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Copyright 2003 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
January 20, 2003, Monday
SECTION: ARKANSAS; Pg. 7
LENGTH: 870 words
HEADLINE: Arena forbids off-duty cops carrying guns Attorney general opinion backs policy on weapons
BYLINE: BY JAKE SANDLIN ARKANSAS Democrat-GAZETTE
BODY:
Off-duty police officers risk being turned away from a game or concert at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock if they carry an otherwise legally concealed weapon, a state attorney general's opinion states.
An attorney general's Jan. 10 opinion received last week by city officials backs a policy that bans a handgun inside the $ 80 million, publicly and privately financed arena even if the person carrying it also carries a badge.
The practice is also followed at other Arkansas arenas, including the largest: 19,200-seat Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.
Alltel Arena has enforced a no-weapons policy since its October
1999 opening. However, after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
2001, Alltel and venues throughout the country have stepped up weapon vigilance.
Only a handful of guns has been detected on patrons since the Sept. 11 attacks, Alltel Arena General Manager Michael Marion said Friday, but each time an off-duty police officer had the gun.
"Everything we can do to make sure there are no firearms in the building - except for the people who are supposed to have them and are here working - I think everyone who comes here will feel better knowing that," Marion said.
The opinion, prepared by Assistant Attorney General Suzanne Antley, states that provisions of Arkansas Code Annotated 5-73-306(b) "override the authority" of an off-duty officer carrying a concealed weapon. The section states that carrying a concealed handgun "may be disallowed in any place in the discretion of the person or entity exercising control over" that site.
Attorney General Leon Johnson said that an opinion issued last year by former Attorney General Mark Pryor said law officers may carry a concealed handgun "in any area of the state." However, the previous opinion refers to situations where officers "were not otherwise prohibited" from carrying such weapons, the opinion says.
City and arena officials sought the opinion because some officers turned away have challenged the rule, often leaving it up to North Little Rock officers hired by the arena to confront a fellow officer.
"It's put our police officers in an awkward situation," said Paul Suskie, North Little Rock's city attorney.
A memo quoting the attorney general's view and arena policy soon will go out to area police departments, North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley said Friday.
"Once we get the word out to everyone, I don't expect it to be an issue," Bradley said.
The strengthened policy, though, could mean a change of habit for many off icers, some local police spokesmen said.
"The majority of officers I know do carry guns off-duty," said Major J.R. Howard, law enforcement operations commander for the Arkansas State Police. "Policy does not say we will be armed, but I would say we do encourage it."
The rule won't bother others, though, said John Rehrauer, spokesman for the Pulaski County sheriff's office.
"I would doubt if anybody attending an event would try to carry a weapon into Alltel," Rehrauer said. "I don't think it would affect us very much."
Officers from Little Rock might differ, said Little Rock Police Department spokesman Sgt. Terry Hastings. Little Rock policy dictates that officers be armed inside the city limits at all times, Hastings said. Besides, he added, a police officer is never really "off duty."
"It's a very bad policy," Hastings said of the arena's rule. "I personally would not surrender my weapon if I was going there and they're missing out having another police officer inside that event."
The concern isn't over an armed professional law officer in a sports or concert crowd, Marion said, but about the simple added presence of a firearm in a crowd.
"An off-duty officer sits down with a group of people and maybe another patron gets rowdy or out of control and takes the officer's gun," he said. "And if we're all on this heightened state of alert, if somebody comes in with a gun, how do we verify they are who they say they are? By having this policy, it's not a problem."
Alltel isn't alone. An off-duty police officer wanting to call the Hogs as a fan at Arkansas Razorback basketball games isn't allowed to wear a gun inside Bud Walton Arena, either. Likewise at the Pine Bluff Convention Center in Pine Bluff.
"If they're not working the event, they can't carry a firearm," Walton Arena Manager Fred Vorsanger said. "[The opinion] just reinforces that."
Pine Bluff 's Convention Center, which plays host to concerts and basketball games, has no set policy for off-duty officers but will refuse entry to anyone with a handgun, even a police officer, said Steven Barnett, the center's deputy director. An armed off-duty officer isn't needed in the center, he added.
"We normally have uniformed officers [working] here, and they're identified by that uniform," Barnett said.
Therein lies the possible problem with an officer-turnedfan in an
18,000-capacity crowd at Alltel Arena who reacts to an emergency, said the state police's Howard.
"An off-duty officer pulling a gun," he said, "doesn't look any different than anyone else pulling a gun."
This story was originally published on Monday, January 20, 2003.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
January 20, 2003, Monday
SECTION: ARKANSAS; Pg. 7
LENGTH: 870 words
HEADLINE: Arena forbids off-duty cops carrying guns Attorney general opinion backs policy on weapons
BYLINE: BY JAKE SANDLIN ARKANSAS Democrat-GAZETTE
BODY:
Off-duty police officers risk being turned away from a game or concert at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock if they carry an otherwise legally concealed weapon, a state attorney general's opinion states.
An attorney general's Jan. 10 opinion received last week by city officials backs a policy that bans a handgun inside the $ 80 million, publicly and privately financed arena even if the person carrying it also carries a badge.
The practice is also followed at other Arkansas arenas, including the largest: 19,200-seat Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.
Alltel Arena has enforced a no-weapons policy since its October
1999 opening. However, after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
2001, Alltel and venues throughout the country have stepped up weapon vigilance.
Only a handful of guns has been detected on patrons since the Sept. 11 attacks, Alltel Arena General Manager Michael Marion said Friday, but each time an off-duty police officer had the gun.
"Everything we can do to make sure there are no firearms in the building - except for the people who are supposed to have them and are here working - I think everyone who comes here will feel better knowing that," Marion said.
The opinion, prepared by Assistant Attorney General Suzanne Antley, states that provisions of Arkansas Code Annotated 5-73-306(b) "override the authority" of an off-duty officer carrying a concealed weapon. The section states that carrying a concealed handgun "may be disallowed in any place in the discretion of the person or entity exercising control over" that site.
Attorney General Leon Johnson said that an opinion issued last year by former Attorney General Mark Pryor said law officers may carry a concealed handgun "in any area of the state." However, the previous opinion refers to situations where officers "were not otherwise prohibited" from carrying such weapons, the opinion says.
City and arena officials sought the opinion because some officers turned away have challenged the rule, often leaving it up to North Little Rock officers hired by the arena to confront a fellow officer.
"It's put our police officers in an awkward situation," said Paul Suskie, North Little Rock's city attorney.
A memo quoting the attorney general's view and arena policy soon will go out to area police departments, North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley said Friday.
"Once we get the word out to everyone, I don't expect it to be an issue," Bradley said.
The strengthened policy, though, could mean a change of habit for many off icers, some local police spokesmen said.
"The majority of officers I know do carry guns off-duty," said Major J.R. Howard, law enforcement operations commander for the Arkansas State Police. "Policy does not say we will be armed, but I would say we do encourage it."
The rule won't bother others, though, said John Rehrauer, spokesman for the Pulaski County sheriff's office.
"I would doubt if anybody attending an event would try to carry a weapon into Alltel," Rehrauer said. "I don't think it would affect us very much."
Officers from Little Rock might differ, said Little Rock Police Department spokesman Sgt. Terry Hastings. Little Rock policy dictates that officers be armed inside the city limits at all times, Hastings said. Besides, he added, a police officer is never really "off duty."
"It's a very bad policy," Hastings said of the arena's rule. "I personally would not surrender my weapon if I was going there and they're missing out having another police officer inside that event."
The concern isn't over an armed professional law officer in a sports or concert crowd, Marion said, but about the simple added presence of a firearm in a crowd.
"An off-duty officer sits down with a group of people and maybe another patron gets rowdy or out of control and takes the officer's gun," he said. "And if we're all on this heightened state of alert, if somebody comes in with a gun, how do we verify they are who they say they are? By having this policy, it's not a problem."
Alltel isn't alone. An off-duty police officer wanting to call the Hogs as a fan at Arkansas Razorback basketball games isn't allowed to wear a gun inside Bud Walton Arena, either. Likewise at the Pine Bluff Convention Center in Pine Bluff.
"If they're not working the event, they can't carry a firearm," Walton Arena Manager Fred Vorsanger said. "[The opinion] just reinforces that."
Pine Bluff 's Convention Center, which plays host to concerts and basketball games, has no set policy for off-duty officers but will refuse entry to anyone with a handgun, even a police officer, said Steven Barnett, the center's deputy director. An armed off-duty officer isn't needed in the center, he added.
"We normally have uniformed officers [working] here, and they're identified by that uniform," Barnett said.
Therein lies the possible problem with an officer-turnedfan in an
18,000-capacity crowd at Alltel Arena who reacts to an emergency, said the state police's Howard.
"An off-duty officer pulling a gun," he said, "doesn't look any different than anyone else pulling a gun."
This story was originally published on Monday, January 20, 2003.