Atwater Minnesota - cruelty to chickens - someone needs to change this.

[Julie1077]

http://www.atwaterchamber.com/city government.html
I sent emails to all the council members and the Mayor.

"The Atwater police chief has clearly showed the public what kind of city Atwater is, and it is no place the I would want myself, my family, or my friends to visit. After reading about him beating and the beheading a child's pet chicken I am appalled at what kind of city in America would allow this kind of behavior. Welcome to Atwater, where the police can kill your pets, and the tax paying citizens can't have a chicken! Absolutely disgusting! By supporting his behavior and your anti-chicken laws your city is on its way to being about as un-American as it gets. Please get a clue and stop supporting laws that are infringing on our constitutional right to pursuit happiness! And please become more informed on backyard chicken keeping and the lack of health risk to the public. Stop supporting factory farmed chickens that are actually causing a real health risk to the public."

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5753280

 

[dsbailey70]

DO NOT SETTLE for any bs that APD may spew. File a formal, written complaint with the appropriate division with your State Police. It's part of their job to handle dirty cops, or p.o.s like those involved in the cruelty.

 

[paramount]

This story has pretty much gone viral.

http://www.infowars.com/mother-file...ief-decapitates-boys-pet-chicken-with-shovel/

It's pretty clear that the Police Chief is a two-bit thug.

The action was not only uncalled for, but ILLEGAL.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Violating a person's Fourth Amendment rights is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. (Reference 18 USC 245, 18 USC 242, 18 USC 241).

People would be wise to contact the mayor of the City of Atwater and demand that this thug be not only fired, but that he do his duty as an elected official and use his position to seek the prosecution of his renegade employee.

The mayor's number is: (320) 295-6392

 

[smudge]

You know, maybe the town of Atwater owes them a new shovel as well. How creepy is that?

 

[Ole and Lena]

This story has pretty much gone viral.

http://www.infowars.com/mother-file...ief-decapitates-boys-pet-chicken-with-shovel/

It's pretty clear that the Police Chief is a two-bit thug.

The action was not only uncalled for, but ILLEGAL.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Violating a person's Fourth Amendment rights is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. (Reference 18 USC 245, 18 USC 242, 18 USC 241).

People would be wise to contact the mayor of the City of Atwater and demand that this thug be not only fired, but that he do his duty as an elected official and use his position to seek the prosecution of his renegade employee.

The mayor's number is: (320) 295-6392"



Beat me to it. I personally know almost everybody involved in this story (not the police chief). I was thoroughly versed in the facts before the story broke through my FB feed.

I've had some experience with small town cops and sometimes the constitution doesn't apply to them. This is a very dangerous thing. I'm surprised not to see this aspect covered more in the stories. Will probably happen in coming days. The cop clearly illegally entered private property and potentially committed a crime in killing the chicken as well as MN has a rather loose animal cruelty law on the books (I have to be careful while dispatching my own fowl and rodents on my own property). To equate a young hen to a potentially dangerous wild or domestic animal such as a skunk, raccoon, coyote, rat, feral dog is ridiculous. I think in hindsight, the mayor and police chief know they've stepped in it and will try to make it right. Please do not color the people or businesses of Atwater in a bad light as they tend to be good people. And stand up for your property rights! They predate the constitution and are an incredibly important bastion against Tyranny.

 

[chickenladymn]

My chicken story...

I grew up in Atwater and have lived here my entire life. A few years ago my little boy asked if we could buy a few baby chics from a girl selling them at the Atwater festival days celebration. I thought sure we will bring them home for the weekend and the kids would grow bored. First thing Monday they would go to the farm...

No mom just a few more days...
Before I knew it the chickens were part of our daily routine. A chore for my son, that all the kids wanted to help with. He was asking questions, and learning where eggs came from and that chicken was not just a meat we bought at the store. We turned a play shed into a little coop. That's where our little flock of 4 silkies spent their first Minnesota winter. One that I will say was on the record books for being cold.

Eggs! Mom! Eggs!

We waited and waited and one day my little one came running out of the coop with an egg! An actual warm clean egg!!! He was so excited I thought he would explode. We washed it up and made an egg sandwich. This was great. Fresh eggs everyday. We built a bigger coop as they grew. I was researching chickens and came across this site. I have learned so much and found other's that are the crazy chicken lady down the street.

But there's a catch...

There's a city ordinance stating no chickens allowed in city limits. We were not suppose to have our chickens. By now it had been 2 years since we brought home those 4 baby chics.

It gets stinky...
Other people in town have now gotton chickens as well. There has been complaints from some citizens about chickens that are running loose and inhumane conditions. The officer in question has now been dealing with the backlash of a quick decision that turned into a huge mistake. He was born and raised in this town. He is not a bad police officer or person. He simply made a bad choice as to how to deal with the chicken. He was and still is working with local citizens to pass an ordinance that will allow our citizens to have chickens.

I wanted chickens in my backyard but not all this craziness to go with it. I removed my chickens when asked to do so by the city. I feel like one bad coop has ruined it for all of us who have taken care of our chickens and respected our neighbors as well.

 

[smudge]

The fine citizens calling someone a "bully" for filing a complaint doesn't sound nice either.
http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/conte...port-police-chief-who-killed-boys-pet-chicken

I would like to think that it's a reaction to some of us outsiders appalled at the situation, but I suspect there's an ounce of "how dare you question authorities" there. I lived in a state adjacent to Minnesota for 6 years, and my exhusband currently lives in Minnesota... I'm just saying I can't imagine the same mentality prevailing in say, Nederland TX, where another poster in this thread is from (I lived in that part of TX for 3 years after leaving the Midwest).

I am glad that the police officer is trying to make things right with the 5 year old, and has apologized to him. I think that he needs more formal training on how to handle such situations in the future.

And, my goodness, you can't even have a RABBIT in Atwater?! What is the rationale behind that?

 

[paramount]

Personally, I've got no toleration for anyone who would accuse someone of "bullying" just because they had the spine to insist that they'd been oppressed and had their rights violated.

Two facts remain clear:

1. Honest, law abiding government who actually represents its people is the exception to the general rule.
2. The biggest murderers in history are people's own governments, opposed to foreign invaders.

In my neck of the woods, we GET RID OF public servants who violate people, but we've still got a band of the "how dare you criticize government" types, as well. Most of the latter are transplants from big urban areas where "government is your daddy".

It's up to all of us to demand honest public officials and we all have obligations to get rid of the ones who aren't..

It's pretty clear that at minimum, this guy has some serious mental issues. Stripping him of badge and gun and placing him on leave to undergo some psychiatric evaluation would be a good place to start, because trespassing and killing some animal just because you can't get it into a pen is not normal behavior. At bare minimum, it's not professional behavior for a cop. If this guy is allowed to go unchecked, we'll be reading about him again five or six years from now after he wastes someone.

 

[Blooie]

Two days ago I agreed with every sentiment expressed in this thread. I even forwarded my sanctimonious outrage to the town. But after reading ChickenladyMn's post, I think I might have been a little hasty in passing judgment. I had a knee jerk reaction to something that upset me. Well, by the sounds of it so did that officer. Every one of us has 2 seconds in our lives we'd like "do-overs' for. I'm thinking this incident was his. Whether we (and I mean all of us including me who live outside the state but still felt qualified to comment) agree with Atwater's ordinances against chickens or not, the fact remains that they are not allowed, period. This officer overreacted, true, but the world wouldn't be short one chicken if the owners hadn't decided that ordinance or not they were keeping chickens AND that they were going to let those chickens wander. Obviously the actions of a few, according to ChickenladyMn, are not going far to endear want-to-be chicken owners to the other citizens and the town officials. Most of the reasons so many communities don't allow chickens is because a few bad apples ruin it for all by the kind of conditions she mentions, as well as not caring one bit if their chickens rip up a neighbor's flower beds or vegetable garden and poop all over their patio furniture. If those of us who own backyard chickens want to help others know the joys we know, then it becomes our responsibility to become good-will ambassadors between our non-owning neighbors and our town officials. A few eggs don't go near as far in creating good neighbors as a neat, clean set-up and owning up to issues which may occur as a result of our ownership.

I am a town official, and I'm smart enough to know that I don't know everything there is to know....I'm also smart enough to know there are usually two sides to everything and I'm willing to admit that I made a mistake and fed into the fever that is Atwater right now. I do not - and let me emphasize this - do NOT condone the officer's actions. But nor do I condone the behavior of folks who, rather than working to change an ordinance, blatantly ignore it and make it more difficult on others who want to do the right thing. ChickenladyMn, what you did was difficult to do and I'm so sorry that the actions of a few put you into that position, but it was the right thing to do. I applaud you. You may not know it, but you have given your children a lesson as valuable as the ones they learned taking care of their birds.

 

[paramount]

Two days ago I agreed with every sentiment expressed in this thread. I even forwarded my sanctimonious outrage to the town. But after reading ChickenladyMn's post, I think I might have been a little hasty in passing judgment. I had a knee jerk reaction to something that upset me. Well, by the sounds of it so did that officer. Every one of us has 2 seconds in our lives we'd like "do-overs' for. I'm thinking this incident was his. Whether we (and I mean all of us including me who live outside the state but still felt qualified to comment) agree with Atwater's ordinances against chickens or not, the fact remains that they are not allowed, period. This officer overreacted, true, but the world wouldn't be short one chicken if the owners hadn't decided that ordinance or not they were keeping chickens AND that they were going to let those chickens wander. Obviously the actions of a few, according to ChickenladyMn, are not going far to endear want-to-be chicken owners to the other citizens and the town officials. Most of the reasons so many communities don't allow chickens is because a few bad apples ruin it for all by the kind of conditions she mentions, as well as not caring one bit if their chickens rip up a neighbor's flower beds or vegetable garden and poop all over their patio furniture. If those of us who own backyard chickens want to help others know the joys we know, then it becomes our responsibility to become good-will ambassadors between our non-owning neighbors and our town officials. A few eggs don't go near as far in creating good neighbors as a neat, clean set-up and owning up to issues which may occur as a result of our ownership.

I am a town official, and I'm smart enough to know that I don't know everything there is to know....I'm also smart enough to know there are usually two sides to everything and I'm willing to admit that I made a mistake and fed into the fever that is Atwater right now. I do not - and let me emphasize this - do NOT condone the officer's actions. But nor do I condone the behavior of folks who, rather than working to change an ordinance, blatantly ignore it and make it more difficult on others who want to do the right thing. ChickenladyMn, what you did was difficult to do and I'm so sorry that the actions of a few put you into that position, but it was the right thing to do. I applaud you. You may not know it, but you have given your children a lesson as valuable as the ones they learned taking care of their birds.

Sorry, Blooie, but I am going to have to respectfully disagree.

As a public official, you are certainly aware that most of us hold elected and appointed officials to a considerably higher standard than the rest of the public. And so we should.

That being said, imagine what the reaction would be if Berger had just been a neighbor who trespassed onto the family's property, chased a chicken around their yard and then cut its head off because he was "frustrated"? If he was an ordinary guy, he'd be sitting in lock up right now and he'd be facing SERIOUS charges, awaiting judgment by a jury of his peers.

But as a Chief of Police, those same rules clearly do not apply to him, even though 1) he was clearly trespassing and had no warrant (the fact that an ordinance violation took place doesn't change this), 2) he admits it and showed no remorse and 3) he was a law enforcement officer using his police powers to enforce an ordinance that is actually a CIVIL offense. Contrary to popular misconception, ordinance violations are not crimes, but are in fact, nothing more than a body of administrative rules which are usually enforced by unelected administrative judges. The rulings of those administrative courts are only as forceful as the locals allow them to be and are routinely overturned as being unlawful by REAL COURTS with REAL JUDGES when the people on the receiving end have the knowledge and spine to fight back.

As a cop, Berger has a fiduciary duty to know the extent of his authority and to not exceed it. The same is true of any public official as any form of being a public servant constitutes a public trust. That is codified in the Federal Laws of this country (United States Title Code) as well as its administrative codes (Code of Federal Regulations). All states have similar laws and administrative rules. Failure to abide results in a breach of trust which subjects the employee (and ultimately the government, which includes the public) to liability. That's where Berger and Atwater are at. If this family gets a decent attorney (and they are probably lining up in droves right now), a town the size of Atwater will probably be unable to cope financially.

I know a number of elected sheriffs who are Pro-Constitution guys that have weighed in on this situation in Atwater and let me tell you they are OUTRAGED by Berger's behavior to the extent that if this had taken place in their counties, he would be sitting in their jail right now awaiting trial.

While there may indeed be a problem in Atwater with chickens running amok crapping on sidewalks and tearing up gardens, the rule of law in this country provides a method to deal with it. It's called the civil court system where you establish that you've been harmed and that the defendant in question was responsible and then the judge orders the defendant to compensate you for that harm.

Violating people's property rights under threats of liens and fines if they don't comply with an administrative rule is not the rule of law. It's a different animal called tyranny and revenue-collecting and is the very thing that our founders fought the English Crown over.