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| 5/21/2008 10:19:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Burlington resident and congressional candidate Joe Baker waves to a passing Racine County Sheriff’s Deputy along Milwaukee Avenue May 2. Just 10 days later, Baker was riding in the back of a squad with a deputy when he was arrested for obstruction in Waterford outside a fund-raiser for incumbent Congressman Paul Ryan. |
| | Baker disputes arrest details, believes activism begets unfair scrutiny | By Patricia Bogumil
Staff Writer
Joseph Baker counts U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan among the people who've smiled or waved when they see Baker around town wearing a hand-painted "Have a nice day!" sign.
But Baker, 42, of Burlington, suspects other politicians are responsible for his being arrested and removed from the area of a recent Ryan fund-raiser in Waterford.
As he recalls it, Baker was having a real nice day May 12 while standing with a sandwich board bearing his "nice day" message near Runzheimer International on Highway 164, Waterford.
Before the police showed up that evening, Baker was smiling and waving at people driving past into a fund-raiser being held for Ryan at the Runzheimer headquarters.
People were receptive to the positive message on his signboard, Baker recalls, and even Ryan's face lit up and the congressman gave him a big smile as he passed by, Baker said.
But Baker never got a chance to wave goodbye when the party faithful left.
By the time the fund-raiser ended, Baker had been arrested on several misdemeanors, sprayed in the face with a chemical disabler and escorted to the Racine County Jail, where he stayed for several hours until his wife arranged for payment of a $500 signature bond.
Shaken by the experience and concerned about the serious nature of the charges against him, Baker argues that his arrest was unreasonable if not unlawful.
He said he can't afford to pay a lawyer to argue his case, and said his efforts to speak with Racine County Sheriff Robert Carlson about the incident have been ignored.
Monday night, Baker said he disputes some of the information contained in the complaint written up against him, and even wonders if parts of it were made up to give the sheriff's department a cover story for actions taken that evening.
Baker is a card-carrying member of the Racine County Republican Party, currently running a low-cost write-in campaign against Ryan.
He is using signs painted with a simple "Have a nice day!" slogan to gain public awareness.
Baker said this kind of peaceful, grassroots effort has a long and successful tradition in Wisconsin, and noted that both former Sen. William Proxmire and Rep. Les Aspin used signs as a strategy early in their political careers.
Baker said he wonders if last week's incident developed because party big wigs were unhappy with his presence outside the Ryan fund-raiser and worried about the effectiveness of his campaign against Ryan.
Baker said he regrets that no video of the incident was recorded by the sheriff's department.
He also regrets not equipping himself with an audio recorder that could have bolstered his version of the events that took place May 12.
Baker said he did not give the sheriff's department deputy who approached him a false name or touch the deputy, as reported.
"I do not recall at all grabbing at the officer's clothes," Baker said. "He did try to trip me and all I did was try to keep my balance."
Baker admits he did refuse to hand over his driver's license to the sheriff's deputy, but said he believes there was no probable cause for him to be asked for identification.
"The point is we are not in a country where you have to show your papers wherever you go," Baker said.
According to the case detail report, a sheriff's deputy observed Baker's vehicle stopped on the north side of Highway 164 with its hazard flashing lights on.
The deputy approached Baker, who was standing nearby with his sign, to check on Baker's welfare. Baker reportedly explained he was running for Congress, and the deputy left after wishing him good luck in his bid for office.
The deputy was ordered back to the area soon after when dispatch advised that Baker's vehicle registration plate was expired.
The deputy was also asked to ID the person walking with the signboard, since someone with a signboard had been in the area a couple of days earlier, causing problems
That person "had gone missing" and police had not been able to identify him, according to the report.
Baker questions the validity of the missing second signboarder, and said he only stood with his signboard near Runzheimer May 12.
Baker said he has asked the sheriff's department for written evidence of the earlier disturbance, and is concerned about the possibility of a frame-up.
Baker said he feared he was in danger of being "tased," or hit by a device similar to a stun gun May 12. Instead, the deputy reportedly shot pepper spray into Baker's face after warning Baker he would be sprayed if he did not cooperate with getting handcuffed.
After the spraying, Baker ran down the side of the highway screaming in pain.
He was then handcuffed and taken into custody without further incident, and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting/obstructing an officer.
Meanwhile, Baker's plans for this weekend are uncertain.
He said he had hoped to walk the grounds of ChocolateFest with his "nice day" campaign message, but is concerned that could be seen as a violation of his bond conditions.
Baker said he is asking the court for clarification.
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His 'nice day' included pepper spray, handcuffs
Candidate arrested after allegedly obstructing deputy outside fund-raiser
Mark Dudzik
EDITOR
The sandwich board slung around his torso read "Have a nice day" but Burlington resident and congressional candidate Joe Baker had anything but that on May 12 when he was arrested by the Racine County Sheriff's Department.
The 42-year-old local activist was subsequently jailed on two counts of resisting/obstructing an officer and one count of disorderly conduct.
The day started out innocuously enough for Baker, as according to a sheriff's department report, he took up post along Highway 164 near Runzheimer International in Waterford.
Wearing his sandwich board, Baker waved to passing motorists while silently urging them to "Have a nice day" while inside the Runzheimer building supporters of incumbent Congressman Paul Ryan were holding a fund-raising event.
Shortly after 6 p.m. a deputy with the sheriff's department spotted Baker's car along the highway with its emergency flashers on and saw the would-be politician about a tenth of a mile down the road.
According to the report, the deputy approached Baker to check on his welfare, at which Baker allegedly got defensive and told him, "this isn't against the law."
Agreeing with him and wishing him good luck in his congressional bid, the deputy left Baker to respond to another call.
The deputy returned to Baker a short while later after learning from a dispatcher that the plates on his vehicle were expired.
When the deputy asked Baker for his driver's license, the report states that Baker denied being Joe Baker, but rather called himself "Thomas Baker" and began walking away from the deputy.
Asked again for his license, Baker allegedly told the deputy he wasn't required to show him it and jammed his hands behind the sandwich board.
Ordered three additional times to reveal his license, Baker continued to refuse, claiming the deputy had no right to see it.
Upon the deputy informing Baker the plates on his car were expired, Baker reportedly denied driving the vehicle to the scene. He finally acknowledged he was behind the wheel of it when the deputy asked how it had gotten there.
After again being ordered to turn over his license to the deputy, the report states that Baker held it out but quickly jerked it away when the deputy went to reach for it. Holding it around three feet away from the deputy, Baker reportedly told him he could only look at it. The back and forth exchange took place two more times, according to the deputy, before he told Baker he was under arrest.
It was at that point, the report states, that Baker refused to place his hands behind his back and tried to pull away from the deputy upon attempts to handcuff him.
Breaking free, the report notes that at one point that Baker stepped toward the deputy and attempted to bury his head in the his chest or grab at his uniform.
In an attempt to get Baker under control so he could be restrained, the deputy reportedly pushed Baker off of him and pulled out his pepper spray canister and ordered Baker to stop resisting.
Baker then reportedly placed his hands behind his back and shouted, "don't Taser me."
After telling Baker it was pepper spray and not a Taser, the deputy said Baker once again charged at him and attempted to grab his shirt.
Squirting him with short burst of pepper spray, the deputy documented that Baker started screaming and running along Highway 164. The deputy then caught up with him and took him into custody.
It was during the ride in the squad car en route to the Racine County Jail when the deputy said Baker began laughing and stated that he would have given $1,000 to see himself on video, running around with the sandwich board after having been sprayed.
He was subsequently released on a $500 signature bond pending resolution of the charges.
All three counts are misdemeanors. The two resisting/obstructing an officer counts are Class A violations while the disorderly conduct falls into the Class B category.
Baker gained local notoriety back in April, when he crafted some signs urging people not to file their taxes. He then stood outside the Burlington Post Office with signs in tow on the tax-filing deadline, hoping to convince others to refuse filing a tax return as he has.
A few weeks later Baker made news again by announcing that he would challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan as a write-in Republican candidate.
This week he accused the Republican party of violating his free speech, after he was shut out from speaking at this year's state party convention in Stevens Point.
In a press release, Baker said he intended to speak to delegates to urge them to abstain from voting in the first two rounds and use the third to vote for Ron Paul, Baker's personal candidate of choice.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Article comment by:
CB
Its interesting at the two different sides of the story, I wish there was a tape of that day to prove what really happened
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