just full of conduct then leave me get off the proper now no we are here to address a complaint no you're addressing their complaints the dogs or Hummers they are they love kids we have kids we have two three are on the four year old kids they would never hit it never three-year-old and those kids get on their backs and ride there's dogs you're under arrest now maybe I'm not playing games I play hey hey potatoes condos you're gonna get it again please foreign to lose anything you just dropped something right yeah hi listen I'm 77 years old he resisted arrests here they're just they're rescued all these stuff is fine that's a few dogs that's fine oh my God but I'm 77 years old I don't need this I know what he did I saw you know I understand that it's it's we can't we have to why because we told him to stop I know but he will stop yeah he's going to stop now he's in jail that's not an excuse to Cops and then he resisted arrest and that's the problem that's why he got through because he was trying to fight us no I can't okay complaint complaint that German Shepherds are jumping to fence yes so we were coming here to address the complaint causing if I was in the stop it's just worthy contest I'm trying to tell you that see arrested yes okay let me call the Lord go right ahead do you want to hear the rest of the story or no I don't give a [ __ ] have a good day let's go we're leaving we're done dealing with all this [ __ ] let's go so yeah ironically you just watched the video of my client being arrested for cursing while standing on his own property and the last thing that this same police officer says when he leaves the scene is to also utter a curse word I don't give a [ __ ] I've been dealing with all this [ __ ] now again this was Brook County West Virginia this involved deputies with the brook County Sheriff's Department one defendant Niall Klein and the other one defendant Shane logsdon yesterday they both were sued in federal court for constitutional violations that appear in this video my client is named Wendell Markham he was standing within the cartilage of his own property police officers approached him without any sort of Warrant I've explained this before in other videos but police officers have the same right that a girl scout does selling cookies to approach your home and that would be under what's called a knock and talk exception and this is just an implicit an implicit license again like a Girl Scout would have to enter onto somebody's property that only extends until such time as that license is revoked I.E the homeowner asks that they leave so in this case you saw that Wendell Markham he indeed did ask the police officers to leave his property no you can't freedom of speech no because again it's just full of conduct then leave me you're not the proper now we are here to address a complaint they were clearly standing within the cartilage of his property they're standing down a long driveway Markham foreign and at times Wendell was even standing within a within a fenced front yard he asked him to leave they did not leave instead they performed an arrest of him for cursing while standing in his own front yard before we even get to the issue of whether he had a First Amendment right to do that they were where they were not allowed to be they were illegally on his property the law is very very well settled both at the U.S Supreme Court level and at the fourth Circuit Court of Appeals level that police officers need a warrant to perform a warrantless arrest of a man standing on the curlage of his own home absent some sort of exigent circumstances I.E an emergency which did not occur here you'll notice that there was no ongoing situation with the dogs there was no immediate safety threat there was no child being attacked by a dog or anything like that so the only way that the officers assuming such an arrest could be legal they would have had to maybe one officer stay behind the other go and try to get a an arrest form they would have needed an arrest warrant to arrest somebody inside their own home or within the cartilage of their home which according to the Supreme Court is the same thing secondly when you look at West Virginia law so they arrested this guy for disorderly conduct because these officers believed apparently that you can't curse or else they get to arrest you for disorderly conduct fortunately for them however West Virginia law actually requires that that be in a public place not on private property certainly not within the curlage of one's home so Not only was this not in a public place but the result they were also missing one other requirement and that is that as defined as interpreted rather by the West Virginia Supreme Court the statute requires that this cursing take place in the presence of some other person other person and that means not law enforcement themselves so law enforcement can't just hear somebody cursing in West Virginia and then say Oh I'm offended that's disorderly conduct I'm arresting you no there has to be some other third party there who hears the obscenity and is actually offended moreover the law is very well settled that citizens we all have the right to use obscenities to use profanity to express our frustrations to express our criticism to law enforcement during interactions this has been very well settled at the U.S Supreme Court and probably every circuit so we filed a federal civil rights lawsuit yesterday and addressing all of these constitutional violations there were multiple Fourth Amendment violations and also First Amendment violation the officers admitted that this guy is being arrested because he used curse words causing advising to stop at this early conditions well he had a First Amendment right to use those curse words and in retaliation for that they grabbed him they used violence on him they they tased him and they ultimately arrested him now I'll note that subsequently all the criminal charges were dismissed with prejudice because they were completely bogus so we have sued for a violation of the Fourth Amendment for him being detained illegally on his own property for him being falsely arrested on his own property and also for him being maliciously prosecuted after the fact because not only did they put him in handcuffs and then arrest them but then they continued the prosecution they put through the paperwork to file formal charges and he was forced to retain a lawyer defend against those and he did successfully so multiple Fourth Amendment violations I believe there's three counts of Fourth Amendment violations under Section 1983. oh and I almost forgot also under the Fourth Amendment the use of excessive force this man Not only was he in the process of being illegally arrested he posed no immediate safety threat to anyone buddy and that is the most important of the gram factors when the courts evaluate whether or not officers use an excessive amount of force there's a pretty good case law here in the fourth circuit that says that when police officers use tasers I mean that is a substantial violent amount of force that is designed to inflict pain so it has to be used where that level of force is necessary and if you watch the video it was completely unnecessary here which is corroborated by the fact that he wasn't even accused I'm talking about Mr Markham of attempting to assault or attack the officers in in any way the fourth circuit has been clear that just even assuming this happens that there's some sort of minimal physical resistance to the officer's attempts to manipulate the body that is not sufficient to justify the use of a taser and that's very well established here in the fourth circuit and elsewhere appears well it appears to have been used by the officers here just to make it easier for them to handcuff somebody and that's exactly what they're not allowed to do or just to retaliate against somebody or to punish them and then we also have two other claims one is First Amendment retaliation I've already explained that and lastly we've also asserted a monel claim against the employer here that against the county because it's very clear that these officers are really really uh deficient in their training and supervision and they don't understand basic constitutional law at least one of these officers Niall Klein We Believe has a history of constitutional violations that the employer was aware of and took no action to resolve and then you had my client Wendell Markham who was victimized as you see in this video this is uh this is one I really look forward to litigating along with a local attorney up there Alex rizovic who defended successfully the criminal case and is on board with me to litigate the civil case so follow along both here and at the blog at the Civil Rights lawyer.com because this will be an interesting one and as always thanks for watching Remember freedom is scary deal with it foreign