Signs, signs, everywhere are signs, and Connecticut police are doing all they can to shut them down.
Last week, Stamford police arrested a man for standing a block away from a police cell phone checkpoint with a sign that read: “Cops ahead” to warn approaching drivers.
This week, police arrested his friend for standing in front of the police department with a sign that read: “Fuck Free Speech – Stamford PD” to protest his friend’s arrest.
The Stamford Police Department obviously has an issue with the First Amendment, using petty contempt-of-cop charges to crack down on freedom of speech.
They charged Michael Friend, the man holding the sign to warn drivers about the checkpoint, with[ interfering,](Sec. 53a-167a. Interfering with an officer: Class A misdemeanor. (a%29 A person is guilty of interfering with an officer when such person obstructs, resists, hinders or endangers any peace officer or firefighter in the performance of such peace officer’s or firefighter’s duties.) even though he was a block away from the actual checkpoint.
And they charged Michael Picard, the man holding the sign in front of the police department, with breach of peace.
Stamford still have possession of Picard’s Go-Pro camera and Friend’s two cell phones, all which contain footage of their arrests.
The man who recorded Picard’s arrest, Dawud Talib, was not arrested.
Picard is a longtime activist who frequently does open carry demonstrations because it is legal to open carry in Connecticut.
In 2016, he filed a lawsuit against Connecticut State Police after an officer was caught on camera conspiring charges against him to “cover our ass.”
Another time in 2016, a Hartford police officer threaten to arrest Picard who was holding a sign warning drivers of an upcoming police checkpoint with “distracting traffic.”