Nashville Church of Scientology security broke laws during protest
As I mentioned in a previous article about scientology increasing it presense in Nashville by opening a new centre leading to more crazies here in Tennessee. Now it appears that during the grand opening of this new Church of Scientology Ideal Celebrity Centre security for the event broke laws when handling protesters for an event that didn’t have the proper permits according to WSMV Channel 4 News in Nashville.
In a home video, a group of protesters walk toward the Church of Scientology on the day of the church’s grand opening and are stopped by security guards, who knock one protester to the ground and have him arrested for criminal trespass.
The altercation happened 400 yards from the church, on the other side of the street.
Public Works pulled all of the permits taken out for the Scientology event. The permits — all of them for sidewalk closing and lane blocking — are for the wrong day. They’re for the day before the event and expire before the scuffle occurred. In addition, three of the five security guards were off-duty Spring Hill police officers working in Nashville, which can only be done if local police are notified and officers are wearing uniforms clearly identifying them as off-duty police officers…………..
The security firm hired by the Church of Scientology was Hayes Security on Gallatin Road. A representative of the firm said that the matter is being turned over to its attorneys.
-Read the full article Laws Broken In Scientology Church Security at WSMV Channel 4
Actual footage of the incident
Below is a video shot by the protesters that according to many show the Church of Scientology breaking several laws and being overly aggressive.
Also there is a prior news clip about this incedent from WSMV from when the story first broke here.
The group protesting the Church of Scientology calls itself Anonymous that has staged protests at Scientology centers all over the world believe the church to be involved in illegal actions, fraudulent activities, and human rights violations as well as being a sinister cult. A forum providing a detailed account and pictures of the incident with the Nashville Church of Scientology by protesters can be found here.
Apparently the Church of Scientology isn’t bright enough to get the proper permits for the correct day of their event as well as find security that is competent enough to follow the law. This is sad a peaceful protest had to turn out this way with protesters being openly assaulted by corrupt Spring Hill police officers that apparently will do anything for money including breaking the law and violate people’s constitutional rights.
What is even more troubling is how the Assistant Police Chief of Spring Hill Police Department handled question when asked about what the off-duty officers had done during the incident according to another WSMV Channel 4 story about what happened.
The assistant police chief of the Spring Hill Police Department, Jon Roberts, said from the video it looked like to him that the protestors were looking for trouble. Roberts said he feels that the officers did not do anything wrong, and the home video does not tell the whole story.
This just shows the utter disregard for people’s rights that the Spring Hill Police Department has and it is no wonder the off-duty officers behaved the way they did.
Want to let the Spring Hill Police Department know how you feel about the incident?
| Visit the Spring Hill Police Department Website |
| Email the Chief of Police |
| Write them a letter to: |
| P.O. Box 789 |
| 199 Town Center Parkway |
| Spring Hill, TN 37174 |
| Call or send a fax: |
| Non-Emergency 931-486-3270 |
| Administrative Matters 931-486-2252 ex244 |
| Administrative Fax 931-486-3433 |
| Email the Mayor of Spring Hill at mdinwiddie@springhilltn.org\ |
What a joke security firm
The security firm Hayes Security in Nashville, TN is just as much to blame for hiring these incompetent police officers to do the dirty work of the Church of Scientology. You know they know they messed up when they immediately refer everything to their lawyers. They can be contacted by phone or email at the following:
| Phone | 615-860-1122 |
| Fax | 615-860-1133 |
| William “Billy” Brewer | Director of Operations | 615-589-2080 |
| Loyd Poteete | Director of Special Events | 615-973-5512 |
| Trey Stuart | Security Manager | 615-578-0881 |
| Gary Biggs II | Asst. Director of Operations | 615-474-3590 |
| Kelly Searcy | Executive Assistant | 615-578-5000 |
| Edward Zwicke | Sales Manager | 615-596-9397 |
Church of Scientology appears to be bad news for Nashville
This incident only prove my notion that the Church of Scientology growing in TN will lead to problems in Nashville with hired guns violating peoples rights to peacefully assemble and protest. Protesting is nothing new to the state capitol of TN and normally no issues like the ones mentioned above. The Church of Scientology needs to recognize that hey are not special here, they have to acquire the proper permits like everyone else for events like these. Hopefully this seemingly dangerous “religious” institution will go elsewhere and Hayes Security as well as the involved Spring Hill police officers will have better sense in handling similar situations.
I want to thank WSMV Channel 4 Nashville for covering the story and getting to the bottom of the incident when every other news organization didn’t bother or have the courage to cover it.
I am confident the young man arrested will get off and probably compensated by the security firm for the way the off-duty officers handled the situation. In the future I hope any other protests of the Church of Scientology will be free of such violence.
Related posts:
- Scientologists spotted recruiting at Nashville flea market
- Scientology Growing Means More Crazies in Nashville
- TN Church Members Carry Handguns to Worship Services
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The spokesperson was lying about being afraid of Anonymous.
From the first news story:
—
The Church of Scientology said it told security these were dangerous people and to do what they needed to do.
“This group has made threats against us. They made bomb threats and death threats, so we had to take it seriously, so we hired some professional security that day,” said Brian Fesler, a Church of Scientology representative. “We just trusted what, you know, trusted their judgment.”
—
But the same guy is seen here on a previous protest in Minneapolis joking around with the masked “Anonymous” protesters:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27666500@N05/3279337165/in/set-72157613453353699/
Doesn’t look like he believes his own lies.
This is eerily reminiscent of a similar case that happened outside Scientology’s “secret base” in Riverside County, CA. There, an anonymous protester was attacked on a public easement and thrown to the ground by three security guards. A woman who tried to retrieve his camcorder was also assaulted.
KESQ Palm Springs became interested, and launched a series of stories about the Scientology presence and its influence in Riverside political circles.
http://www.kesq.com/Global/category.asp?C=162474
Following this incident, County Supervisor Jeff Stone was given a booklet by Scientology, which falsely accused anonymous of hate crimes, racism, homophobia, bomb and death threats, providing no attribution to the accusations. Stone relied on the false information in this booklet to introduce Ordinance 884 at the behest of the cult, which would limit picketing near residences in Riverside County.
I wonder if Hayes Security, or the Spring Hill PD was given a similar booklet by the cult.
Honestly, scientologists can believe whatever they want, but I hope the organization is held accountable for all the abuse it heaps upon its current and former members and, case in point, the general public who wish to protest those abuses. Scientology’s Chairman of the Board is Mr. David Miscavige. With all the bad press the so-called church has received over the years and continues to receive one would reasonably expect the senior officer would have responded publicly by now. The organization has lawsuits underway in several countries right at the moment, perhaps he’s a tad busy.
The “Anonymous” cyber-bully collective is provoking these incidents in order to give their hate agenda the appearance of being legitimate. Only credulous morons believe these punks.
Tom Newton
Yay! Tom Newton shows up!
Video evidence doesn’t lie. Watch the video. Determine who you think was acting incorrectly. The people walking on a sidewalk with protest signs, or the off duty cops tackling one from behind.
Yes sirree! Bomb threats! Bomb threats every day over in Clearwater! That’s what Scientology representatives tell people over here.
Except that the bomb threats don’t really seem to be happening, other than a few which may have actually come from Scientology offices.
Those anons are dangerous people amirite? The cake may be a lie!
Srsly, it’s pretty clear that whomever was running that show instructed their hired goons to rough some of those kids up, you know.. to show them who’s boss. It’s a despicable tactic by people who seem to be losing their grip in fundamental ways.
Also, kudos to WSMV Channel 4 Nashville.
Trying to spin this to say that the protesters were “looking for trouble”, at this point, is just Propaganda on Scientology’s part, and “trying to cover my ass” on Spring Hill PD’s part. The video, news report, and copy of the permits, clearly shows that all the protesters were doing during the confrontation was walking along the sidewalk towards the event, from several hundred yards away, when they were confronted by the off-duty police officers who immediately took action and tried to set up 44 with bogus charges.
Excellent article; yes,even for an atheist
@Tom Newton
wow ur name is tom newton as well
Hast Recht! Kann nicht schaden.
Genau
I need help I got fired because I didn’t beleive in the people I worked for reliegion.