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Records Confirm at Least Seven ATF Gun Show 'Stings'
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=\SpecialReports\archive\200509\SPE20050901a.html
(CNSNews.com) - Virginia State Police records confirm that at least seven gun show "sting" operations since July of 2004 have targeted gun buyers in the Richmond, Va., area. The documents support allegations that protected information may have been illegally shared with local police and gun buyers' relatives and neighbors.
Cybercast News Service previously reported that nearly 500 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, state troopers, county and city police officers participated in an "ATF Task Force" targeting the Showmasters gun show in Richmond, Va., on Aug. 13 and 14.
Following that initial report, Cybercast News Service obtained Virginia State Police (VSP) records that show at least six other stings have been conducted in the Richmond area since the summer of last year.
According to a four page undated memo written by Virginia State Police (VSP) Capt. Robert G. Kemmler and obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA), the law enforcement activities at the Showmasters gun show on Aug. 13-14 involved "the same method of operation as previous gun shows.
"The Department (VSP) has participated in numerous Gun Show Operations at the Showplace over the past year," the memo states. "This is the first operation at the fairgrounds and the first operation that included the Henrico (County) Police Department."
C&E Gun Shows holds several shows each year at The Showplace Exhibition Center, located inside the city limits of Richmond, Va. According to the VSP memo, gun show sting operations were conducted there on July 10-11, Oct. 16-17 and Dec. 4-5, 2004 and Jan. 15-16, March 5-6 and May 21-22, 2005. Nearly 1,000 man hours were dedicated to the activities.
According to the VSP memo, the gun show stings are part of "an active gang related firearm program to reduce the number of firearms being purchased (by) and transferred to prohibited persons who may be involved in criminal and gang related activities.
"One of the major projects is the interdiction of firearms to prohibited persons at a primary firearm show on the border of the City of Richmond," the memo states.
But Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, told Cybercast News Service that the VSP explanation is illogical.
"I think it's a joke because, according to the Department of Justice, 0.7 percent of guns used in crimes come from gun shows," Van Cleave said. "So, there's much better ways they could be spending their time."
The Department of Justice has commissioned two studies on the topic of where criminals get their guns. In a 1997 survey of convicted felons, the National Institute of Justice found that "less than two percent reported obtaining [firearms] from a gun show." Three years later, the Bureau of Justice Statistics determined, as Van Cleave cited, that 0.7 percent of guns used by criminals were obtained from a gun show.
Richard Gardiner, a lawyer specializing in firearms law litigation with more than 20 years experience dealing with the ATF, said he was curious about another section of the VSP memo, which stated that the law enforcement task force had "deterred" 21 individuals from purchasing guns.
"I'd like to know ... who those 21 people were; whether they were prohibited persons who never got as far as filling out the form and, therefore, couldn't be prosecuted for anything," Gardiner said, "or whether they were people who were black or women who the agents went up and had a chat with and they said, 'Forget it, I'm getting out of here. I don't want to stick around these guys,' even though it would have been perfectly lawful for them to purchase."
The Virginia State Police memo also details how the ATF retrieved information from each gun buyer's transaction form to determine where they lived so that a so-called "residence check" could be conducted.
"f the purchaser was located in a certain area of either the City of Richmond or the County of Henrico, ATF personnel would direct either the Richmond PD or Henrico PD Residence Check Team to go by the residence of the individual whose information was contained on the ATF 4473 form to determine if the individual resided at the residence," the VSP memo states.
Based on what the agents found, "they (ATF) would permit the transfer of the firearm or conduct further questions of the purchaser," according to the VSP document.
But Gardiner said the memo raises a number of questions about the legality of the actions taken by federal, state, county and local agents and officers.
"What is state and local law enforcement doing being 'dispatched' to people's houses to do that?" Gardiner asked. "They have no authority under the state law, that I'm aware of, to make that kind of investigation about whether somebody is a resident of the state."
State, county and municipal police agencies are "creatures of statute," according to Gardiner.
"They have only such authority as the law gives them. They have no authority to do what they think is appropriate. If the General Assembly of Virginia wanted to give them that authority, of course, it could consider it and possibly do it," he continued. "But it, certainly, has not done that."
Gardiner also believes the ATF agents violated federal law by providing the information to local police officials that in turn was used to conduct the residence checks. The statute authorizes information from those forms to be released only to state and local police "with respect to the identification of persons prohibited from purchasing or receiving firearms or ammunition who have purchased or received firearms or ammunition."
"ATF doesn't have any authority to give them that information, even assuming that the legislature had given both state and local police the authority to do stuff like that," Gardiner said. "There's no authority under federal law for ATF to make such a request."
Gardiner said that authorization to share information also imposes limits.
"Congress has specifically addressed this question of ATF's authority to give out information to state and local and, indeed, even to other federal law enforcement agencies and said, 'Here's what they can do,'" Gardiner explained. "And the long standing rules of law are that if the Congress specifically gives them this authority, it has denied them all other authority. So ATF had no authority to do what they were doing."
David Browne, a gun owner and attorney living in Henrico County, attended the Showmasters Gun Show on both Aug. 13 and 14 and agrees that the actions of both ATF and the cooperating law enforcement agencies should be examined.
"I think it certainly has a chilling effect in general," Browne said. "This was a targeted operation and officers were only sent to certain neighborhoods. I would hate to find out the hard way that I happened to live in what they considered to be the 'wrong neighborhood,' and then have my neighbors being told all these things."
The Henrico County Police Department also responded to a FOIA request from Browne with six pages of heavily redacted documents and a letter claiming that the obscured portions are "not subject to mandatory disclosure" under the Virginia FOIA law. The documents did contain language confirming that officers did disclose protected information about gun purchasers to their relatives in at least one instance.
"(Unidentified officers conducted) a residence check and were advised by the female purchaser's parents that she had no reason to buy a gun other than for her boyfriend," stated one mostly redacted email signed, "The Strike Force."
Gardiner believes such actions could result in lawsuits being filed against all of the agencies or officers involved.
"I think you would have an action against the state and local agents or officers for violation of your federal statutory rights," Gardiner said. "You can recover against individual federal agents for violation of your constitutional rights but not your statutory rights."
Any such litigation might provide a deterrent to future gun show crackdowns, Gardiner said.
"It's been my experience, because I've been involved in a fair number of suits involving ATF, that, if you sue them, you'll never hear from them again because they're the classic schoolyard bully. For everyone who fights back, there are ten people who they can intimidate so, if you fight back, they'll move on to the other ten," Gardiner concluded. "If you go after them, they'll leave you alone forever because they don't want to deal with people who aren't afraid of them."
Cybercast News Service has made more than a dozen calls to ATF seeking comment for both its original investigation and this follow-up report. To date, ATF has had no on-the-record response to either article.
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=\SpecialReports\archive\200509\SPE20050901a.html
(CNSNews.com) - Virginia State Police records confirm that at least seven gun show "sting" operations since July of 2004 have targeted gun buyers in the Richmond, Va., area. The documents support allegations that protected information may have been illegally shared with local police and gun buyers' relatives and neighbors.
Cybercast News Service previously reported that nearly 500 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, state troopers, county and city police officers participated in an "ATF Task Force" targeting the Showmasters gun show in Richmond, Va., on Aug. 13 and 14.
Following that initial report, Cybercast News Service obtained Virginia State Police (VSP) records that show at least six other stings have been conducted in the Richmond area since the summer of last year.
According to a four page undated memo written by Virginia State Police (VSP) Capt. Robert G. Kemmler and obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA), the law enforcement activities at the Showmasters gun show on Aug. 13-14 involved "the same method of operation as previous gun shows.
"The Department (VSP) has participated in numerous Gun Show Operations at the Showplace over the past year," the memo states. "This is the first operation at the fairgrounds and the first operation that included the Henrico (County) Police Department."
C&E Gun Shows holds several shows each year at The Showplace Exhibition Center, located inside the city limits of Richmond, Va. According to the VSP memo, gun show sting operations were conducted there on July 10-11, Oct. 16-17 and Dec. 4-5, 2004 and Jan. 15-16, March 5-6 and May 21-22, 2005. Nearly 1,000 man hours were dedicated to the activities.
According to the VSP memo, the gun show stings are part of "an active gang related firearm program to reduce the number of firearms being purchased (by) and transferred to prohibited persons who may be involved in criminal and gang related activities.
"One of the major projects is the interdiction of firearms to prohibited persons at a primary firearm show on the border of the City of Richmond," the memo states.
But Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, told Cybercast News Service that the VSP explanation is illogical.
"I think it's a joke because, according to the Department of Justice, 0.7 percent of guns used in crimes come from gun shows," Van Cleave said. "So, there's much better ways they could be spending their time."
The Department of Justice has commissioned two studies on the topic of where criminals get their guns. In a 1997 survey of convicted felons, the National Institute of Justice found that "less than two percent reported obtaining [firearms] from a gun show." Three years later, the Bureau of Justice Statistics determined, as Van Cleave cited, that 0.7 percent of guns used by criminals were obtained from a gun show.
Richard Gardiner, a lawyer specializing in firearms law litigation with more than 20 years experience dealing with the ATF, said he was curious about another section of the VSP memo, which stated that the law enforcement task force had "deterred" 21 individuals from purchasing guns.
"I'd like to know ... who those 21 people were; whether they were prohibited persons who never got as far as filling out the form and, therefore, couldn't be prosecuted for anything," Gardiner said, "or whether they were people who were black or women who the agents went up and had a chat with and they said, 'Forget it, I'm getting out of here. I don't want to stick around these guys,' even though it would have been perfectly lawful for them to purchase."
The Virginia State Police memo also details how the ATF retrieved information from each gun buyer's transaction form to determine where they lived so that a so-called "residence check" could be conducted.
"f the purchaser was located in a certain area of either the City of Richmond or the County of Henrico, ATF personnel would direct either the Richmond PD or Henrico PD Residence Check Team to go by the residence of the individual whose information was contained on the ATF 4473 form to determine if the individual resided at the residence," the VSP memo states.
Based on what the agents found, "they (ATF) would permit the transfer of the firearm or conduct further questions of the purchaser," according to the VSP document.
But Gardiner said the memo raises a number of questions about the legality of the actions taken by federal, state, county and local agents and officers.
"What is state and local law enforcement doing being 'dispatched' to people's houses to do that?" Gardiner asked. "They have no authority under the state law, that I'm aware of, to make that kind of investigation about whether somebody is a resident of the state."
State, county and municipal police agencies are "creatures of statute," according to Gardiner.
"They have only such authority as the law gives them. They have no authority to do what they think is appropriate. If the General Assembly of Virginia wanted to give them that authority, of course, it could consider it and possibly do it," he continued. "But it, certainly, has not done that."
Gardiner also believes the ATF agents violated federal law by providing the information to local police officials that in turn was used to conduct the residence checks. The statute authorizes information from those forms to be released only to state and local police "with respect to the identification of persons prohibited from purchasing or receiving firearms or ammunition who have purchased or received firearms or ammunition."
"ATF doesn't have any authority to give them that information, even assuming that the legislature had given both state and local police the authority to do stuff like that," Gardiner said. "There's no authority under federal law for ATF to make such a request."
Gardiner said that authorization to share information also imposes limits.
"Congress has specifically addressed this question of ATF's authority to give out information to state and local and, indeed, even to other federal law enforcement agencies and said, 'Here's what they can do,'" Gardiner explained. "And the long standing rules of law are that if the Congress specifically gives them this authority, it has denied them all other authority. So ATF had no authority to do what they were doing."
David Browne, a gun owner and attorney living in Henrico County, attended the Showmasters Gun Show on both Aug. 13 and 14 and agrees that the actions of both ATF and the cooperating law enforcement agencies should be examined.
"I think it certainly has a chilling effect in general," Browne said. "This was a targeted operation and officers were only sent to certain neighborhoods. I would hate to find out the hard way that I happened to live in what they considered to be the 'wrong neighborhood,' and then have my neighbors being told all these things."
The Henrico County Police Department also responded to a FOIA request from Browne with six pages of heavily redacted documents and a letter claiming that the obscured portions are "not subject to mandatory disclosure" under the Virginia FOIA law. The documents did contain language confirming that officers did disclose protected information about gun purchasers to their relatives in at least one instance.
"(Unidentified officers conducted) a residence check and were advised by the female purchaser's parents that she had no reason to buy a gun other than for her boyfriend," stated one mostly redacted email signed, "The Strike Force."
Gardiner believes such actions could result in lawsuits being filed against all of the agencies or officers involved.
"I think you would have an action against the state and local agents or officers for violation of your federal statutory rights," Gardiner said. "You can recover against individual federal agents for violation of your constitutional rights but not your statutory rights."
Any such litigation might provide a deterrent to future gun show crackdowns, Gardiner said.
"It's been my experience, because I've been involved in a fair number of suits involving ATF, that, if you sue them, you'll never hear from them again because they're the classic schoolyard bully. For everyone who fights back, there are ten people who they can intimidate so, if you fight back, they'll move on to the other ten," Gardiner concluded. "If you go after them, they'll leave you alone forever because they don't want to deal with people who aren't afraid of them."
Cybercast News Service has made more than a dozen calls to ATF seeking comment for both its original investigation and this follow-up report. To date, ATF has had no on-the-record response to either article.
