He'll get an Article 15, demoted to 2nd Lt. and booted out with a RE2 discharge code. He thinks being in the service helps promote freedom in this country ~ he does not understand the role of the military too well."
As a retired member of the military, your comment tells me your own understanding of the military is sadly lacking. While an officer's career
may screech to a halt if they're convicted or even charged in a civil matter, it's not a given. Furthermore, no member of the military is subject to courts-martial nor non-judicial punishment (Article 15) for civilian matters.
Specifically, "A court-martial has no power to adjudge civil remedies. For example, a court-martial may not adjudge the payment of damages, collect private debts, order the return of property, or order a criminal forfeiture of seized property" (Rule 201. Jurisdiction in general, U.S. Manual for Courts-Martial, 2012, Part II, Chapter II, p. 9). Both courts-martial and NJP (Article 15) are limited to offenses "made punishable by this chapter," meaning the chapter governing jurisdiction. The UCMJ recognizes double-jeopardy, or as they call it, "Former jeopardy" (§ 844. Art. 44.): "(a) No person may, without his consent, be tried a second time for the same offense." Finally, Part V, "Nonjudicial Punishment Procedure" specifically states: para "1.f.(5) Civilian courts. Nonjudicial punishment may not be imposed for an offense tried by a court which derives its authority from the United States."
So...
Can he get an Article 15 for this civil matter?
No.
Can he be demoted to 2nd Lt. for this civil matter?
No.
Can he be dismissed from the service for this civil matter?
No.
The forum is fairly lax in most matters except legal. When it comes to legal matters, you should never state anything as fact unless you have the verifiable resources which back it up.
Back to the real issue, Monterey County Deputies really screwed the pooch on this one, and the sick, twisted DA's office went back for sloppy seconds. I'm with countryclubjoe on this one. This is a clear case of law enforcement gone wrong, with the DA's office abusing their authority to cover the Deputies' butts. Aquino should file both civil and criminal charges in federal court for racial profiling, assault, unlawful detainment (what the deputy said), unlawful arrest (the fact he was handcuffed, trespassing... Essentially any and all violations of his civil rights.
As it is, Monterey looks pretty stupid right now, and their continuing stupidity will hurt their economy as sane, rational people steer clear of their buffoonery. They may only see it as a decline in tourism and either quantity or quality of influx, but the results will be felt, including lower tax revenues, disproportionate lowering of property values, lower median incomes for workers and lower net worths for those moving to the area.
This kind of stupidity has the power to destroy vacation towns. While I don't think Detroit-level destruction will happen as the result of this one incident, California in general is awash in the stupidity of similar actions. They're in debt up to their eyeballs and the best and brightest are fleeing the state to greener pastures.