By Matt Coughlin
The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — When a police officer learned about a lawsuit against a Plainfield Township man who created a lawn sign to raise money for a wounded state trooper, the officer became “outraged” enough to start a fundraiser to help pay the sign maker’s legal costs.
Forks Township police Cpl. Shawn Hummer said he’s hoping to raise $50,000 to cover the costs of Nolan Kemmerer’s legal fees. Kemmerer, who produced 3,000 signs with the hashtag “PSPStrong” to raise money for a state trooper shot while on patrol, is being sued by PSP Strong Association for trademark infringement.
After state police Cpl. Seth Kelly was shot in November during a traffic stop on Route 33 in Plainfield Township near Kemmerer’s home, the sign maker felt compelled to do something to help. So the owner of Rapid Wraps N’ Signs made the lawn signs and sold them for $10 a piece.
Hummer said Kemmerer raised about $19,000 for Kelly, keeping about $2,000 to cover the cost of the materials to make the signs, which say “Trooper Kelly #pspstrong.” Pennsylvania State Police use the initials PSP.
Hummer — who works with Kelly’s wife, Detective Philomena Kelly, and is good friends with the Kellys — said that after he heard about the signs Kemmerer created, he went and got a bunch for Forks officers, meeting Kemmerer for the first time. In the ensuing weeks, Hummer said, he ended up picking up several more signs to be distributed to police officers he knew at nearby departments.
“[Kemmerer] donated 100 percent of his time and effort, he put a lot of time and effort into this, and the thanks he gets is a lawsuit,” Hummer said.
After learning about Kemmerer’s signs, a small Luzerne County nonprofit, PSP Strong Association, contacted him with a cease-and-desist letter that escalated into a lawsuit.
PSP Strong Association is a state trooper support organization created in the wake of the ambush and shooting of two troopers in Pike County by Eric Frein.
The lawsuit alleges Kemmerer improperly used the nonprofit’s name and likeness and seeks an injunction and more than $50,000 in damages.
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The president of the nonprofit, Danielle Petros, has said she had no choice but to sue after Kemmerer refused to sign paperwork agreeing not to use the name again.
Kemmerer’s attorney, Andrew Bench, pointed out the nonprofit was denied trademarking PSP Strong by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office because of its similarity to Sony’s PlayStation Portable game system. However, that decision is under appeal.
Still, Hummer thinks the whole dispute is outrageous. So he has started the GoFundMe account for Kemmerer’s legal fees. If the money raised exceeds the fees, the remaining money will be donated to St. Luke’s University Health System’s “Stop the Bleed” campaign. The campaign is an attempt to equip all first responders with tourniquets.
Kelly has largely been credited with saving his own life by applying a tourniquet to himself in the moments after being shot.
©2018 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)