Posted on 03/24/2006 10:02:56 AM PST by neverdem
DEL MAR – The 2006 San Diego County Fair opens June 10, and still unresolved is whether off-duty law enforcement officers can carry their weapons inside the fairgrounds.
The dispute, which began last summer, is headed for trial in federal court if an agreement isn't reached by the fair's start.
The 22nd District Agricultural Association, which operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds, says the armed and uniformed sheriff's deputies on duty during the fair, along with its own security officers, can handle any situation.
Off-duty law-enforcement officers routinely carry their weapons and are expected to respond to a disturbance or other situation. Fairgrounds officials are concerned that an off-duty officer responding to an incident in civilian dress could pose a threat to other officers and to the public's safety.
The Deputy Sheriff's Association of San Diego County and the San Diego Police Officers Association, along with the police officers associations in Escondido and Oceanside, disagree.
“An off-duty officer should be able to carry weapons anywhere,” said James Duffy, president of the deputies' association. “We're an asset to public safety.”
Richard L. Pinckard, the attorney for the deputies and police officers, says the ban violates federal law, which allows off-duty peace officers to carry their firearms on public property unless a state legislates against it.
The 22nd District Agricultural Association's “administrative policy” does not rise to the level of a state law, Pinckard said.
The law enforcement associations boycotted the June 10 start of last year's fair over the no-guns policy, and the sheriff's and the San Diego police officers associations filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the ban.
The dispute goes back to the 2003 and 2004 fairs, when off-duty officers were prevented from entering the fairgrounds while armed.
They scored a preliminary victory June 27 when U.S. District Court Chief Judge Irma E. Gonzalez issued a temporary restraining order blocking the fairgrounds from enforcing its no-guns policy for the remainder of last year's fair, which closed July Fourth.
The plaintiffs won another round Aug. 30, when Gonzalez denied a fairgrounds request to dismiss the suit. The judge found that there was a “reasonable expectation that the plaintiffs (the deputies and police officers) will be subjected to the concealed weapons policy at future fairs.”
Fairgrounds security chief Pat Kerins said he hoped a policy would be in place by the time the fair opens.
Both sides have met several times since last summer in an attempt to resolve the issue, said Timothy J. Fennell, the fairgrounds CEO and general manager.
The officers want a “clear statement” that they will not be prohibited from carrying their weapons when off duty.
The fairgrounds wants a mechanism in place to determine who, exactly, is a bona fide law enforcement officer, and also who will make that determination.
“We will adhere to the letter of the law and any outstanding court orders,” Fennell said March 14.
The 22nd District Agricultural Association maintains it has the right to regulate the possession of weapons on the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
Deputy Attorney General Deborah M. Fletcher, who represents the fair board, said last summer that any change in policy or a new policy would have to wait for a legal opinion from California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
Lockyer “has a long-standing policy of not issuing attorney general's opinions if there is litigation on the same issue,” spokesman Nathan Barankin said.
The San Diego County Fair is the only event at the fairgrounds where the firearms ban applies. The policy went into effect during the final three days of the 2003 fair, and metal detectors now screen all fairgoers for knives, guns and other weapons.
The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the fairgrounds' major tenant, is responsible for its own security arrangements and has no restrictions on armed off-duty officers attending the seven-week summer race meet.
Spokesman Mac McBride called the races “a different kind of environment,” and with smaller crowds.
Private venues such as Disneyland, Magic Mountain and Legoland in Carlsbad prohibit off-duty officers from carrying their weapons. The San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park, along with Petco Park and SeaWorld, which are located on public property, do not.
James Steinberg: (619) 542-4569; jim.steinberg@uniontrib.com
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