Al Unser Acquitted in Albuquerque' Metropolitan Court
Recently, race car legend, Al Unser, went to trial on charges of refusal to obey an officer and on charges of resisting arrest. I attended some of the trial in Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque. Al Unser's testimony was similar to stories we have heard many times before.
He testified that he was trying to drive onto his property near Central and Unser Boulevards, when Bernalillo County Sheriff's officers ordered him to stop and turn around. Mr. Unser testified he obeyed the command, but did not like the way the officers yelled at him. On his way out, he left his car and asked an officer for his card so that he could report the officer to his superior. If Mr. Unser's testimony is believed, the simple act of challenging the officer's behavior prompted the decision to arrest Al Unser - a seventy-some year old man with significant physical disabilities.
The arrest of a citizen for verbally protesting police action or for asking for the identity of officers violates your Fourth Amendment to be free of unreasonable seizures as well as your FIrst Amendment right to free speech.