Tag: law enforcement

  • Journalists Need to Explain How the Second Amendment Keeps Everyone More Safe

    “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them.”

    Ephesians 5: 11

    The Philippines is just one of the many countries worldwide where journalists, lawyers and judges are slain and their killers go free. Mexico is also very dangerous for anyone that reports on the cartels and the cartels routinely eliminate large numbers of police officers within any city where the authorities take a stand against cartel domination. Mexico is a nation where almost every firearm in the hands of its own people is illegal.

    Even Mexican police officers are often disarmed when off duty because so many of them have been involved in the murder, rape and slavery perpetrated by the cartels across whole regions. So can the Philippines learn anything from Mexico?

    (more…)

  • Proposal for School Marshals in Washington State

    The following proposal for School Marshals in Washington state is republished from the March 15, 2018 Spokesman Review.

    There are once again many heated discussions about how to stop the carnage in our schools. A few years ago, we led a group of trial attorneys through an analysis of what it will take for Washington state school districts to seriously tackle the issue of protecting schools. It is apparent that Parkland School District in Florida will have to pay huge sums for its failure to anticipate mass murder that was very foreseeable.

    School Marshals- Not Teachers with guns. Many school boards and legislatures in other states have already embarked on a policy of authorizing armed personnel within school premises. Federal and Washington state law both leave it up to school boards to designate who will be armed in Washington schools. Nevertheless, most educators and school boards flatly reject proposals for arming teachers with guns.

    There is reason to believe that some Washington state schools are already taking quiet steps, however. Teachers who choose to undertake the training and responsibility of being a school marshal should not be denied the same opportunity to serve as certified School Marshals that we are proposing for other qualified personnel.

    Public Duty Doctrine It should not be a surprise to anyone that such matters are insurance driven. Washington state’s Public Duty Doctrine dictates that a policy decision not to deploy armed protection in the schools exposes school districts to very low levels of liability. That is because it is a pure policy decision and therefore immune from liability for almost any accidents that occur.

    (more…)

  • Implementing the Law Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act

    RE: OPINION LETTER RELATING TO IMPLEMENTATION OF
    LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ SAFETY ACT

    I. PURPOSE

    The following opinion answers questions related to questions raised by the WASPC as to whether a municipal law enforcement agency exposes itself to additional liability by certifying retired law enforcement officers as having met Criminal Justice Training Commission standards for firearms qualification. The purpose of the LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ SAFETY ACT OF 2004 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 926B and 926C) is to supplement active law enforcement personnel in order to deter crime and prevent terrorist activity. The federal law accomplishes this by anticipating that additional armed law enforcement personnel that have already been trained will be present within each jurisdiction as officers travel from one jurisdiction to another while on business, vacationing or for any other reason. (more…)

  • Brief in Support of Retired LEO Denied Federal LEOSA Card

    Petitioner has standing and states a claim upon which relief may be granted because LEOSA and the Administrative Procedure Act is appropriate for the relief sought. Johnson v. New York State Dep’t of Corr. Servs presents facts that are very different from the facts presented herein.  In Johnson, the Plaintiffs asserted a right to carry under LEOSA.  The court  held that Congress did not intend to create a private cause of action, but rather a private right. The Johnson court stated:

    For the same reasons as with consideration of the second Cort factor, the creation of a federal remedy would be inconsistent with LEOSA’s statutory scheme because Congress left the states with the authority to issue concealed firearm certifications. Therefore, this factor also weighs against the determination that Congress intended to establish a private cause of action.

    Johnson, supra (emphasis added).  (more…)

  • Carnage & the Culture of Slaughter: Mumbai November, 2008

    If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it.

    Proverbs 24:10-12

    The terrorist attack on Mumbai, India in November, 2008 lasted 60 hours. The fact that the attack continued for such an extended period of time with television news media focused almost continually on the events amplified the emotional impact.

    A 2006 train bombing in Mumbai killed more people but the 172 people that were gunned down marked a new level of terror because of the way that ten shooters were able to move through the city without any effective response from India’s law enforcement or military for several hours. Experts studying the operation have concluded that many aspects of the attack demonstrated new tactics that should be expected in future operations. (more…)

  • Seattle Area Cop Competes on Top Shot

    http://www.federalwaymirr…/138532209.html

    Range time on TV: Root for local ‘Top Shot’ contestant | Firearms Lawyer

    By MARK KNAPP

    Republished with permission from the Federal Way Mirror
    The Firearms Lawyer
    February 3, 2012

    Television programs that feature weapons and shooting technology are becoming very popular.

    One of my favorites is “Wednesday Night at the Range” on the Outdoor Channel — actually several different programs about self defense, competition shooting and the history of firearms.

    Then on Tuesday evenings at 10:00 PM Pacific Time on the History Channel there is Top Shot. The program has matches in which top military, law enforcement and competitive shooters compete with everything from antique pistols to .50-caliber sniper rifles and machine guns. (more…)

  • LEOSA Certification: From Federal Way to Federal Law Enforcement

    Amended LEOSA Empowers Retired Law Enforcement

    LEOSA has been around for about seven years now; most officers across many states aren’t very familiar with the law. Despite the 2010 amendments, understanding the LEOSA and related laws seems to be subject to some interpretation but we have received some help from a federal law enforcement officer who is also a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and NRA instructor. He keeps himself very well versed in Washington State and federal laws that relate to LEOSA.

    Active and retired LEOs should fully educate themselves on the firearm laws of any jurisdiction in which they are traveling and strive to always be in compliance with the various laws because their knowledge is what will ultimately protect them. We choose to carry concealed firearms for one purpose- to preserve life. The moment when the off-duty officer or retiree has to present that firearm and pull the trigger is critical because whether he was fully justified or not, those moments may land him in court explaining his actions. Things will be far more complicated if the court finds that the officer or retiree was in illegal possession of that firearm when he made the decision to deploy deadly force. (more…)

  • Deadly Force Training

    The purpose of the LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ SAFETY ACT OF 2004 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 926B and 926C) is to supplement active law enforcement personnel in order to deter crime and prevent terrorist activity. The federal law accomplishes this by anticipating that additional armed law enforcement personnel that have already been trained will be present within each jurisdiction as officers travel from one jurisdiction to another while on business, vacationing or for any other reason.

    The Act authorizes retired officers and active police officers from any jurisdiction within the United States to carry a concealed firearm within any jurisdiction of the United States; thus, increasing the likelihood that an armed officer will be present if circumstances warrant appropriate use of armed force. The retired officer must qualify annually per the standards that officers are required to meet for firearms proficiency within the agency from which he or she retired. For a retired officer to carry a weapon in all fifty states, the federal statute requires: (more…)

  • Should Officers Shoot to Wound?

    Republished from the Federal Way Mirror/The Firearms Lawyer

    Jun 03 2010, 4:35 PM · UPDATED

    Over the past several years, I have attended several firearms training programs and have begun teaching firearms law classes in Federal Way.

    One thing I have learned is that anyone who thinks he or she will get a medal for killing a perpetrator is sorely deluded. If the public often suspects that officers have killed suspects because of racial prejudice or malice, how will the public view armed citizens? The question often arises as to whether shooting to wound would be preferable than shots that are apt to kill. Is it realistic to require anyone to attempt nonlethal shots? (more…)

  • Law Enforcement Under Attack in Seattle, Tacoma & Worldwide

    http://www.stratfor.com/w…greek_terrorism

    According to William F. Jasper in an August, 2009 New American article entitled TERRORIST TARGETING OF POLICE, law enforcement should expect attacks to intensify around the world. The article cites statistics from another article by Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster (Los Angeles Police Department, retired) showing that “as of August 14, 2005, world-wide, there have been 554 terrorist attacks targeting police officers. These attacks resulted in 2,546 injuries and 1,327 fatalities.”

    Many of the attacks (on the increase since 2005) against police are the work of “Islamic extremists”. But many “Islamicists” maintain open cordial relations with non-Islamic governments, including Putin’s Russia. Jasper notes the history of Islamicist back-channel relations with the Russian KGB-FSB and GRU. Such channels provide arms, munitions, and explosives. (more…)