Posted on 11/04/2013 7:56:03 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The Sanford Police Department is backing off a proposal to ban Neighborhood Watch members from carrying guns, but it still wants volunteers to leave their firearms at home and will make that recommendation at a community meeting Tuesday night, police Chief Cecil Smith said Monday.
"We originally came out with a stern, 'You should not,'" Smith said. "We took a second look at it."
Smith now recommends that people forgo their guns while they are performing their Neighborhood Watch duties. Smith said he could legally have dictated a ban, but he decided it was better to include people rather than to exclude them.
"We want people to feel as though they are part of a movement," Smith said. "And it's smarter for us to say, listen, if you're going to be a part of it, you need to abide by the rules. And it's a voluntary organization and if you choose not to be a part of it, you don't have to be a part of it."
The proposed policy change upset some gun advocates, who said the Police Department was planning to trample their Second-Amendment rights. Smith acknowledged hearing complaints but said that was not the primary reason he reassessed....
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
maybe this idiot’s officers should go out unarmed?
yeah, sounds stupid doesn’t it.
if i’m in that neighborhood watch, i’m armed or i’m not in it.
In other words, the attorney for the Sanford PD told them that they had no authority to issue such an order.
Who would ever be a neighborhood watch person? In Sanford? LOL
” Smith said he could legally have dictated a ban”
I would like to know which Florida statute gives him that power.
Like telling a race driver he was not allowed to wear a helmet because of some accident that had happened.
They fear a lawsuit if a watchman is whacked while on duty.
...and that they would be swamped with liability lawsuits if they did.
Well, I think if he had stuck to his original plan, all the neighborhood watch guys would have quit. Who the hell wants to go walking alone around the neighborhood in the night without any way of defending himself?
Better to quit, and then carry a gun as a private citizen—who just happens to do a little watching around the neighborhood. On his own time, of course.
Now they say their first admonition was “you should not”. The way I read the initial story, it was “you shall not”. There’s a big difference.
GMTA......
There isn’t one, and they know it. Private citizens with a CCW permit are private citizens, even if they are also Neighborhood Watch volunteers. People are allowed to defend themselves— at least in FL.
When I walk my dog I am “neighborhood watch.” Maybe unofficial, maybe unorganized but... I have a cell phone, 800 lumen light, legal (barely) folding knife, and my G19 with spare mag. As long as I have my CC permit no-one can tell me I can’t carry on the street.
next step would be to disband any formal neighborhood watch and go fromthere.
Yeah, getting your head bashed in is much better outcome than carrying a gun.
maybe this idiot’s officers should go out unarmed?
My thoughts exactly!What makes the officers rights more important than mine? their training? psychological screening? Maybe that’s why there is such a high number of alcoholic law enforcement officers, or the high number of spouse abusers and of course let’s not forget the escalating number of stories of law enforcement officers “over reacting”. Don’t get me wrong the vast majority of law enforcement are good, honest people, but in the end they are no different than the rest of us.
This idea was obviously not vetted with all due diligence. Somebody didn’t do their homework before opening their big mouth, now they look silly and pushed around.
A neighborhood watch is set up because thieves, burglars, rapists and general bad actors are roaming the place where you live.
The cops want the good guys to walk the streets, in the dark, armed with a flashlight and a cell phone to call the cops{who are only 30 minutes away, when the perp is 15 feet away}.
There is both a right to carry and a right to stand your ground in Fl, so the chief didn't have a legal leg to stand on.
Disgraceful. The bottom line here is that the Police chief would rather have had a dead neighborhood watchman than a dead thug. I agree with those who say the cops should be the ones disarmed. If its good enough for citizens it is good enough for them. If they feel threatened they can call the armed police, just like they prefer us to do.
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