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County officers face barring of retail gun sales
Weapon used in shooting at Towson Town Center was linked to officer’s shop
By Anica Butler
Sun Staff
Originally published March 17, 2005, 8:48 PM EST
Baltimore County police officers would be barred from outside work involving the sale of firearms under a policy drafted after officials learned that the weapon used in last month's fatal shooting at Towson Town Center was bought in a gun shop owned by a county officer, police said Thursday.
County police said they wrote the policy because of the gun shop's connection to the shooting at the Towson mall and to the 2000 crime spree by Joseph A. Palczynski.
"It's not a good thing for our officers to be involved in," said Baltimore County Police Chief Terrance B. Sheridan.
The president of the county's police union called the policy -- which is to take effect in two weeks -- an "unnecessary restriction."
"It flies in the face of state law and the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights," said Cole B. Weston, president of the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police, adding that the union likely will challenge the rule.
A draft of the policy says it will prohibit "employment where the member is engaged in the sale, exchange, trading or otherwise dealing of firearms or ammunition."
A Baltimore County Police spokesman said the policy will only apply to the retail sale of guns, and that officers who collect, trade and sell vintage weapons, for example, would not be affected. The policy would apply to the more than 1,800 sworn officers on the county force, but is expected to directly affect only a few officers, Sheridan said.
Officers already are prohibited from working at establishments that sell alcohol. They are also barred from working as private detectives.
Police said that the shotgun used to kill William A. Bassett at Towson Town Center last month was bought from The Gun Shop in Essex, which they said is owned by a county police officer. In 2000, a woman purchased a shotgun and ammunition for Palczynski at the store, along with an assault rifle and ammunition from a Reisterstown shop, before Palczynski went on a two-week rampage that left four people dead.
A spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said in 2000 that the stores did nothing illegal in selling the guns that ended up in Palczynski's hands, although an Essex woman was convicted of purchasing the guns for Palczynski, who was a convicted felon.
County police said that the gun used in Bassett's slaying was legally bought and sold.
The Gun Shop, on Eastern Boulevard in Essex, is owned by Officer Robert L. Warnick II, and previously was owned by his father, Officer Robert L. Warnick, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman. Both currently are Baltimore County police officers working at the Essex precinct.
The younger Warnick was among the members of the department's dive squad to be honored for making rescues during Tropical Storm Isabel.
Attempts to reach the Warnicks Thursday were unsuccessful.
A Web site for the store says it carries rifles, shotguns, pistols, revolvers and assault weapons, along with accessories for guns and fishing tackle.
Weston, the union official, said the chief is overstepping his authority by creating the restriction, and that the union should have been consulted before the rule change. He added that the officers involved with the gun shop have done nothing wrong.
"We know and follow and obey the laws. There are laws in place governing the purchase of handguns and a week from now those laws will still be in place," Weston said. "It's a complex issue, and I think the focus needs to be on the criminal who committed the crime."
Sheridan said that the department would work with any officers affected, possibly giving them up to six months to either sell their business or quit a job.
"We're not saying they can't sell firearms and ammunition. You just can't be a Baltimore County police officer and do it," Sheridan said. "We believe that as a government agency we have a right to regulate what our employees do. We don't want our police officers doing things that could besmirch the reputation of our organization."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...y?coll=bal-local-headlines&ctrack=2&cset=true
Weapon used in shooting at Towson Town Center was linked to officer’s shop
By Anica Butler
Sun Staff
Originally published March 17, 2005, 8:48 PM EST
Baltimore County police officers would be barred from outside work involving the sale of firearms under a policy drafted after officials learned that the weapon used in last month's fatal shooting at Towson Town Center was bought in a gun shop owned by a county officer, police said Thursday.
County police said they wrote the policy because of the gun shop's connection to the shooting at the Towson mall and to the 2000 crime spree by Joseph A. Palczynski.
"It's not a good thing for our officers to be involved in," said Baltimore County Police Chief Terrance B. Sheridan.
The president of the county's police union called the policy -- which is to take effect in two weeks -- an "unnecessary restriction."
"It flies in the face of state law and the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights," said Cole B. Weston, president of the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police, adding that the union likely will challenge the rule.
A draft of the policy says it will prohibit "employment where the member is engaged in the sale, exchange, trading or otherwise dealing of firearms or ammunition."
A Baltimore County Police spokesman said the policy will only apply to the retail sale of guns, and that officers who collect, trade and sell vintage weapons, for example, would not be affected. The policy would apply to the more than 1,800 sworn officers on the county force, but is expected to directly affect only a few officers, Sheridan said.
Officers already are prohibited from working at establishments that sell alcohol. They are also barred from working as private detectives.
Police said that the shotgun used to kill William A. Bassett at Towson Town Center last month was bought from The Gun Shop in Essex, which they said is owned by a county police officer. In 2000, a woman purchased a shotgun and ammunition for Palczynski at the store, along with an assault rifle and ammunition from a Reisterstown shop, before Palczynski went on a two-week rampage that left four people dead.
A spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said in 2000 that the stores did nothing illegal in selling the guns that ended up in Palczynski's hands, although an Essex woman was convicted of purchasing the guns for Palczynski, who was a convicted felon.
County police said that the gun used in Bassett's slaying was legally bought and sold.
The Gun Shop, on Eastern Boulevard in Essex, is owned by Officer Robert L. Warnick II, and previously was owned by his father, Officer Robert L. Warnick, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman. Both currently are Baltimore County police officers working at the Essex precinct.
The younger Warnick was among the members of the department's dive squad to be honored for making rescues during Tropical Storm Isabel.
Attempts to reach the Warnicks Thursday were unsuccessful.
A Web site for the store says it carries rifles, shotguns, pistols, revolvers and assault weapons, along with accessories for guns and fishing tackle.
Weston, the union official, said the chief is overstepping his authority by creating the restriction, and that the union should have been consulted before the rule change. He added that the officers involved with the gun shop have done nothing wrong.
"We know and follow and obey the laws. There are laws in place governing the purchase of handguns and a week from now those laws will still be in place," Weston said. "It's a complex issue, and I think the focus needs to be on the criminal who committed the crime."
Sheridan said that the department would work with any officers affected, possibly giving them up to six months to either sell their business or quit a job.
"We're not saying they can't sell firearms and ammunition. You just can't be a Baltimore County police officer and do it," Sheridan said. "We believe that as a government agency we have a right to regulate what our employees do. We don't want our police officers doing things that could besmirch the reputation of our organization."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...y?coll=bal-local-headlines&ctrack=2&cset=true
