Posted on 12/19/2004 5:42:14 PM PST by Graybeard58
Some Central Illinois police departments are moving ahead to comply with a federal law that allows retired veteran police officers to carry concealed handguns.
President Bush signed the legislation, which Congress passed last summer, as a way to enlist more help in the war on crime and terrorism. The bill applies only to officers who had at least 15 years on the job.
The idea appears to be popular among retired officers. About a third of the roughly 800 retired officers from the Illinois State Police have expressed interest, said spokesman Lt. Lincoln Hampton, adding the agency is in the process of writing standards for the program.
"If there was something going on in the community where I felt I would be safe, where my family would be safer or I felt the community would be safer by me carrying it (a concealed gun), I might choose to carry one at that time," said Andy Wood, 56, who is one of two retired Normal police officers who have qualified to carry a concealed gun.
Wood expects those times to be few, but they do happen, he said. He recalled at least once, while on the force but off-duty, when he used his weapon to disarm a knife-wielding man trying to force his way back into a bar after being ejected.
"As long as they are able to qualify, you're going to have a good set of eyes and ears out there that you're not paying for," said Pontiac Police Chief Don Schlosser, whose department is in the process of designing an identification card for its retired officers.
However, the law is raising some questions in Illinois, one of just five states that prohibit private citizens from carrying concealed weapons in public. State legislation to address issues with the federal law is expected to be introduced when the General Assembly returns in January.
For example, a retired officer's former department certifies its retirees, raising liability concerns among some officials. They also cite the need for statewide standards on how often retired officers should be retested on a firing range.
"That's the concern of a lot of chiefs," said Lora Beem, former chief of the Sauk Village Police Department in suburban Chicago. Beem is an instructor with the Illinois Police Training Institute in Champaign, one of five state police academies used by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to train police.
State police are requiring retirees to carry their own liability insurance, Hampton said.
Some Central Illinois police officials also agree with colleagues in Chicago who would like to see a universal identification card to prevent counterfeiting. They also want a national database that lists qualified retirees so on-duty policemen can access it in case a question arises.
The Springfield-based training and standards board is the agency proposing legislation for the General Assembly's spring term. The bill is being drafted by a committee comprised of police administrators and unions representing officers, board spokeswoman Sheila Albright said.
Despite the concerns, Central Illinois law enforcement officials contacted last week were generally in favor of allowing veteran police officers to be armed and expect few significant problems from the law. They also take comfort in the fact the federal law grants them the power to refuse a retired police officer whose physical or mental condition has diminished with age.
"It's not going to be a big deal for us," Normal Police Chief Kent Crutcher said.
Bloomington Police Assistant Chief Ed Moser said his department began qualifying retired officers last week.
Some of the concealed-carry laws on the books in other states impose few requirements before a citizen can carry a gun. Others mandate a 16-hour training course and retraining at specific intervals. Why shouldn't that right be extended to retired law enforcement officials? Moser asked.
One problem some local officials do have with the federal law is that it requires retired officers to comply with state rules that apply to sworn police officers still on the job. But Illinois only requires officers to qualify with a handgun once at the beginning of their careers. Further training requirements are left to the police agencies. Beem said at least half of the agencies in the state do not require routine requalification.
The training and standards board's bill addresses that issue by proposing retired officers undergo annual recertification. But Bloomington Corporation Counsel Todd Greenberg and Crutcher wonder if that's enough.
They worry a person's physical and mental condition can erode quickly with age. If so, they said, a department should have the information as soon as possible to revoke permission to carry a firearm, much like the government can revoke a person's driving privileges or pilot's license.
"Our retirees are very level-headed," Greenberg said. "But when you reach our 70s and 80s, we are all subject to mortality. ... That's not a reflection on police officers. Human beings are all prone to that. There are people in their 90s I would totally trust around a firearm. There are others it would only be a recipe for disaster."
Normal Corporation Counsel Steve Mahrt would like to see statewide testing standards to lessen the chance cities will be held liable if a retired officer is involved in a shooting. Mahrt thinks Congress should go further and ensure city, county and state governments are immune from civil action.
"That could be addressed in some cleanup bill," he said.
Still, Mahrt disagreed with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who called the federal law "a trial lawyer's dream." Mahrt pointed out cities already issue licenses for a variety of purposes without assuming liability.
While McLean County Sheriff Dave Owens is in favor of arming retired officers, he also is looking to the state for recommendations on how to put the plan into effect.
"I've always been an advocate of (retired) correctional officers and law enforcement (to carry concealed guns)," Owens said. "... I'm waiting for the state to say, 'Here's the curriculum.'"
Then I would encourage you to examine why "others may not". Is that a conservative value in your estimation? Is the 2nd Amendment for retired police officers?
Why don't you try and change the laws in your state to allow for you to carry a concealed weapon? We did here in Michigan, and now non-ex-cops have the right to carry a concealed weapon, too.
Is the 2nd Amendment for retired police officers?
Like the way cops rarely write each other tickets but instead chuckle about it, I doubt that he cares.
Same here. The rest of us law-abiding folks remain disarmed. I'd like to see the law challenged on 14th Amendment grounds. Congress cannot discriminate between one class of citizens and another based on their status. We do live in an aristocracy. We live in the United States Of America.
Sorry we don't live in an aristocracy. All men are created equal. Or are cops somehow more special than the rest of us? That is the question.
Wow. I guess nobody will really understand unless they live with a cop.
Thank you.
PS: To all police officers, I say "Continue to not write each other tickets. I don't really care. If that's a way for me to thank you for your sacrifice, then so be it."
That's all I'm going to say about this.
Have a wonderful night, everybody, and Merry Christmas, too.
"80 some odd year old man with syphilitic dementia"
What was the Senator's name?
I live in the great state of Texas, and I carry Sig Sauer P220, .45acp pistol as a daily carry. Luckily my state has shown considerably more sense than IL.
For what it's worth, my son-in-law is a police officer in crime ridden Shreveport. Not to take anything away from him, he's a good man, but he doesn't have a greater right to protect his family than I have the right to protect mine. Sorry you can't see that.
Congress woman Jan "Shit-cow-ski" is gonna be mad! She does not want any law abiding citizen especially an officer to carry a gun.
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