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Ruling bars rangers from guns
By Mark Prado, IJ reporter
Officers say Mt. Tam patrols are dangerous without protection
A recent court ruling means rangers who patrol 22,000 acres of land on Mount Tamalpais cannot carry firearms while they make their rounds, investigating everything from calls about gunshots to marijuana plots.
"It's remote and we are usually up there alone, yet we have no protection," said Jackson Barker, a Marin Municipal Water District ranger. "It's a public safety issue and personal safety issue.
"We don't have that deterrent anymore," he said, noting rangers were ordered to turn in their firearms 18 months ago.
The MMWD rangers - who now total seven - were deputized by then Sheriff G. Albert Howenstein in 1980 in light of a series of murders in rural parts of the county. Serial killer David Carpenter, known as the Trailside Killer, was arrested the next year and sentenced to death.
The rangers continued to carry revolvers until February 2003, when a management firm conducting an audit on behalf of the district questioned whether the district is allowed to have park rangers serve as peace officers under state law.
Marin Superior Court Judge John Sutro ruled recently the rangers could not be deemed "peace officers" by the water district. Such a designation can be made by the state Legislature.
The ruling means Barker and other rangers must patrol unarmed.
"If you are wearing a weapon someone is going to be less likely to start something with you than if you are not wearing weapon," said Barker, who has been a district ranger for five years. "There is a security there."
The rangers have to deal with a variety of circumstances, not only potentially violent disputes, but wildlife issues. Last year a bear was spotted on the mountain, and mountain lions lurk there as well, Barker said. The threat of terrorism has added security of the district's publicly accessible reservoirs to their watch.
"Basically we have nothing except for Mace," Barker said, "and that doesn't work too well when the wind is blowing."
The president of the MMWD board said the agency is considering asking for special legislation to allow rangers to carry firearms, although a final decision hasn't been made.
"The public should be reassured that the county sheriffs have authority on our land," president Alex Forman said. "It's not like no one is there to help."
But Barker noted sheriffs deputies often have to come from far away and are unfamiliar with MMWD lands.
"How can we respond if another Trailside Killer makes an appearance?" Barker asked board directors at a meeting last month. "The badge and the uniform lead people to expect we can and will intercede when they need help."
Some water districts in the state have the authority to have peace officers on staff as a result of special legislation.
In Marin, none of the county's park or open space rangers carry weapons or have peace officer status, while all of the Point Reyes National Seashore's rangers and a contingent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area rangers function as peace officers.
Aside from the Trailside killer case, there have been other instances of violence on Marin's public lands.
Kenneth Patrick was the first U.S. park ranger murdered in the line of duty when he was shot by deer poachers in the Point Reyes National Seashore in 1973.
Three men went to Point Reyes to hunt deer with a crossbow and when Patrick, 40, shined his flashlight into their car, he was shot three times.
MMWD general manager Paul Helliker said he expects a resolution to the issue soon.
"We'd like to solve this problem and make sure the watershed is protected," he said.
http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24407~2323419,00.html
By Mark Prado, IJ reporter
Officers say Mt. Tam patrols are dangerous without protection
A recent court ruling means rangers who patrol 22,000 acres of land on Mount Tamalpais cannot carry firearms while they make their rounds, investigating everything from calls about gunshots to marijuana plots.
"It's remote and we are usually up there alone, yet we have no protection," said Jackson Barker, a Marin Municipal Water District ranger. "It's a public safety issue and personal safety issue.
"We don't have that deterrent anymore," he said, noting rangers were ordered to turn in their firearms 18 months ago.
The MMWD rangers - who now total seven - were deputized by then Sheriff G. Albert Howenstein in 1980 in light of a series of murders in rural parts of the county. Serial killer David Carpenter, known as the Trailside Killer, was arrested the next year and sentenced to death.
The rangers continued to carry revolvers until February 2003, when a management firm conducting an audit on behalf of the district questioned whether the district is allowed to have park rangers serve as peace officers under state law.
Marin Superior Court Judge John Sutro ruled recently the rangers could not be deemed "peace officers" by the water district. Such a designation can be made by the state Legislature.
The ruling means Barker and other rangers must patrol unarmed.
"If you are wearing a weapon someone is going to be less likely to start something with you than if you are not wearing weapon," said Barker, who has been a district ranger for five years. "There is a security there."
The rangers have to deal with a variety of circumstances, not only potentially violent disputes, but wildlife issues. Last year a bear was spotted on the mountain, and mountain lions lurk there as well, Barker said. The threat of terrorism has added security of the district's publicly accessible reservoirs to their watch.
"Basically we have nothing except for Mace," Barker said, "and that doesn't work too well when the wind is blowing."
The president of the MMWD board said the agency is considering asking for special legislation to allow rangers to carry firearms, although a final decision hasn't been made.
"The public should be reassured that the county sheriffs have authority on our land," president Alex Forman said. "It's not like no one is there to help."
But Barker noted sheriffs deputies often have to come from far away and are unfamiliar with MMWD lands.
"How can we respond if another Trailside Killer makes an appearance?" Barker asked board directors at a meeting last month. "The badge and the uniform lead people to expect we can and will intercede when they need help."
Some water districts in the state have the authority to have peace officers on staff as a result of special legislation.
In Marin, none of the county's park or open space rangers carry weapons or have peace officer status, while all of the Point Reyes National Seashore's rangers and a contingent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area rangers function as peace officers.
Aside from the Trailside killer case, there have been other instances of violence on Marin's public lands.
Kenneth Patrick was the first U.S. park ranger murdered in the line of duty when he was shot by deer poachers in the Point Reyes National Seashore in 1973.
Three men went to Point Reyes to hunt deer with a crossbow and when Patrick, 40, shined his flashlight into their car, he was shot three times.
MMWD general manager Paul Helliker said he expects a resolution to the issue soon.
"We'd like to solve this problem and make sure the watershed is protected," he said.
http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24407~2323419,00.html
