OKLAHOMA CITY -- A handmade anti-abortion sign in the back of an Oklahoma City man's pickup truck prompted a traffic stop and a visit from the Secret Service.
However, a police supervisor acknowledged Thursday that confiscating the man's sign went too far. According to a police report, Hal "Chip" Harrison, 55, was pulled over by police at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 12 along Interstate 44 at Southwest 119th Street because of a sign in the back of his vehicle that read, "Abort Obama Not The Unborn."
Officers believed the sign constituted a threat, confiscated it and contacted the Secret Service, prompting a brief investigation.
Secret Service agents determined Harrison was no threat to the president after conducting a walk-through of his southeast Oklahoma City home. Agents conducted a field interview on his patio, Harrison said.
Police soon returned the sign as well.
While stopping Harrison was up to the officer's discretion, Oklahoma City Capt. Steve McCool said the officer should not have confiscated the sign.
"We feel it was a bad decision to confiscate the sign. It's kind of a First Amendment issue -- freedom of speech -- and that probably shouldn't have been confiscated," McCool said.
He said the decision to contact the Secret Service is also up to the officer.
However, Harrison said his sign was in no way meant to be a threat against President Barack Obama.
"My sign is about anti-abortion. It's not about killing the president," Harrison said.
He asked the officers if he could simply take down the sign, but the officers said they needed to confiscate it as evidence.
Nevertheless, Harrison admitted some concern once the Secret Service was contacted. Agents called him at work, advising that he needed to return home so they could search his house.
Citing stereotypes of agents kicking down doors and rummaging through personal belongings, Harrison told them that he wanted to get the advice of an attorney.
"I (thought), 'Boy, I'm in deep trouble because of a simple sign,'" he said.
That attorney advised Harrison that the agents probably just wanted to talk to him, which is all they did.
Harrison talked with Eyewitness News 5 on Thursday morning about his special-needs daughter, whom counselors recommended aborting 2½ years ago because of pregnancy difficulties.
"As a Christian, that's not even an option," Harrison said. "I feel so blessed to have my daughter."
The sign had been in the back of Harrison's vehicle for the past couple of months, during which time he had been passed by other police officers, sheriff's deputies and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers.
"For that vehicle to slow down and get behind me, I felt like (it was) a personal or maybe even a political issue. I didn't feel like it was justified," Harrison said.
Harrison said he was prompted to construct and display the sign because of Obama's position on a recently overturned bill on late-term abortion.
The story has already garnered national attention, hours after the story hit The Associated Press wire. It has also prompted many calls to the Oklahoma City Police Department.
"It has touched a nerve," said Capt. McCool. "When you start talking about pro-life and pro-abortion -- very sensitive issues -- people just feel like they need to call up and express their opinions and concerns about what occurred."
Harrison said he'd perhaps like to talk to the officers who took the sign but said the only message he'd like to communicate is that "there is another option besides abortion."
Here's the link to the article
http://www.koco.com/cnn-news/18752319/detail.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
