SUMMARY

On June 24, 2015, I have been arrested and jailed for “obstructing an officer” (RCW 9A.76.020). The arrest was made by Spokane Sheriff’s deputy officer L. Hayes on Trail Road just past the intersection with Flint Road. I spent the next 12 hours in Spokane County jail, with no access to an attorney, despite my repeated requests. My wife has been denied the opportunity to see or speak to me. In the meantime, the jail staff pressured me to submit to questioning, as a precondition to me being able to contact the attorney. I have been released on a $1000 bail. The court date is set for July 1, 2015 @ 9 am in Courtroom 2 of the Public Safety Building in Spokane.

ARREST

On June 24, 2015 my 17-year old niece, 15-year old nephew, and I were riding our bicycles up the Trails road in Spokane County, Washington. We stopped to rest for a few minutes under a railroad overpass crossing the Trails road, and then continued on.

About ten minutes later, we were ordered to pull over by two police vehicles. The officers started questioning us. I immediately explained that I do not answer questions, but they continued to question the children. At least one of the officers (L. Hayes) had “SHERIFF” written in big letters on the back of his uniform.

From their questions, it appeared that they suspected that we climbed, or did something to a railroad bridge. One officer yelled that we need to “stop doing stupid shit”. They asked what we were doing under the bridge, where we were going, personal information (name/date of birth/do you have ID?). Then their attention switched to the fact that my niece’s bike didn’t have a headlight. I asked if they were detaining us.

You are free to go, but we are detaining her
What are you charging her with?
LEAVE! GO!
These minors are my responsibility, I cannot leave them.

Officer Hayes (badge #591686) then proceeded to arrest me. He patted me down, took my wallet, read my Miranda rights, handcuffed me, and put me in the back of the cruiser.

The policemen then proceeded to search my bag, confiscating my pistol among other contents. From the car, I could see that they also separately questioned the children.

Mr. Hayes gets in the car, and takes me to the Spokane County jail. I get to observe from the back seat police hypocrisy in action as he sends text messages, talks on his cell phone, and looks up my record on his in-car laptop while driving.

JAIL

Upon arriving at the jail, I made it clear that I will not answer any questions without first consulting my attorney. The short man with graying hair who appeared to be in charge addressed me:

You can go home now if you agree to answer the questions. Do you want to comply, or do you want to be a douchebag?
I want my lawyer
He wants to be a douchebag. Take him to the cell.

The other officers started scoffing and remarking about the stupidity of my decision. One, officer Elsassi looked at me and said, “Constitutionalist, right?”

Inside the cell, they took off my socks, patted me down, and took my glasses and my ring. The officer in charge then took my sweater, before they slammed the door shut. “Enjoy, smartass!”

The room was cold, with AC running non-stop and the vent directly above the bench. This was a problem, because I was barefoot, and wearing nothing except a wet t-shirt and gym shorts. I started shivering violently.

I was tired, but I couldn’t sleep. The bench was not wide enough for me to stretch my legs, but that was a minor problem compared to the cold. I stuck my hands in my armpits to keep them warm, but there was nothing I could do about my feet: the toes were so cold, they hurt.

Fortunately, after a couple of hours, I couldn’t feel my feet anymore and dozed off. I was waken up by the sound of jingling keys: a cop came in to try to persuade me to “follow the protocol” and berating me for my “lack of cooperation”. From there on, whenever I would manage to doze off, a cop would wake me up and try to get me to “cooperate”. Every time, the conversation ended the same way: I would ask to call an attorney, and they would leave after promising to keep me there longer.

One time, I wake up to find a paper bag w/ sandwiches, milk, and an apple in the sink. It must be morning. I use the bag and its contents for a pillow.

A non-uniformed woman (court clerk?) calls out my name:

Vitaliy Maksimov? Is that you?
Yes.
Do you want a public defender, or will you hire an attorney
I will hire an attorney
OK, you will go to court @ 1:30

I need to hire an attorney, so I try to get the attention of several officers. “Excuse me, I need to make a phone call, please!” They ignore me.

Finally, after what seems like half an hour later I get the attention of one cop.

I’d like to make a phone call
You can’t, not from here
What do you mean?
You’re in here, for a reason. Were you angry when you came in? Were you not cooperating?
I just need to make a call to my attorney
You can’t. Not from here.

A big burly cop comes in. “Get up, man”. I can’t read his nametag or see his face without my glasses.

You need to stop being a jerk-off, and follow the protocol so you can go home
I want to call my attorney
You can call him after you let us fingerprint you, take your mugshot, and answer some questions
I have a constitutional right to an attorney
Yes, you do, but you know how it works? First, you have to be brought in before the magistrate. But first, you need to follow the protocol -- or we’ll keep you here.
Forever?
I can legally keep you until midnight
I’d like to call my attorney
See you tomorrow!

He slams the door.

I need a blanket, please!
You can’t have one, not down here

During another visit, a female cop (officer “Hoshka” -- I couldn’t read the tag, and she wouldn’t spell her name for me) explained to me how “stupid” I was for having a “stupid smile” and not answering questions. She enumerates the stupid things I did, starting with refusing to let them question me when I first came in. “You could have gone home!” I ask to make a phone call to my attorney. Officer Hoshka leaves in frustration.

She wakes me up a little time later:

The judge ordered your release. You can go home now. What does that mean to you?
It means I’m going to go see my attorney
I need you to cooperate
I need to speak to my attorney, first
Listen, if you don’t follow the protocol, I can legally hold you for another 13 hours
I’d like to consult my attorney, please
[more talk about how stupid I am]

It is now past noon, I know because I got a second paper bag with identical contents. Paper bags make lousy socks, but beggars can’t be choosers. The pressure intensifies. A female cop informs me that my wife paid the bail (she did it hours prior), and shows me the forms as proof. They must fingerprint me and take my picture before they let me go. I submit.

They take the mugshots and weigh me. I sign the jail release form, and the receipt for the cash from my wallet that they put on a debit card. They return my belongings and take my prints. The burly cop takes me outside, where Olga is waiting. He explains to her, that he needs to explain to her the importance of showing up for the court date and knowing where to go, because he thinks I’m still angry and maybe can’t think straight, and that maybe there’s also a language barrier.

Finally, I’m free. Or at least, as free as I can be in a society where a cop can put me in jail for refusing to obey their arbitrary orders, and where I’m subjected to torture for exercising my Constitutional rights.

AFTERMATH

At home, I realized that I forgot to ask for my gun back, and that the jail didn’t return my backpack. I will be in the area on June 26, and will see if I can get my property back. I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback since I made the original post, including references for local constitutional attorneys. Please keep them coming, guys. My intention is to file a lawsuit against several of the parties involved, in an attempt to help change the “anti-Constitutionalist”, “us vs them” culture that is prevalent among the law enforcement officers. Police need to remember who they work for, and respect citizens’ rights.