Escondido police oppose fair's no-guns policy

By: JO MORELAND - Staff Writer | Thursday, May 26, 2005 11:58 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Calling last year's San Diego County Fair a "model of a safe and secure public event," fair officials are maintaining for the second year a policy banning off-duty law enforcement officers from carrying their guns beyond the front gate.

The move has prompted the Escondido Police Officers Association to urge law enforcement officers regionwide to boycott the fair.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the fair's general manager, association President Paul Woodward said he will encourage Escondido association members "and all San Diego County law enforcement and their families" to stay away from this year's event June 10 to July 4 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Linda Zweig, fairgrounds spokeswoman, said Thursday that the 2004 fair "came off as a model of a safe and secure public event," because of stepped-up security measures such as video cameras and metal detectors, as well as a "substantial and highly visible security force."

"Our incident rate at the fairgrounds is low," Zweig said, explaining the ban on off-duty officers carrying guns. "We want to provide a safe venue."

Last year's fair attracted 1,250,320 visitors. Fourteen arrests, none of them for serious offenses, were made during the 22 days, said Zweig.

"The Sheriff's Department deemed it a truly safe fair, with the lowest rate of incidents they have ever seen for an event of this magnitude," Zweig said. "So it's not necessary to have off-duty officers enter the facility with their weapons. According to statistics, this is the safest policy that we can put into effect for our guests."

The no-guns policy is also in effect at other family-oriented places such as Legoland, Disneyland, Magic Mountain and the Dodgers' baseball stadium in Los Angeles, Zweig said.

But Woodward, an acting sergeant and police officer for almost 14 years, said Thursday that the policy doesn't protect officers and their families from criminal suspects, their relatives or friends who might try to seek retaliation at such public places.

"That's not beyond the realm of possibility," leaving officers with no way to protect themselves or their families, said the head of the police union.

"I find it difficult to believe that in this age of post-9-11 terrorism and with threats of terrorism constantly looming over us, you would make such policies," Woodward wrote in the letter, a copy of which was faxed to the North County Times.

The letter is an official statement of the 200-member association, he said.

"We don't want to create a huge controversy," said Woodward. "I'm sure their policy will remain intact. We just wanted to express our displeasure."

The fair contracts with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department for uniformed and nonuniformed security, and the Sheriff's Department is responsible for the fairgrounds as part of its regular law enforcement contract with the city of Del Mar.

The Sheriff's Department did not set the no-guns policy, said Zweig and Capt. Glenn Revell, department spokesman. Zweig said the Sheriff's Department only asked the 22nd District Agricultural Association, which operates the fair, to make sure all the law enforcement agencies in the county were notified again this year about the policy.

Carlsbad police Chief Tom Zoll, vice president of the Police Chiefs and Sheriff's Association, said he thinks more and more private venues are banning officers' guns. The decision to go without a gun is one each officer has to make before attending some places or events, Zoll said.

"There was some consternation last year (about the fair's policy) among the police groups," the Carlsbad chief said. "It's going to come up every year as long as they do it."

Locally, Legoland spokeswoman Julie Estrada said off-duty officers can place their guns in secured safekeeping at the Carlsbad park or not bring them. There's no need for officers to have weapons in the park's family environment, she said.

"It's also a safety precaution," because things can fall out of pockets or containers on some of the rides, said Estrada.

Christina Simmons, spokeswoman for the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, said off-duty officers are allowed to carry their guns into those parks.

"We ask that they check in with us, so we're aware of them," Simmons said.

Off-duty officers also are allowed to carry their guns into Petco Park and Qualcomm Stadium, said San Diego police Capt. Michael Cash, who is in charge of police coverage for those venues and special events.

He said off-duty officers are asked to check in with security and identify themselves at the stadiums, so a list can be made of who has weapons.

There have been no weapons problems involving local, state or federal officers in the five years he has been in charge, Cash said.

"We feel the officers act as additional eyes and ears for us," the captain said.

John Anderson, president of the 230-member Oceanside Police Officers Association, said he agrees with the Escondido police association's concerns.

"Our detectives couldn't go to the fairgrounds because of that opportunity, that chance, that they might see someone they've arrested there," said Anderson, a sergeant.

James Duffy, president of the San Diego County Deputy Sheriffs' Association, said that group tried to stop the fair's policy last year, maintaining that the event is operated on publicly owned property and peace officers can't be banned from carrying weapons there.

Last year, Oceanside police officers contacted the California Peace Officers Research Association of California, a private organization that represents about 58,000 law enforcement officers, correctional officers and firefighters, about the fair's then-new policy.

The statewide association, commonly known as PORAC, looked into the policy then, President Ron Cottingham said.

"I think the concern (with) the security of the fair was that they wanted to know who was armed," said Cottingham, a San Diego County sheriff's lieutenant. "But peace officers will identify themselves in any (shooting) situation. They're not going to randomly pull a gun and start shooting somebody."

He said fair personnel also quoted an opinion from the state Attorney General's Office. It was based on an attempt to pass a law in the late 1990s that would have allowed officers to carry their guns onto private property and into commercial venues.

"Since 9-11, we think the picture has changed," Cottingham said. "We have discussed submitting a bill next year (to allow officers to carry guns). Our feeling is, just as an association, that it would allow another layer of protection."

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com.

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