Gun-toting group files federal lawsuit

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Five men who entered a Madison restaurant with open guns and holsters have filed a federal lawsuit.

Police eventually dropped obstruction and disorderly conduct charges against all five. But they still said the police department violated their rights against unreasonable searches and seizures by detaining them.

Officers were called to a Culver’s Restaurant on Madison’s northeast side last September. They searched and arrested Frank Rock and Shawn Winrich after both refused to give police their names.

They and Steve Jensen, Matthew Lutz, and Paul Fisher were released after their backgrounds were checked. All five were members of the group Wisconsin Carry Incorporated – and they said they were exercising their rights to openly carry weapons, as spelled out a year ago by the attorney general.

The group itself filed a lawsuit last fall, which is still pending. It seeks undisclosed damages against six officers and the city of Madison.

The new lawsuit seeks to end a police policy to give disorderly conduct citations when somebody complains about open carries. The city attorney says his office will defend the officers, but made no other immediate comment on the new lawsuit.

Tags: crime and courts, wisconsin, government