Actually, that’s not all Mick Heikkola, age 70, did; when a plainclothes cop asked what he was doing, Heikkola dropped an F-bomb on him.
That’s never a good idea when dealing with cops, even though it’s protected by the First Amendment, but in Heikkola’s defense he didn’t know the guy was a cop. Also take into consideration this happened in Idaho, a state where people prize their freedom to be assholes.
Heikkola had gone to the sheriff’s office to dispose of unused prescriptions, because that’s where the drop box is. On the way in, out of curiosity, he peered into the windows of unoccupied police vehicles. Someone he didn’t know, who wasn’t clearly a cop, confronted him.
When asked why he was looking into “our” cars, Heikkola replied they’re “my” cars, too, because he’s a taxpayer. That’s a standard belligerent-citizen response, commonly used by sovereign citizens, so-called First Amendment auditors, and anti-government types.
He apparently made it inside the sheriff’s building, but was told to leave. Told to take his hands out of his pockets (for officer safety), he wasn’t fully compliant, and the cops didn’t like that either. Six cops then ganged up on him and forcefully arrested him (photo below).
While being arrested Heikkola pooped his pants. They made him sit in it while transporting him to jail. He was interrogated but not read his rights. He was slapped with the standard-issue “obstructing” and “resisting” charges cops use on people who offended them. A judge threw out the charges because “there was no basis to stop, detain or arrest” him.
Needless to say, a federal civil rights lawsuit ensued. The county settled for $250,000. Read story here and here.
I don’t know exactly what to say about this case. You’d think Idaho cops are used to dealing with government-go-to-hell types, because their state is full of them. But cops are human, and even in Idaho, don’t like being cussed out, defied, and told who’s paying their salaries. Still, manhandling a nonviolent senior citizen is asking for trouble.
Wanna make some money? Find a police station, preferably in a small town with poorly trained cops, and act like this guy did, then go see a civil rights lawyer. But I’m not recommending it; I most decidedly do not recommend it.
Oh, and what about these cops? They’ll get training they should’ve had when hired, on stuff like Miranda rights and proper treatment of prisoners.
