The next chapter in my parking ticket saga has been written. As you may recall from Part 3, I have been attempting to get the Keene police to answer some basic questions about my alleged obligation to obey their laws and statues. I had written to KPD’s captain Kenneth Meola asking my questions and he refused to answer (see the PDF), saying:
I reviewed the questions you posed in hopes of trying to draft responses that you would find logical and convincing, but the very nature of your questions precludes that. Your view on these matters is obvious, and I’m confident I could not convince you otherwise.
Apparently, Meola, who is very nice about his refusal to respond and also very pleasant in person, feels no obligation to answer simple questions about the system he has insisted I am a part of. Because of his non-responsiveness, I am going up the chain to the police chief, Arthur Walker. Here is my letter to him, which I will be hand-delivering on Monday:
Arthur Walker
KEENE POLICE DEPARTMENT
400 Marlboro Street
Keene, NH 03431-4336Arthur,
You do not know me and I’m sorry to have to bother you with this matter, but I have been unable to remedy the situation I will describe with anyone beneath your rank in your organization. I have been discussing a VIOLATION (#XXXXXX) and subsequent Notices with Kenneth Meola. As administrator of my financial affairs, it is my responsibility to verify an agreement exists prior to paying an entity that is claiming I owe them money. It was to this end that I wrote Kenneth back on May 6th of this year.
I met Kenneth shortly thereafter at Project Graduation, where I was a volunteer, and he seems to be a nice man. Indeed, he was very pleasant about refusing to answer the very legitimate questions I had asked him about this matter.
I would like to inform you I am a peaceful man and will do no harm. I honor my agreements, and if there is evidence of one between me and your organization, I’ll happily pay your VIOLATION and the late fees. However, Kenneth refused to provide me with proof of my alleged obligation to obey your laws and statutes. In a discussion we had in 2008 he wrote the following:
While in the State of New Hampshire or City of Keene, you are bound to abide by the laws or ordinances regulating conduct, behavior, vehicle movement, etc…
I asked a number of questions to clarify this claim, which he refused to answer. Since he will not respond, I am going to ask them of you and also ask you to provide me with proof of obligation to obey your statues and laws. Here are the questions, please similarly enumerate your answers in your response:
1. Factually, what are the “State of New Hampshire” and the “City of Keene”?
2. What evidence do you have that I am in them?
3. By what method or instrument am I bound to your laws or ordinances?
4. How can I be bound to your statutes without my consent?If you would prefer to answer these questions in person, I know that there are many other people who would be very interested in hearing your responses and also engaging in this discussion. We could have a public discussion that would be recorded on video and distributed for the world to see. If you’d like to take that route, I leave that choice in your hands.
Also in your hands is your choice of how to respond. Will your agency continue to attempt to initiate conflict with me or will you do the honorable thing and discharge this matter? (Presuming you cannot prove your claim.)
Thank you in advance for your prompt reply.
Please note that any correspondence is subject to being posted on the blog at FreeKeene.com
Sincerely and with a full reservation of rights,
Ian Freeman
We’ll see what he decides to do…
