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After deputy's child is shot, county readies gun-safe policy
01/30/03
HOLLEY GILBERT
VANCOUVER -- Gun lockboxes could become standard issue for Clark County sheriff's deputies.
The agency is leaning toward buying lockboxes for all sworn deputies and making their use mandatory for service-issued guns while they are off duty, Undersheriff Jane Johnson said Wednesday.
A final decision about what type of box or whether boxes and other locking mechanisms would be issued in tandem will be made within t three months.
Lockboxes gained priority with the Jan. 13 shooting death of Emilee Joy Randall, 10. She was killed at home by a bullet from her father's service-issued 9 mm Ruger P-89 handgun. Her brother, Matthew Frederick Randall, 13, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Their father, Sgt. Craig Randall, heads the sheriff's traffic and marine unit.
Before Emilee was killed, the Clark County Sheriff's Office, like many law enforcement agencies, had no policy about how deputies should store their weapons. Gun locks were available, but use was voluntary.
Since Emilee's death, the office has begun a three-month process of creating a safe-storage policy that will apply only to guns owned and issued by the sheriff's office, Johnson said. How deputies store their personal weapons will remain a personal choice.
The cost of boxes for the office's 120 deputies and additional custody officers is undetermined. But the sheriff's office budget does not have enough money to buy boxes for everyone, Johnson said. Clark County commissioners would have to approve any additional money, she said.
They are willing to help.
"The board is extremely concerned about this issue," said Commissioner Craig Pridemore, board chairman. "If this is the appropriate solution, the board is eager to assist them to rectify the situation."
Legally, the board has no authority to tell Sheriff Garry Lucas what to do, Pridemore said. "But we do have budget authority, and this is the area that if we can help, we want to," he said.
The money would come from a county reserve fund.
To pinpoint the best way to store service weapons, different types and sizes of metal safes could be put in precincts and at various spots around the sheriff's office and jail for deputies and custody officers to try, Johnson said.
Currently, people with desk jobs may lock their guns in desk drawers during the day.
Use of the boxes must be practical, efficient and effective "and still allow deputies to do the job they need to do," Johnson said.
While the type of locking device is debated, whether to have a safe-storage policy apparently will not be.
"We will come out with a policy," Johnson said.
The lockbox idea has been well-received, said Sgt. Mike Cooke of Internal Affairs.
"How do you make an argument against gun safes? I don't think you can," Cooke said. "It would be like saying you're against world peace."
The move toward issuing lockboxes is not a reflection on Craig Randall, he said.
"Everybody feels tremendous sympathy for the Randall family," Cooke said. "We also realize it's prudent and reasonable to store firearms safely."
However, "Emotions should not blind us to facts," he said. "If there's something beneficial, why not?"
In court Friday, Matthew Randall admitted that he violated his probation for a previous firearms-related conviction when he fired an unloaded shotgun just before firing the Ruger, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to 30 days' detention on the probation violation.
His trial on the manslaughter and weapons charges is set for Feb. 19.
Although the sheriff's office has not settled on a particular locking mechanism, interest is focused on a bread-box-sized safe that can store a loaded weapon and can be opened by an electronic keypad combination lock.
In a demonstration, Cooke opened the safe and retrieved his unloaded Glock in three seconds.
"That's the same time it would take to roll over, open a dresser drawer and pull it out," he said. So a lockbox would not hamper deputies who want a loaded weapon handy for middle-of-the-night emergencies.
The handgun model could run $40 to $50, but the price would rise for long-gun safes, Cooke said.
"If we're truly talking about gun safety, we need to talk about all guns because the department doesn't issue just handguns," he said. Rifles are standard issue to all deputies, and some also are given shotguns or specialized firearms.
"All of these weapons go home," Cooke said. "A deputy is taking home a piece of county-owned equipment that has the potential of causing damage." Holley Gilbert: 360-896-572; 503-294-5900; [email protected]
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