Drizzt
Member
Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)
April 24, 2003 Thursday Spokane Edition
SECTION: MAIN NEWS; Pg.A1
LENGTH: 1014 words
HEADLINE: Alarm leads to shooting at gun shop;
Owner responded to burglary rather than risk fine for false alarm
BYLINE: Thomas Clouse, Staff writer
BODY:
Spokane police didn't respond when the burglar alarm sounded at Dave A. Staley's gun shop.
That's because Staley had told his security company to call him first - so he would avoid any possible fines for a false alarm.
The fines are in place to try to free up officers who respond to about 7,000 burglary alarms every year in Spokane, 90 percent of which are tripped by faulty equipment or employees who don't know the system.
This one, just after 4 a.m. on April 9, was real.
''As I pulled up into the parking lot in the front, I saw movement inside the store," Staley said.
The former police officer grabbed his .40-caliber pistol and walked around the back of Brock's Gunsmithing, 2104 N. Division.
There, Staley saw a man set down a backpack that someone else inside the store had passed out a window.
''As he started to stand up, I told him to freeze," said Staley, who
already had his gun up and ready.
The man turned, lifted his right hand and Staley saw he had a gun.
''We were only 4 feet apart," Staley said. ''He brought the gun up and said, 'Get out of here.' Once he pointed the gun at me, I fired."
Staley shot 18-year-old Christopher Love in the left shoulder, dropping him to the ground.
Staley then dialed 911 on his cell phone - just 10 minutes after he
received the initial call from his security company.
Spokane police say the shooting was justified.
And they acknowledge that many business owners would rather have security companies call them instead of police to avoid the fines.
But they don't think the shooting is the start of a trend of violence
involving business owners leery of being fined.
''I think this is the anomaly," said Capt. Steve Braun, who couldn't
recall any other recent cases where business owners had to defend themselves.
Jim Brock, the store's other co-owner, said he understands that police can't make it to every call. ''But it would be nice if cops weren't threatening you with fines all the time," he said.
Deputy police Chief Al Odenthal said the alarm fines - which average $50 after a third false alarm - are a necessary evil.
''The system is not designed to collect money. It uses the distaste of the fines to make people work with the alarm companies to fix why the false alarms are going off," Odenthal said.
Braun said the department responds to about 7,000 burglary alarms a year. Well over 90 percent of those calls turn up empty. Of those, 500 to 600 result in fines.
The good news for business owners is that Spokane police still send officers to those calls.
At least nine major cities - including Baltimore, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City - have stopped responding to alarms that are not verified by a camera or someone at the scene.
''As far as I know, that discussion has not come up yet," Braun said of Spokane's policy. ''But as resources dwindle, you have to prioritize what you respond to."
Brock said he hopes Spokane doesn't stop responding to alarms.
''If police don't respond, you are going to have a bunch of shootings and you could get yourself shot," he said.
Jay Hunt, president of Allied Security in Spokane, said his industry is trying to work with law enforcement to avoid a blanket no-response policy.
''For those people who truly need protection, they deserve and need to have police respond," Hunt said.
And he supports the false-alarm fines.
''These things are not there to make life miserable for anybody," he said. ''We are trying to prevent false alarms and bring it to the attention of the people who are abusing them.
''When it hits their pocketbooks, it grabs their attention."
That worked for Spokane County. In 1989, it enacted an ordinance that fines business and homeowners after their third false alarm.
Last year, the county had 3,735 false alarms, of which 689 generated fines.
Sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said the county's false alarms were cut in half once it started issuing those fines.
''Without the fines, people didn't care if deputies responded 30 times a month," Reagan said. ''But if you ding them for false alarms, they insist that security companies fix the alarms."
The fines aren't levied against the security companies. They go to the business or homeowner.
Hunt said many of his clients ask to have the agency call them instead of the police when alarms are activated.
''Unfortunately, they are potentially creating a position like what
happened at the gun shop," Hunt said. ''That's not something we support."
Nor do the police.
Both Hunt and police officials say that once owners see an open door, broken window or hear noise, they should immediately call police.
''We don't suggest that the owner put themselves in a threatening situation," Hunt said. ''There is another option. That is private guard response."
In that case, paid guards would check out the building without burdening police or the owner. But that costs more.
Odenthal said the solution must come through education and cooperation with security companies. Many of the false alarms are simply a result of untrained employees or faulty equipment.
That's why the city sends letters to business owners for the first two false alarms. The third false alarm results in the fine, but judges often waive the charge if the people responsible for false alarms agree to attend a free false-alarm school put on by the city, he said.
As for Staley, who worked 23 years for police departments in California and Utah, he said he's sorry he had to shoot Love.
When police arrived, they found the 18-year-old registered sex offender had collapsed on a loaded .38-caliber pistol taken from inside the store.
The hammer was cocked.
Love and two other teenagers have been charged in the burglary.
''I would do it again if I had to," Staley said. ''I don't know what I
would have done different."
April 24, 2003 Thursday Spokane Edition
SECTION: MAIN NEWS; Pg.A1
LENGTH: 1014 words
HEADLINE: Alarm leads to shooting at gun shop;
Owner responded to burglary rather than risk fine for false alarm
BYLINE: Thomas Clouse, Staff writer
BODY:
Spokane police didn't respond when the burglar alarm sounded at Dave A. Staley's gun shop.
That's because Staley had told his security company to call him first - so he would avoid any possible fines for a false alarm.
The fines are in place to try to free up officers who respond to about 7,000 burglary alarms every year in Spokane, 90 percent of which are tripped by faulty equipment or employees who don't know the system.
This one, just after 4 a.m. on April 9, was real.
''As I pulled up into the parking lot in the front, I saw movement inside the store," Staley said.
The former police officer grabbed his .40-caliber pistol and walked around the back of Brock's Gunsmithing, 2104 N. Division.
There, Staley saw a man set down a backpack that someone else inside the store had passed out a window.
''As he started to stand up, I told him to freeze," said Staley, who
already had his gun up and ready.
The man turned, lifted his right hand and Staley saw he had a gun.
''We were only 4 feet apart," Staley said. ''He brought the gun up and said, 'Get out of here.' Once he pointed the gun at me, I fired."
Staley shot 18-year-old Christopher Love in the left shoulder, dropping him to the ground.
Staley then dialed 911 on his cell phone - just 10 minutes after he
received the initial call from his security company.
Spokane police say the shooting was justified.
And they acknowledge that many business owners would rather have security companies call them instead of police to avoid the fines.
But they don't think the shooting is the start of a trend of violence
involving business owners leery of being fined.
''I think this is the anomaly," said Capt. Steve Braun, who couldn't
recall any other recent cases where business owners had to defend themselves.
Jim Brock, the store's other co-owner, said he understands that police can't make it to every call. ''But it would be nice if cops weren't threatening you with fines all the time," he said.
Deputy police Chief Al Odenthal said the alarm fines - which average $50 after a third false alarm - are a necessary evil.
''The system is not designed to collect money. It uses the distaste of the fines to make people work with the alarm companies to fix why the false alarms are going off," Odenthal said.
Braun said the department responds to about 7,000 burglary alarms a year. Well over 90 percent of those calls turn up empty. Of those, 500 to 600 result in fines.
The good news for business owners is that Spokane police still send officers to those calls.
At least nine major cities - including Baltimore, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City - have stopped responding to alarms that are not verified by a camera or someone at the scene.
''As far as I know, that discussion has not come up yet," Braun said of Spokane's policy. ''But as resources dwindle, you have to prioritize what you respond to."
Brock said he hopes Spokane doesn't stop responding to alarms.
''If police don't respond, you are going to have a bunch of shootings and you could get yourself shot," he said.
Jay Hunt, president of Allied Security in Spokane, said his industry is trying to work with law enforcement to avoid a blanket no-response policy.
''For those people who truly need protection, they deserve and need to have police respond," Hunt said.
And he supports the false-alarm fines.
''These things are not there to make life miserable for anybody," he said. ''We are trying to prevent false alarms and bring it to the attention of the people who are abusing them.
''When it hits their pocketbooks, it grabs their attention."
That worked for Spokane County. In 1989, it enacted an ordinance that fines business and homeowners after their third false alarm.
Last year, the county had 3,735 false alarms, of which 689 generated fines.
Sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said the county's false alarms were cut in half once it started issuing those fines.
''Without the fines, people didn't care if deputies responded 30 times a month," Reagan said. ''But if you ding them for false alarms, they insist that security companies fix the alarms."
The fines aren't levied against the security companies. They go to the business or homeowner.
Hunt said many of his clients ask to have the agency call them instead of the police when alarms are activated.
''Unfortunately, they are potentially creating a position like what
happened at the gun shop," Hunt said. ''That's not something we support."
Nor do the police.
Both Hunt and police officials say that once owners see an open door, broken window or hear noise, they should immediately call police.
''We don't suggest that the owner put themselves in a threatening situation," Hunt said. ''There is another option. That is private guard response."
In that case, paid guards would check out the building without burdening police or the owner. But that costs more.
Odenthal said the solution must come through education and cooperation with security companies. Many of the false alarms are simply a result of untrained employees or faulty equipment.
That's why the city sends letters to business owners for the first two false alarms. The third false alarm results in the fine, but judges often waive the charge if the people responsible for false alarms agree to attend a free false-alarm school put on by the city, he said.
As for Staley, who worked 23 years for police departments in California and Utah, he said he's sorry he had to shoot Love.
When police arrived, they found the 18-year-old registered sex offender had collapsed on a loaded .38-caliber pistol taken from inside the store.
The hammer was cocked.
Love and two other teenagers have been charged in the burglary.
''I would do it again if I had to," Staley said. ''I don't know what I
would have done different."