Ten years after confiscating Damon Wells' gun, Cleveland police are at it again

Even though ten years have passed, many grassroots gun owners have likely not forgotten the name Damon Wells, the Cleveland concealed handgun license (CHL)-holder who defended himself from a violent attempted robbery in his front yard back in April 2007. Though CHL-holders had defended their lives in many other instances, Mr. Wells' situation played in the media for days and weeks after because of the reaction of his gang-infested neighborhood (they broke out his windows and hoisted memorials to his thug attackers).

The victimization of Damon Wells didn't stop at the hands of neighborhood gangs. The City of Cleveland refused to return his gun to him. It was only through volunteer efforts of Buckeye Firearms Association that the Court eventually ordered Cleveland to return Damon’s gun. Some months after the Court ordered Cleveland to return Damon’s handgun, Damon was a passenger in a motor vehicle subjected to a traffic stop. Damon complied with all areas of state law in notifying the officer of his licensed, armed status. Despite his compliance with state law and lack of any other criminal conduct, Cleveland charged Damon, who has a valid Ohio Concealed Handgun License, with carrying a handgun that wasn't "registered" as required by an unconstitutional city law.

It was only after Buckeye Firearms Association provided coverage of Damon's case, as well as two other persons charged with possessing unregistered handguns, that Mayor Jackson announced that "registration" was "voluntary." A motion to dismiss charges was filed in Damon's case, and the court granted the motion in November of 2008.

Apparently infuriated that the law provides for mandatory attorney fees in cases where a gun owner succeeds in thwarting illegal efforts by a city to enforce local ordinances, charges for the same incident were re-filed against Damon Wells. That is right - no new incident or facts - they just want a "do-over," and rather than bothering to file an appeal it is easier to just re-charge the same indigent Defendant.

And then there was Derrick Washington, who in 2013 filed suit in federal court after having spent nearly nine months fighting city law enforcement officials to retrieve his legally licensed and registered firearm, which is being held as evidence following his arrest after he reported a potential crime in progress. The City settled the case and returned Washington's gun.

At the time of the settlement, Washington's attorney, J. Gary Seewald, observed that "If you own a gun (in Cleveland), you're a second-class citizen. Any other type of item seized by police during an investigation in which no charges are filed, the item is returned. But not a gun."

Likewise, Ken Hanson, Well's attorney and legal counsel for Buckeye Firearms Association has observed that "Cleveland has a long history of ignoring the rights of Ohio citizens when it comes to firearms. And they have a history of ignoring state law."

And so it is that, ten years after Damon Wells fought this fight, Brian Bridges has had to file yet another suit against the City in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas court to ask the court to return his firearm.

From the Cleveland Scene:

On March 24, 2015, Bridges returned to his home on Walden Avenue near E. 169th Street around 5:30 p.m. There, he confronted two men burglarizing the property. Bridges, a licensed concealed-carry permit holder, shot one of the burglars— Joseph W. Eason— in the confrontation. The second man— Anthony. A. Akins-Daniels— ran from the scene, but was later apprehended by police. He was later hit with charges related to the death of his accomplice.

According to the suit, on the night of the shooting, Brian Bridges's house was searched by police. Items were taken for the investigation, including a "glock 21 semiautomatic handgun, ammunition, holsters." Although the shooting was ruled self-defense and justifiable, the property was to be used in the trial against Akins-Daniels.

That trial wasn't to be— the defendant pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in October 2015. But now, in 2017, Bridges still hasn't gotten his handgun and other items back, the complaint alleges.

When City leaders openly refuse to follow the law, they are behaving exactly like the criminals they claim to be seeking to bring to justice.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and a NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.

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