CANTON, Ohio -— An arrogant police officer angrily confronts a motorist, William Bartlett, for legally carrying a hidden gun. Bartlett has a permit to carry the concealed weapon and said that he tried to tell the cop that he had a gun when he was pulled over on in the early morning hours of June 8, 2011 in a high crime area. But the 52-year-old Brewster man said that the officer “would not let [me] talk. Would you have yelled ‘I have a gun?’. I just kept my mouth shut, I kept my hands on the wheel like I had been instructed to, I had my CCW in hand, I tried to hand it to him and he wanted no part of it.” Bartlett said that Patrolman Daniel Harless flew into a rage a short time later when he revealed he was carrying a gun. He said that Harless then began to threaten his life. “If you had a man threatening to execute you, what would you think? That’s where I’ll leave it at that,” said Bartlett. Patrolman Harless has been placed on administrative leave due to the incident. William Bartlett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, which is odd because he has a license to carry one.
– Driver Says Rights Were Violated By Canton Officer (WJW TV, July 26, 2011):
CANTON, Ohio — Video of a Canton police officer angrily confronting a motorist legally carrying a concealed weapon has gone viral on the internet.
The target of that confrontation, William Bartlett, told Fox 8 on Tuesday that his rights were violated.Bartlett has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and said he tried to tell the officer that he had a gun when he was pulled over on in the early morning hours of June 8th in a high crime area.
But the 52-year-old Brewster man said the officer would not let him talk.
Bartlett told Fox 8, “Would you have yelled ‘I have a gun?’. I just kept my mouth shut, I kept my hands on the wheel like I had been instructed to, I had my CCW in hand, I tried to hand it to him and he wanted no part of it.”
Bartlett said Patrolman Daniel Harless flew into a rage a short time later when he revealed he was carrying a gun.
“I thought I was in trouble, deep trouble, more than just going to jail trouble”, said Bartlett.
He said Officer Harless then began to threaten his life.
“If you had a man threatening to execute you, what would you think? That’s where I’ll leave it at that,” said Bartlett.
The posting of the video on the web has given Canton a undeserved bad name, according to City Council President Allen Schulman.
Schulman told Fox 8, “We’ve received hundreds of e-mails, all from out of town, not only out of town but out of state, Texas, Arizona, places that seem to love people carrying concealed weapons.”
Schulman said the case illustrates the inherent dangers of Ohio’s concealed weapon law, which he calls, “crazy”.
“I believe in people’s right to bear arms, but I believe in rational, reasonable gun laws, and these concealed weapons are going to create a lot of problems”, said Schulman. “And my biggest concern is, it’s going to end up killing people.”
Patrolman Harless was placed on administrative leave after the incident, and on Monday, went on sick leave.
William Bartlett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and says he is getting support from all over the country.
“They should have strong feelings, it’s their right being violated as well as mine”, said Bartlett. “If it happened to me, it could happen to someone else.”