United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

The state of Oregon has paid $25,000 to two activists to settle a suit filed after a state trooper seized their antiwar banner and threatened them with arrest in Clackamas, OR, last December. -- David and Suzanne Brownlow, who also happen to be evangelicals and political activists (David is vice chairman of the Constitutional Party of Oregon), also have a son serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq. -- Brownlow "said he would have been happy with a letter from the state that 'clearly stated Oregonians have a right to assemble for free speech,'" but the state refused, the Oregonian reported Tuesday.[1] -- The incident took place on Dec. 9, 2006; a few days after Christmas, "the Brownlows filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming a violation of their civil rights." -- State police say that trooper who was involved, a 20-year veteran of the force named Ken Moore, was the subject of "corrective action," but will not say what that might be. -- News With Views, a conservative web site, posted a detailed account of the incident in January.[2] -- The encounter with the state trooper had a bizarre conclusion: "Then something surprising occurred, according to Mr. Brownlow: 'After this exchange, the demeanor of Trooper Moore changed considerably. Trooper Moore apologized for his behavior, and for scaring my 12-year-old daughter. He returned the banner upon request.' 'In fact, I was even more worried when the trooper’s demeanor suddenly changed. I wondered if this trooper was bipolar or something,' he said." -- An AP account of the settlement emphasized that the demonstrators were evangelical Christians. -- The Brownlows said some of the settlement money "will be used to fund a campaign to convince other evangelicals to stop supporting the war, the Brownlows said. -- 'About the only group left supporting this war is the evangelicals,' David Brownlow said. 'Our focus is on evangelicals and the message that they have lost their way,'" Sarah Skidmore reported.[3] -- "Brownlow said he and his wife are taking out advertisements in some evangelical publications and giving money to a ministry organization that is walking across America, calling on Christians to end their support for the Iraq occupation. -- The Brownlows said they try not to discuss their protest work with their son, saying he is focused on combat and staying alive. -- 'Our boys (and girls) are in a horrible spot,' David Brownlow said. 'The most tragic thing we can do is to leave them stranded in combat with no way out and no mission.'" -- But the Oregonian reported that "In agreeing to the cash settlement — which included $10,000 for Sierra Brownlow [the Brownlows' 12-year-old daughter] — state police did not admit guilt." ...

** Anti-war banner — The Oregon State Police reprimands a trooper for detaining a family **

The state has paid anti-war activists and Constitution Party stalwarts David and Suzanne Brownlow $25,000 to drop a federal lawsuit against an Oregon trooper who kicked them off a public sidewalk in December.

State police also took "corrective action" against senior Trooper Ken Moore, said OSP spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings. He declined to spell out specifics of the reprimand, saying it would violate the agency's personnel policy. Hastings also said Moore was on vacation, and not available for comment.

Brownlow, who has run three times for Congress on the Constitution Party ticket and whose son is with the U.S. Army in Iraq, said he would have been happy with a letter from the state that "clearly stated Oregonians have a right to assemble for free speech. That's my bottom line," he said, "and they would not do it."

The lawsuit stemmed from a Dec. 9 incident on an Interstate 205 overpass near Clackamas Town Center, where the couple and their 12-year-old daughter, Sierra, were holding a 10-foot banner that read "Support Our Troops Bring Them Home."

The two sides agree that around 2:30 p.m., Moore drove up in a marked patrol truck and told the family, "You are breaking the law. You must leave here immediately."

They resisted and claim that Moore then threatened to arrest them for disorderly conduct. He disputes that in his court response, but agrees that he grabbed the banner and threw it in his truck. He ordered the family to a nearby parking lot. After a half-hour, they were allowed to leave.

The Brownlows say they weren't blocking traffic; Moore disagrees. He said he needed to detain the Brownlows to determine whether a crime had been committed.

A few days after Christmas, the Brownlows filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming a violation of their civil rights.

Hastings said they placed Moore on office duty Dec. 13 and launched an internal investigation. When it was completed, he resumed his regular duties in March. Hastings declined to confirm whether they docked Moore's salary, but public records show his pay dropped from $4,798 to $4,613 a month for a three-month period this year. He's been with the state police for two decades.

In agreeing to the cash settlement -- which included $10,000 for Sierra Brownlow -- state police did not admit guilt.

Still, David Brownlow credits the agency for stepping up and being reasonable. The couple will use part of the money to further their anti-war efforts with other evangelicals. Their eldest son, Jared, deployed to Iraq last fall.

"What it does is, it sends a message," he said. "This isn't going to happen again."

PORTLAND, OR. -- An Oregon man says he and his family were accosted and harassed by an Oregon State trooper while exercising their constitutional right to protest the war on a public sidewalk in Portland on December 9, 2006.

David Brownlow, 49, who serves as the vice chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon, filed a $1 million federal civil rights lawsuit against Senior Trooper Ken Moore for violating his right to freedom of expression under the United States Constitution pursuant to 42 USC 1983.

According to Brownlow, who worked on the Mary Starrett for Governor campaign in the 2006 election cycle, he was standing on the sidewalk, with his wife and 12-year old daughter, adjacent to a Portland mall, peacefully holding up a sign that read "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS -- BRING THEM HOME!" Brownlow's son, Jared, is currently serving with the U.S. Army in Baghdad making this a personal as well as political action.

While they displayed their sign to passing motorists, Trooper Ken Moore saw the family, sped up to the scene, and stopped in the street in front of the small sidewalk demonstration, according to Brownlow.

"The visibly agitated trooper then got out of his patrol vehicle and began shouting at us claiming that we were 'breaking the law,' and demanded that we put away the sign and 'leave the area immediately,'" Brownlow said.

During the confrontation, Brownlow said he was shocked when the angry trooper threatened to arrest him.

"My wife, Suzanne, and I were peaceably exercising our constitutional right of free speech and assembly during an Iraqi war demonstration, and here I was being threatened with imprisonment by a police officer obviously angry about my position on the Iraq war," explained Brownlow.

Surprisingly, said Brownlow, when he asked what law was being broken by him and his family, Trooper Moore replied, "When a trooper tells you that you are breaking the law, that is all you need to know."

Mr. Brownlow, a savvy political activist, demanded to know what law or ordinance was being broken at which point Trooper Moore jumped over the traffic barrier onto the sidewalk and shouted directly into Mr. Brownlow's face that, "It was enough to be told the law was being broken, and that if you did not move immediately, you will be arrested."

Brownlow described how his child, by now quite terrified, moved from standing between her parents to hide behind her mother.

According to Mr. Brownlow, his wife then said to Senior Trooper Moore, "We're not blocking the road, nor are we blocking the sidewalk."

This caused the officer to point a finger at her in front of her child shouting, "If you do not stop talking, I will arrest both of you for disorderly conduct!"

Brownlow also described how the angry trooper grabbed the banner out of his and his family's hands, folded it up and then threw it into his patrol vehicle.

When the trooper returned, according to Brownlow, he was still shouting at the family and at that point Brownlow turned around with his hands behind his back and said to the trooper, "Go ahead and arrest me. I won't resist."

"Instead of cuffs, Trooper Moore demanded that I produce my driver's license. When I did, the trooper went back to his patrol truck and demanded we meet him inside the Clackamas Mall parking lot," said Brownlow.

"While in the parking lot, Trooper Moore demanded to know if I was armed. I told him that [while I possess a Concealed Handgun Permit] I was not armed at that time and lifted my coat to show him," he said.

Trooper Moore demanded to know if Mr. Brownlow had been armed earlier, but Mr. Brownlow refused to answer.

"Trooper Moore, still very agitated, threatened that if he arrested me, I would lose my Concealed Handgun License. I continued to challenge the trooper to arrest me, but no arrest was made."

The Brownlows told Trooper Moore that they were demonstrating in part to speak out on behalf of their Army son who is fighting in Iraq. Mr. Brownlow informed the trooper that he was completely wrong about the First Amendment -- something their son was supposedly fighting to protect.

As vice chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon, as well as a former federal congressional candidate, Brownlow said he has spent considerable time researching the U.S. Constitution.

When Mrs. Brownlow asked the trooper where her family would be allowed to protest the war, the trooper answered, "In your own front yard."

Then something surprising occurred, according to Mr. Brownlow: "After this exchange, the demeanor of Trooper Moore changed considerably. Trooper Moore apologized for his behavior, and for scaring my 12-year-old daughter. He returned the banner upon request." “In fact, I was even more worried when the trooper’s demeanor suddenly changed. I wondered if this trooper was bipolar or something,” he said.

Brownlow then requested permission to leave, which was granted. As they were leaving, Mr. Brownlow informed Trooper Moore that there were going to be consequences for the trooper's outrageous behavior, and that the matter was far from over.

NewsWithViews.com contacted the Oregon State Police to interview Moore’s supervisor Sergeant Christopher Allori, but we were told Sgt. Allori was unavailable until January 22.

With regard to the complaint against Trooper Moore, NewsWithViews.com was told the matter was being investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs investigators and there would be no comments until the conclusion of the IA investigation.

EVANGELICAL FAMILY SETTLES CASE WITH OREGON OVER WAR PROTEST
By Sarah Skidmore

PORTLAND, Ore. -- An evangelical Christian family has received a $25,000 check from the state of Oregon to settle a lawsuit over a state trooper's response to their protest of the Iraq war.

David and Suzanne Brownlow have a son stationed in Iraq, and say they are fighting to bring him home . A portion of the settlement money will be used to fund a campaign to convince other evangelicals to stop supporting the war, the Brownlows said.

"About the only group left supporting this war is the evangelicals," David Brownlow said. "Our focus is on evangelicals and the message that they have lost their way."

Last year, the Brownlows and their 12-year-old daughter were on a sidewalk in Clackamas waving a flag that read "Support Our Troops Bring Them Home," so the traffic on the interstate below could see.

The Brownlows said a state trooper approached them, told them they were breaking the law and threatened to arrest them if they did not leave.

According to their complaint, when they asked what laws were broken, Senior Trooper Ken Moore told them: "When a trooper tells you 'You are breaking the law,' that is all you need to know."

Then, they say, the trooper grabbed their banner, crushed it, and threw it in their vehicle. They went to a nearby parking lot for further questioning. At that point, David Brownlow got a copy of the Oregon Revised Statutes and began reading them. The trooper eventually gave the banner back and allowed the family to leave.

"We didn't sue them for the money," David Brownlow said. "We sued them to bring some accountability."

Oregon State Police would not comment specifically on the incident but said they conducted an internal review. Based on that, Moore was put on alternate duty for three months. State police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said the organization took "what we believe were appropriate corrective actions."

Brownlow said he and his wife are taking out advertisements in some evangelical publications and giving money to a ministry organization that is walking across America, calling on Christians to end their support for the Iraq occupation.

The Brownlows said they try not to discuss their protest work with their son, saying he is focused on combat and staying alive.

"Our boys (and girls) are in a horrible spot," David Brownlow said. "The most tragic thing we can do is to leave them stranded in combat with no way out and no mission."