Animal-Rights Activist Arrested at Gunpoint at
Marine Center in Florida, Accused of ALF Affiliation
September 14, 2011
The pilot whale known as 300 rises on a stretcher Sunday at the
Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo for transport to SeaWorld in
Orlando. The day before, Miamian Christopher Lagergren was arrested
for trespass and vandalism at the conservancy.
A Miami police officer arrested animal rights activist Arnold
Christopher Lagergren, 41 outside the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key
Largo, Florida on Saturday. The off-duty officer detained Lagergren at
gunpoint after phone calls to police accused the man of taking pictures
of the facility and tampering with a fence along the property.
Lagergren is charged with four misdemeanors for incidents at the marine
center. Police reports accuse Lagergren of affiliation with the Animal
Liberation Front.
The Marine Mammal Conservancy treats stranded dolphins and whales. The
organization has come under criticism for turning two stranded pilot
whales over to Sea World back in May.
Monroe County Court Judge Regan Ptomey set bonds totaling $30,000 on the
four charges, according to court records.
"This is a very politically charged situation, obviously," said Richard
Wunsch, Lagergren's defense attorney.
"It does raise concerns," Wunsch said. "Anybody would wonder how you get
hit with a $30,000 bond on four misdemeanors--"
Animal rights groups
have criticized
Sea World for its part in the captive whale and dolphin entertainment
industry. The for-profit animal amusement park has been cited for abuses
of captive animals at its facilities.
For more information:
KeysNet.com
An off-duty Miami police officer arrested at gunpoint an animal-rights
activist outside a marine-mammal rehabilitation site in Key Largo.
Arnold Christopher Lagergren, 41, also of Miami, is charged with four
misdemeanor counts of trespass and vandalism for alleged incidents at the
Marine Mammal Conservancy. Police reports describe him as affiliated with
the international Animal Liberation Front organization, which advocates
"direct action" against animal captivity.
The Marine Mammal
Conservancy was founded to treat stranded whales and dolphins and prepare
them for return to the wild. However, two pilot whales from a Lower Keys
stranding in May were turned over to SeaWorld after experts concluded that
neither a calf nor a sickly adult could survive if released.
Javier
Ortiz, described in a Monroe County Sheriff�s Office report as an off-duty
Miami police sergeant, was volunteering Saturday with the conservancy when
he blocked Lagergren�s car and pulled a gun on the suspect. Monroe County
Court Judge Regan Ptomey set bonds totaling $30,000 on the four charges,
according to court records.
"This is a very politically charged
situation, obviously," said Richard Wunsch, Lagergren�s defense attorney.
"It does raise concerns," Wunsch said. "Anybody would wonder how you get
hit with a $30,000 bond on four misdemeanors after being arrested by an
armed guy 100 miles from his jurisdiction."
On Saturday, Monroe
Deputy Sever Hustad was responding to a 2:50 p.m. trespass report at the
Hampton Inn, adjacent to the MMC site at mile marker 102.2. Hustad said he
saw a Dodge Challenger speed up to cut off a Ford Mustang that was headed
toward U.S. 1 from a Hampton Inn driveway.
"The driver of the Dodge
Challenger immediately identified himself as a law enforcement officer,
taking the driver of the Ford Mustang out at gunpoint and immediately
securing the driver with handcuffs," Hustad wrote.
Ortiz told the
deputy that he had just entered the water at MMC to work with the 12-foot
adult whale when he saw Lagergren taking photos from across a canal.
Lagergren, who had been warned previously to stay off MMC property, then
crossed onto the site, Ortiz told Hustad.
The Miami officer said
Lagergren attempted to tamper with an MMC fence, then fled.
On Aug.
21, former MMC official Robert Lingenfelser told deputies that at 4:15 a.m.,
he saw two men trying to dismantle a fence across a canal, marking an area
used for animal rehabilitation. The two ran off but Lingenfelser said he
recognized Lagergren from previous encounters.
Lingenfelser said an
FBI agent told him that Lagergren "is going to attempt to release any caged
animals [or] mammals into their natural habitat."
The FBI has
described the Animal Liberation Front as a domestic terrorist organization
known to be involved in crimes.
The adult pilot whale was moved to
Orlando late Sunday.
Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/14/2406772/animal-rights-activist-arrested.html#ixzz1XzaTDQiu
