Posted on 06/22/2011 3:41:54 AM PDT by abb
Any residents of St. Helena Parish caught riding around the parish with assault weapons will be arrested, Sheriff Nat Williams warned Tuesday.
“As far as them riding around with an assault rifle, it will not be tolerated,” he said. “Somebody with an assault weapon is no different from a criminal and will be treated the same way.”
Some residents of the parish’s 6th Ward, angered by a rash of recent break-ins, have conducted informal patrols, sometimes while armed with AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, the civilian version of the U.S. military’s M-16.
“If somebody is out riding around with an assault weapon, that’s not protecting the neighborhood, that’s terrorizing the neighborhood,” Williams said.
“Anybody want to ride around their own community, that’s fine, call us,” Williams said. “But any assault weapons, they’re going to jail.”
Williams and other officials met with leaders of the ward’s newly formed Community Watch on Tuesday morning to let them know that those doing the patrolling did not need to be heavily armed.
“The meeting went well,” Williams said.
In a written statement, Williams said the meeting had “cleared up some misunderstanding and agreed on some policy matters that will guarantee a better working relationship.”
As for residents riding around with assault weapons, “We nipped that in the bud,” Williams said.
At least one of the patrollers, Alton Travis, said he had not heard that yet.
“Nobody’s told me anything about an assault rifle,” he said.
However, Travis said that calling the deputies was always the plan of those on patrol, and the guns were just for protection.
Calls to other leaders of the Community Watch program were not returned.
Both the M-16 and the AK-47 rifles are capable of full automatic and semiautomatic fire, but special licenses are required to possess fully automatic firearms in the U.S.
True assault rifles are capable of being operated in fully automatic and semiautomatic modes, at the user’s option. They are designed for, and used by, military forces, but they also are used by some law enforcement agencies.
Williams also announced in his statement the arrest of 15 people accused of burglaries and other crimes around the parish.
All but two of the 15 were arrested and booked with crimes that occurred in the 6th Ward, Chief Criminal Deputy Chester Pritchett said.
Williams said those arrested were responsible for the majority of break-ins in the parish.
“It’s all been taken care of,” Pritchett said. “We are in the process of recovering stolen property.”
Travis called the arrests “very reassuring.”
“That’s the best thing that’s happened in a long time,” he said.
Several weeks ago, the St. Helena Parish Sheriff’s Office moved three deputies who work under a federal grant for Community Oriented Policing Services, also known as COPS, into the 6th Ward.
“When we have a problem area, like we have in the 1st and 6th wards, we pull them in,” Pritchett told a meeting attended by several hundred 6th Ward residents last week.
Those efforts are working, Williams said.
Of possible interest to your groups.
FIRE the anti-gun jerk.
NOW.
Sheriff Nat Williams, Democrat (obviously).
elitist scum law dog alert
assault weapons
assault weapons
assault weapons
idiot sheriff
This fascist ahole sheriff apparently doesn’t know the difference between a semi-automatic rifle and a full automatic rifle.
What an arrogant pr*ck.
I'd go even further and suggest he be imprisoned for infringing on the God-given rights of the people. But not only fire him for being anti-American, but fire him for being incompetent and unable to do his job. Perhaps if he was doing his job and dealing with that rash of break-ins instead of oppressing law-abiding citizens, there would be less of a need to openly carry firearms
When guns are outlawed only the (gestapo) law enforcment will have guns.
ping
Assault weapons! LOL!
If the cops had been doing their job there would not be any requirement for the people to do the job for them.
Police = incompetence and political correctness...not protection.
Waiting for the FR jackboot licking brigade to say, "The police are on our side."
My Rights are not negotiable.
He should work with these patrols rather than come out against them like this. The Citizen militia is a lot more numerous, not to mention cheaper, than his regular Deputies.
One of the members of the patrol is Alton Travis, who is also a St. Helena parish school board member. I know him and have worked with him for over a year on an issue.
A federal judge last year threatened to IMPOSE a school tax on the parish (county).
Well sure glad ridng around in their own community is ok with you Nat.
That said if this is a crime watch patrol then as you pricks have labeled em for your own use.... its not an assault rifle its my patrol rifle.
Someone needs to open two 24 & 7 indoor firing ranges ..an then see if Nat the nitwit gets a law suit for arresting someone going to an from the ranges at each end of their own ....community.
My opinion...
This guy will break his Parish treasury and he will be forced from office and face prosecution for violation of Constitutional and Civil Rights.
LLS
Shot guns are a different story. Riding shotgun is still ok
This story was in the Baton Rouge newspaper, which gets wide coverage. I’m busy this morning seeing to it that talk radio and the blogosphere here in Louisiana also know about it.
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