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.'"
For the uniniated "Normal" is a city in Illinois.
Some Central Illinois police departments are moving ahead to comply with a federal law
Some? Is complying with a federal law an option?
Illinois, one of just five states that prohibit private citizens from carrying concealed weapons in public.
As long as the legislature is controlled by dims that's the way it will be in Illinois too.
Ping
Ping
How is this possibly Constitutional? The people who get to carry the guns are no longer police officers, just regular guys. Sounds like unequal protection...
If the 2nd amendment meant anything, we would all be able to conceal and carry.
Fair or not it's the federal law and some places are treating it as an optional thing.
Anybody know the other four states that do not allow it?
It's in the DemocRat Constitution.
"Anybody know the other four states that do not allow it?"
Illinois
Kansas
Nebraska
Wisconsin
The article says 5 states total. Is New York one of them?
There is another word for this...But then again this is Illinois...
Hypocracy...
Empowerment and the right of everyone to effective methods of self-defence does not seem to be a big priority with a majority of the citizenry of that State...I've seen it for too long there...
Fire a couple of people there, and rid yourselves of their kind, and you might get somewhere...Namely, Blagovich and Daly...
Later,
Steve
I had an evil thought - suppose the states which have "shall issue" laws on concealed carry permits tell the states which do not honor those permits that they will no longer honor drivers' licenses from states that don't recognize the permits. That'd raise the issue in states like Illinois, Maryland and other repressive Democrat-controlled enclaves.
Retired cops are no more or less likely to screw up with their guns than the average law-abiding citizen, so special considerations for them very much annoy me.
However... Illinois, one of just five states that prohibit private citizens from carrying concealed weapons in public.
They may be referring to Virginia and/or others that have "open carry" laws.
I'm not sure why the article would state that....they may still think that Missouri is still a "not issue" state, but that was changed this year.
We are now proudly a "shall issue" state. Took long enough to get it too.
I know a guy who used to work in a psychiatric facility that had to take a .25 auto away from an 80 some odd year old man with syphilitic dementia. Not fun.
The whole idea perpetuates the idea that the police are somehow elite and fit to carry weapons to protect themselves and others, while the rest of us aren't. Quite the contrary, the more of us, the everyday Joes who carry, the better it will be for everyone. We need to break down the walls in areas that aren't friendly to citizen carry, not pass bills allowing ex-cops to carry.
No, it is difficult to obtain one, but it can be done.
It gives a special privilege to the Elite. I'd presume I can carry to and f*ck what the law says. It either applies to every one or to none at all.
I like to think that cops are elite. My father is an ex-cop and benefits from this law. He dedicated 29 years of his life trying to protect an extremely dangerous city. I woke up everyday not knowing if my father would come home alive. I never knew if the police would show up at school and take me to see my father on his deathbed at a hospital because he was in a shoot out. I will never have a problem with ex-cops being able to carry a concealed weapon while others may not. Cops go through counless hours of training on how to properly use their weapons. My father estimated that he shot over 40,000 rounds in training alone. That is the reason why ex-cops are given a free pass on being able to carry a concealed weapon.
Thank you to all police officers and fellow family members of police officers.
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