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Here's one you don't see every day, from the Bend Bulletin in Central Oregon:
Nurse to get concealed handgun license back
Weapon went off in hospital, prompting permit revocation
By Cindy Powers / The Bulletin
Published: August 02. 2008 4:00AM PST
Former St. Charles Bend nurse Belinda Hallcraft appears Friday in Deschutes County Circuit Court for a hearing on her petition to get her concealed handgun license back. Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton, front, revoked her license after her handgun went off at the hospital. A judge reinstated her license after the hearing.
A former St. Charles Bend nurse whose concealed handgun license was revoked after her gun went off inside the hospital will get the license back, under a court ruling handed down Friday.
Belinda Sue Hallcraft, 52, fought the revocation, saying Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton didn’t have a legal basis to revoke it.
On Friday, Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Tiktin ruled from the bench that, while Blanton was right to pull the permit based on what he knew at the time, Oregon law doesn’t support a permanent revocation.
“I think the sheriff did the right thing, and I think now that we have had a chance to evaluate the circumstances completely, I think it is appropriate that the license be reinstated.”
Hallcraft testified that she had taken the .38 caliber Derringer Cobra into the hospital inside her purse on May 9 when she went to work her shift as a registered nurse.
When her shift was over at about 7:30 p.m., Hallcraft accidentally knocked her purse off a counter and the gun fired into a nearby wall, according to a report filed by the Bend Police Department.
Hallcraft, who had been a nurse at the hospital for 17 years, was fired after the incident, and Blanton revoked her concealed handgun license May 15.
Hallcraft testified that, after the gun went off, she did some research and found out the model was particularly susceptible to misfires. She also testified that the gun had the safety on and was inside a holster and a zippered pouch when it went off.
Sue Brewster, the Deschutes County sheriff’s legal counsel, put on evidence at the hearing that St. Charles Bend has signs posted at every entry advising visitors that only law enforcement officers are allowed to carry weapons inside.
Hallcraft responded that she tried to find an official policy against weapons by asking hospital staff, but that no one knew of one.
Brewster also showed that Hallcraft had failed to update her address with the Sheriff’s Office, as required by law, after she moved.
But the Oregon statute only allows for the revocation of a concealed handgun license under very limited circumstances, Tiktin said.
The law says the sheriff can revoke a handgun license if he finds that a person is a danger to self or others as a result of the person’s mental or psychological state, or if the person has shown a pattern of behavior involving violence or threats of violence.
Blanton said that, in revoking the license, he had concerns about a permit holder whose weapon would suddenly discharge.
“It was my opinion that, given both the nature and the circumstances when the weapon went off, it was my belief that Ms. Hallcraft’s mental state as demonstrated by her poor judgment in letting a firearm go off around other people in a place where they were restricted based on St. Charles policy was a danger,” Blanton testified Friday.
But Tiktin found that the accidental discharge of the gun did not constitute even a single act of violence.
“She was apparently unaware of the danger that this particular gun posed and, when she knocked it off the counter, it was nothing more than a noncriminally culpable accident,” Tiktin said.
Tiktin also said he had no reason to believe that Hallcraft suffered from a mental or psychological disorder that would render her a danger to herself or others.
He did express concern about her disregarding the hospital’s policy against weapons.
“I don’t think you can disregard that sign because, once you get inside, there is no one who clearly knows what the policy is,” he said.
Though he acknowledged he had no legal authority to do so, Tiktin advised Hallcraft to take another gun safety class before getting her license back, as well as demonstrating knowledge of gun safety to the Sheriff’s Office.
After the hearing, Hallcraft said it was a bit intimidating to take on the sheriff, but she felt it was important to clear her name.
“Because it was an accident, and I didn’t feel I was a threat to the community,” she said, “I have worked in this community as a caring nurse for 30 years, and I don’t want to say I was insulted, but it kind of hurt when they said I was dangerous. And I really thought I needed to be heard.”
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Published Daily in Bend Oregon by Western Communications, Inc. © 2008
Nurse to get concealed handgun license back
Weapon went off in hospital, prompting permit revocation
By Cindy Powers / The Bulletin
Published: August 02. 2008 4:00AM PST
Former St. Charles Bend nurse Belinda Hallcraft appears Friday in Deschutes County Circuit Court for a hearing on her petition to get her concealed handgun license back. Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton, front, revoked her license after her handgun went off at the hospital. A judge reinstated her license after the hearing.
A former St. Charles Bend nurse whose concealed handgun license was revoked after her gun went off inside the hospital will get the license back, under a court ruling handed down Friday.
Belinda Sue Hallcraft, 52, fought the revocation, saying Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton didn’t have a legal basis to revoke it.
On Friday, Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Tiktin ruled from the bench that, while Blanton was right to pull the permit based on what he knew at the time, Oregon law doesn’t support a permanent revocation.
“I think the sheriff did the right thing, and I think now that we have had a chance to evaluate the circumstances completely, I think it is appropriate that the license be reinstated.”
Hallcraft testified that she had taken the .38 caliber Derringer Cobra into the hospital inside her purse on May 9 when she went to work her shift as a registered nurse.
When her shift was over at about 7:30 p.m., Hallcraft accidentally knocked her purse off a counter and the gun fired into a nearby wall, according to a report filed by the Bend Police Department.
Hallcraft, who had been a nurse at the hospital for 17 years, was fired after the incident, and Blanton revoked her concealed handgun license May 15.
Hallcraft testified that, after the gun went off, she did some research and found out the model was particularly susceptible to misfires. She also testified that the gun had the safety on and was inside a holster and a zippered pouch when it went off.
Sue Brewster, the Deschutes County sheriff’s legal counsel, put on evidence at the hearing that St. Charles Bend has signs posted at every entry advising visitors that only law enforcement officers are allowed to carry weapons inside.
Hallcraft responded that she tried to find an official policy against weapons by asking hospital staff, but that no one knew of one.
Brewster also showed that Hallcraft had failed to update her address with the Sheriff’s Office, as required by law, after she moved.
But the Oregon statute only allows for the revocation of a concealed handgun license under very limited circumstances, Tiktin said.
The law says the sheriff can revoke a handgun license if he finds that a person is a danger to self or others as a result of the person’s mental or psychological state, or if the person has shown a pattern of behavior involving violence or threats of violence.
Blanton said that, in revoking the license, he had concerns about a permit holder whose weapon would suddenly discharge.
“It was my opinion that, given both the nature and the circumstances when the weapon went off, it was my belief that Ms. Hallcraft’s mental state as demonstrated by her poor judgment in letting a firearm go off around other people in a place where they were restricted based on St. Charles policy was a danger,” Blanton testified Friday.
But Tiktin found that the accidental discharge of the gun did not constitute even a single act of violence.
“She was apparently unaware of the danger that this particular gun posed and, when she knocked it off the counter, it was nothing more than a noncriminally culpable accident,” Tiktin said.
Tiktin also said he had no reason to believe that Hallcraft suffered from a mental or psychological disorder that would render her a danger to herself or others.
He did express concern about her disregarding the hospital’s policy against weapons.
“I don’t think you can disregard that sign because, once you get inside, there is no one who clearly knows what the policy is,” he said.
Though he acknowledged he had no legal authority to do so, Tiktin advised Hallcraft to take another gun safety class before getting her license back, as well as demonstrating knowledge of gun safety to the Sheriff’s Office.
After the hearing, Hallcraft said it was a bit intimidating to take on the sheriff, but she felt it was important to clear her name.
“Because it was an accident, and I didn’t feel I was a threat to the community,” she said, “I have worked in this community as a caring nurse for 30 years, and I don’t want to say I was insulted, but it kind of hurt when they said I was dangerous. And I really thought I needed to be heard.”
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Published Daily in Bend Oregon by Western Communications, Inc. © 2008
thinking down there?"
