Post Falls K9 "officer" Andor and his handler. |
“See – this is
what happens when you don't cooperate with the police!” snarled Neil Uhrig as
he pinned Melissa Miller to the floor of her home. It's not clear whether Officer Uhrig was expressing satisfaction at
the expense of the traumatized woman, or trying to tutor her screaming nine-year-old
daughter, Julliet, who had watched in horror as Uhrig
assaulted her mother, threw her against a couch, and then handcuffed her while
thrusting a knee into the middle of her back.
It was nearly
midnight when Uhrig and another officer arrived at the home Melissa shared with
her boyfriend and their blended family. Julliet and a friend had noticed the
police approaching the house, and they went to wake up Melissa. Still groggy
from sleep, Melissa opened the door a crack, only to be startled fully awake
when Uhrig – unbidden and without legal justification of any kind – shoved his
foot inside the home and announced, “I'm going to search your house.”
“No, you are
not,” Melissa replied, giving Uhrig a lawful order he was required to obey.
Rather than doing so, he shoved the door open and committed felonious
aggravated battery by seizing Melissa’s arm, twisting it behind her back, and
throwing her to the ground. As he did so, Uhrig performed the familiar ritual
of reciting the shared refrain of police and rapists: “Stop resisting!”
Post Falls officers LARPing at public expense. |
Although she was
morally and legally entitled to resist the home invasion – through the use of
lethal force, if necessary – Melissa had neither the means nor the opportunity
to do so.
It wasn't until
Melissa was bound and helpless, and her family thoroughly intimidated, that
Uhrig explained why he and his comrade had honored them with their august
presence: He claimed that they were seeking a runaway juvenile who, they
thought, might be in their home. One of the occupants calmly explained that the
youngster had visited the house earlier that evening, but had left. She also
provided a detailed description of what the runaway was wearing.
If Uhrig had
been the kind of person suitable for civilized company, he would have knocked
on the door, politely apologized for waking the occupants at an unreasonable
hour, and explained the purpose of his visit. He had neither the legal right to
search the home, nor the practical necessity to do so. If his truculent
treatment of Melissa Miller had been justified by the urgency of finding the
runaway, he would have left immediately after his questions had been answered.
Instead, Uhrig
decided to build on the illegal search in the hope of retroactively justifying
his assault on Melissa. Drawing his gun, Uhrig bellowed “Post Falls Police
Department!” and barged further into the home.
Melissa's house
was connected to a separate apartment with a closed door. Uhrig thrust open the
door to the other dwelling and immediately bellowed, “Grow!” In so doing he
woke up a sleeping baby. In short order a second “grow” was found in the
upstairs section of the house.
Returning to the
living room, Uhrig and his partner in the home invasion, Officer Frank Bowne,
suddenly “remembered” smelling a strong odor of “fresh marijuana” as they
barged into the home – something they hadn't mentioned until after the illegal search.
Melissa and her
boyfriend, Jason Dunnington, were both arrested on drug charges and informed
that their children were being abducted – or, to use the dishonest official language, “taken into protective custody.”
Before being taken to the police station, Melissa was allowed to use the
bathroom – but only with Uhrig standing in the open doorway.
Two days later,
Melissa and Jason were informed that the charges against them would be dropped.
Six months later, without explanation, the charges were reinstated – only to be
thrown out in a subsequent suppression hearing. The court ruled that because
“the warrantless entry by police” into Melissa's home on December 10, 2011 was
entirely illegal, all of the evidence derived from it was inadmissible.
Melissa
Miller has filed a federal lawsuit against Uhrig, his cohorts in the
assault on her home and person, Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug, and the city
government. Uhrig should be prosecuted for aggravated assault, burglary
(illegal entry of a domicile by force), terroristic
threats, felonious injury
to a child, and committing
an “unnecessary assault by an officer.”
Rather than
facing criminal charges or even the mildest form of administrative censure, Uhrig
has
been assigned to patrol Post Falls High School as a “School Resource Officer”
(or SRO). Given Uhrig’s proven propensity for criminal violence, and his
demonstrated ignorance of – or contempt for – the Fourth Amendment, this would
appear to be a singularly unsuitable assignment.
That assessment assumes, of
course, that the purpose of an SRO is to protect students from violence, rather
than tutoring them about the supposed virtue of unconditional submission to “authority.”
The latter job is a perfect fit for an individual who
reflexively assaults people who assert their rights.
Melissa Miller’s
behavior was that of what former Seattle Police Chief (and post-retirement
police critic) Norm
Stamper calls “a real American… That's someone, when
you say, 'Roll down the window,' says, 'No,' or who meets you at the threshold
at home and says, 'No, you can't come in. Show me your warrant.' "
Uhrig’s conduct, by way of contrast, was that of a
functionary better suited to a totalitarian society in which the law is
irrelevant and subjects are required to “cooperate” with any demand that erupts
from the gullet of a government-employed thug.
When contacted
to respond to the
allegations in Melissa Miller’s lawsuit, Uhrig replied that “per city
policy” he is “unable to answer questions” – but insisted that “There are many
facts that will come out in the case that was [sic] not documented in the
complaint filing by Ms. Miller.”
Of course, the most significant fact in this case –
namely, that Uhrig and his partner broke the law by invading Miller’s home and
assaulting her in front of her family – was established beyond dispute at the October
2012 suppression hearing. From the instant he crossed the threshold of Miller’s
home without a warrant or permission, Uhrig became an armed robber. In a
genuinely civilized society, he would have been treated as such at the point of
his crime – or, at least, subject to the appropriate criminal penalties after
the fact.
Leaving aside for
the nonce the fact that government shouldn’t be operating schools in the first place,
Neil Uhrig could serve a useful function in a High School civics class as the
living embodiment of what we have permitted our country to become. There would
be some value in teaching teenagers that the superficially genial fellow in the
peculiar accoutrements is the kind of person who could kick open your door at
midnight on the flimsiest of pretexts and assault you in front of your family.
Please help keep Pro Libertate online. We would really appreciate your help. God bless!
Dum spiro, pugno!
12 comments:
I have to agree with Will's readers who attribute much of the public's tolerance of lawless cops to a reverence for the state. How else could someone excuse such rank criminality by public officials unless they believe the state is their God?
https://www.facebook.com/nuhrig?fref=ts
Here's that Douche Bags Facebook page.
And this is why you don't open the door. Ask for a warrant first through the door. And film everything!!!
To anon1:
Looks like that page was taken down. Probably got too much publicity from this.
To anon2:
They always like to come at night while you sleep so you won't be in a clear state of mind. They like you vulnerable.
Neil Uhrig, the terrorist pig.
Actions by police like this are the exact reason no one trusts police or any law inforcement for that matter. To serve & protect my ass. More like hurrass, intimidate, beat or even kill innocent civilians. Sounds more like a gang of criminals to me. This is what our government allows now. Beware any law official. That's scary if u ask me. Who r we to trust to protect us & it families but our selves
The FB page is accessible now: https://www.facebook.com/nuhrig?fref=ts
Look at his fucking posts, Jesus christ...
I've been saying for a couple decades that if you're a lowlife thug by nature and want a career as a criminal WHILE enjoying the protection of government, get yourself a job with a uniform, a badge, and a gun.
You'll have permission to legally commit all manner of violence against your fellow man; just don't dare to fudge your time card! That could get you into serious trouble!
www.policemisconduct.net
I am a social media ludite, but it seems to me that someone should post this to social media involved with Post Falls High School. Cockroaches tend to flee light :-)
@ non de guerre
That is the sort of unthinking which follows all religious zealots - Christians who bomb abortion clinics; Muslims who suicide-bomb markets; Clown-Costumed Thugs who assault women & children. Their god is good with it, encourages it, and rewards those who practice such lawless behavior.
Fat Walter Mitty!
Uhrig has since been promoted from SRO at my school(PFHS) to a detective... Thought you guys would want to know
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