Alert: Citizens Jury needed to Defend Police vs. Illegal Alien

[Lone Star State Sentinal]

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Four of our nation's finest police officers are in critical need of your support. We are asking for your service on a special "citizen's jury". Sergeant Michael Manfredi, and Officers Paul Van Dalen, Christopher Coleman and Sean Plymale of Fresno California are currently in danger of serving a sentence for a crime that they did not commit. They face a nine count federal indictment for violating the "civil rights" of a man they were called to arrest. (An illegal alien who was later convicted of violent felony charges for his actions.) If convicted of these unjust charges, these four fine men could be sentenced to ten long years in federal prison. Together, these men have served and protected their community of Fresno, California with exceptional service. Here are the facts for your thoughtful consideration: Five years ago, on October 15, 2005, the four policemen responded separately to a desperate call from a young single mother. She reported that her former boyfriend was attempting to break into her home through her window. It was his second hostile visit of the day. This man's name was Rolando Celdon, an illegal alien. He announced that he was there to kill them. When Celdon realized he would not be able to enter the home and that police were on their way, he fled the scene. In response to the young mother's desperate plea, the dispatcher issued a high priority call for help. The first to see Celdon was Officer Sean Plymale. He released his K-9 companion, Tymo, in order to chase him down and apprehend the suspect. However, the strong, drug-induced suspect was hardly slowed by the K-9. Though Tymo had a firm grip on the suspect, he was still able to climb a fence to escape; while the dog was unrelenting in its grip. Once across the fence, Officer Coleman, who had now arrived on the scene, noticed that Celdon had injured Tymo and was now free again. Celdon then refused orders from Officer Coleman to surrender, and appeared ready to draw a weapon. The Officer then applied a taser to the suspect, but even this did not seem to work. By this time, Officer Van Dalen had arrived and at the request of his fellow officers, drew from his squad cars non-lethal "bean bag" shotgun. ( A "bean bag" gun inflicts temporary pain to subdue a suspect but generally leaves no permanent injury.) Officer Coleman then retrieved the "bean bag" gun and repeatedly ordered Celdon to raise his hands. Speaking in English and Spanish, the Officer attempted to communicate with the suspect. Celdon refused to comply with Officer Coleman's orders and positioned his hands as if ready to retrieve a knife or a gun. Given that only minutes earlier the suspect had threatened to kill his former girlfriend and her children, Coleman discharged the non-lethal weapon striking Celdon and driving him to the ground where the arrest was finally made. Sergant Manfredi was the last Officer on the scene. He inspected the scene and observed that in addition to the dog being injured, Officer Plymale had injured his hand and the suspect had minimal dog bite wounds and bruises. A standard departmental review of the incident revealed that in the rush to complete paperwork, Sergeant Manfredi had not completed all of the documentation accurately, but that in general, the men had used the proper level of force for dealing with a presumably drug-crazed and violent suspect. Although Coleman, Plymale and Manfredi were originally fired for their actions, a subsequent full examination of the concrete facts resulted in reinstatement and collection of back pay. Remember, this event took place in October, 2005. It took federal authorities over four years before they took action against the Officers. In October 2010, the Justice Department brought Federal Charges against these men for the violation of civil rights of a convicted drug offender and illegal alien. Once again, politically motivated prosecutors saw a chance to score a victory. Victory at the cost of four officers, that now, each faces a decade in prison. Truthfully, there is no other reason for this prosecution to take place. As a member of the citizen's jury, you can decide. Were these actions just? Were these Officers right to use a non-lethal weapon in an effort to arrest a suspect who was high on drugs and threatening to harm a young mother and her children? Celdon, an illegal alien, was refusing to obey any orders given by the Officers to surrender. He also showed an extreme amount of strength by pulling the dog, Tymo, over the fence with him and injuring Tymo in the process. The events that took place on this day occurred in only a matter of minutes. Officers Plymale, Coleman, and Van Dalen and Sergeant Manfredi were forced to make split- second decisions based on their training as police officers. Celdon had threatened to kill a young mother and her terrified children. Celdon had fled the scene and repeatedly refused to surrender. Celdon's injuries were minimal and not permanent. The four Officers main concern was the safety of the young mother and her children. They put their own lives at risk in order to protect them and did so by restricting their own use of force to non-lethal means. Though we do not fully understand the motivation of the prosecution, we do know that the California-based review of this case cleared the good names of the officers. Yet, these brave officers now face a ten year sentence in federal prison. Is this what we call justice? Now you are a member of the jury. How do you vote: Guilty? Not-Guilty? If you agree that the facts support a non-guilty verdict, I ask you to please vote in favor of these four courageous Officers by helping LELDF help them! Your support is greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, the Justice Department will have the full financial resources of the federal government to prosecute the "Fresno Four". They will use their media machine to warp public opinion against the accused men. The time to act is now. The beginning of the case is the most effective time to respond with best legal talent available. We do not want these Officers to be forced into a plea bargain and let the Justice Department think that our Officers can be pushed around. This is why I ask for your support of the tremendous legal effort w... Will you help me rescue these men from 10 or more years in federal ... The mission of LELDF is to obtain justice for the wrongfully accused. With your support and generous contribution, we can make this possible for these four fine police officers. Their continued and loyal service to the community of Fresno California should be not be rewarded by a ten year federal prison sentence. They were performing their job to the best of their ability, the way they were taught how. These Officers have put their own lives on the line in order to protect the public and do not deserve to be threatened with hard prison time. Expenses for this case will likely exceed $100,000 for each officer. Your critical investment now of $100 or more will assure that we ha... Sergeant Michael Manfredi, and Officers Paul Van Dalen, Christopher Coleman and Sean Plymale -- and their families -- are counting on us. Thank you for all of your support. Sincerely, Dave Martin Chairman LELDF P.S. Rolando Celdon is an illegal alien who was high on drugs and t...     Copyright © 2000-2011, GOPUSA.com A division of Endeavor Media Group, LLC P.O. Box 891354 Houston, TX 77289 ++ Contact Us

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[M]

This is disgusting, Mike, Please repost this on the TPP.ning site in both the Forum and Blogs, Also I will post a link to this Blog on the TPP.org site and pass it around to all my contacts.

[Lone Star State Sentinal]

I will as soon as I'm approved on there. Thanks for passing it on. Yes, it's BEYOND disgusting!

[M]

Get on this site too: HTTP://www.TeaPartyPatriots.org  just create a screen name and start an account. it's also afiliated with the TPP.ning site but you don't have to wait for approval

[Lone Star State Sentinal]

Wilco!