Anyone know the story behind this one? .... Nude dancers in Battle Creek raided

Well I don't see how the police could tell them to leave unless they told the whole party to leave. Unless the town has a "no nudity policy" because that is considered a "private club" or "private residence". So that would mean you couldn't have strippers come to a private party at your house or you can't have your wife dance naked for you... ;-)

So hopefully nobody will get a ticket in this ordeal.

@crsm27: Are you kidding, or just naive? The police tell people to do stuff all the time that they have no authority to tell them to do. They do it deliberately, knowing that most people will just do it.

"Anyone know the story behind this one? ...."


The Masons must be horny! LOL!

True that, GMD. And they are getting more militarized.

gmd.... I know they did it don purpose.....Like I said....they must have wanted to break up the party. If they would have given tickets.... People could fight it unless the city has an ordinance.

So, let me get this straight. Police can force their way into a private party and break it up because people are dancing nude?? So does this mean that the police can break into a private home and arrest anyone who happens to be nude? I'm not sure what ordinance was violated. After all, the party was private.

By the way, this police department has a very questionable track record-- several of their officers have been arrested and/or dismissed because of DUI issues.

Why not arrest violent criminals & leave sex between consenting adults alone.

The Gestapo police where I live break into people's private homes without a search warrant and without permission just to arrest people drinking who are under 21 years old, I have mixed feelings about that. I believe the drinking age should be 18 to start with. However many young people may get in cars and drive drunk without thinking about it. I don't want to get hit by a drunk driver. However if parents want to give alcoholic drinks to their kids on their own private property I think they should be allowed to without the law breaking in and arresting people. I was given a little bit of whiskey when I was only a few years old when I had a cold and I was fine. It was just like taking cold medicine.

I had a beer at a St Louis zoo when I was only 15 or 16, no one used to check ID. I didn't even know it was beer. I was just thirsty and found something to drink. No problem at all.

It was Battle Creek, so maybe they were on the road to Wellsville. :)

The police have a lot of leeway when they're in receipt of a "valid" or credible complaint from a neighbor or responsible party.

The police in this country have run rampant not worrying about following the constitution or people's rights in many cases. I believe many now believe they can do just about whatever they want to do unless it puts the local police department in hot water with elected officials or actual illegal activity. I've heard about people dying from being tased for minor infractions and being strip searched on the side of the road in public. The days where the police act like Andy Griffith seem to be long gone. On the bright side, the local police do seem to catch a lot of thieves and violent criminals in my local town. You just feel like they are the Gestapo if you ever get pulled over by them.

So much vitriol on so few details.

They got a call about a fight, what were they supposed to do? Shine the flashlights in the bushes and keep driving?

A quick google search gives a lot more details.

The cops got reportS (plural) about fights. They walked in and found sex acts being filmed and drugs. They apparently routinely rent out the building (tells you something about the state of Free Masonry) and this was such an instance.

They were also apparently right across the street from the Police Station, so they're idiots to begin with.

No vitriol intended Jester. The reports are inconsistent regarding what prompted the visit by the police. One report (see MLive) suggests that the officers noticed a "commotion" and did a walk through-- no mention of reports of a fight spurring a police visit, nor any reports of a violation of a noise ordinance. Other reports are inconsistent about the presence of drugs at the party-- evidently no arrests were drug related. Regardless of what prompted the visit by the police, I have concerns about police arresting people for having sex at a PRIVATE party and charging them with disorderly conduct. I also have concerns about the police breaking up a PRIVATE party (and possibly charging people with indecent exposure)because people were dancing nude.

In general, I support the concept of government restraint when it comes to individual rights especially when those rights are exercised in private settings. The protection of individual rights should apply to nudity, nude dancing and having sex, as long as the party is PRIVATE and as long as all parties are consenting adults.

Evidently the Masons were distraught that their building was being used for such activity but that is an issue of refining a rental agreement and taking civil (not criminal) action if there is a violation of the rental agreement.

The cops were jeelous that they wernt invited and pulled a power trip