cuchulainn
Member
from the Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/6949335.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/6949335.htm
Posted on Tue, Oct. 07, 2003
Officer wins back job, right to carry a gun
An Upper Southampton veteran admitted a 1959 arson conviction. Then came a disqualifying law.
By Christine Schiavo
Inquirer Staff Writer
A 15-minute hearing ended months of worry for Upper Southampton Police Lt. David Johnson, who won back his job and his right to carry a gun yesterday.
Johnson, 62, of Bensalem, was suspended without pay in August when state police informed the township that a felony on Johnson's record prohibited him from carrying a gun. Because police officers are required to carry firearms, Johnson's job was in limbo, pending the outcome of a hearing that initially was scheduled for Friday but that was moved up at the request of his attorney.
Bucks County Court Judge Michael J. Kane granted Johnson relief from the state's Uniform Firearms Act, enabling him to return to work. Reached by phone yesterday, Johnson declined to talk about the case or say when he would be back on the job.
Johnson listed a 1959 arson conviction on his application to the police force in 1966, according to Upper Southampton Police Chief David Schultz.
It wasn't illegal for Johnson to carry a gun until the mid-1990s, when arson was added to the list of disqualifying crimes under the state gun law, Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons said.
Johnson said he was unaware that the law had changed. He found out after submitting his fingerprints to state police recently as part of an application to use a state computer system.
The agency, which conducts background checks on those applying for gun permits, has appealed several cases in which judges have granted felons relief.
Mick Kelly, legal supervisor in the state police firearms division, could not say whether state police would appeal Johnson's case. He said the agency had not been notified of Johnson's hearing date or of yesterday's ruling.
Schultz and Township Manager Joseph Golden could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Kelly noted that Johnson's case is different from most because, as a police officer, federal law grants him an exemption to carry a gun in the line of duty even with a felony conviction. He pointed out that state law, however, has no such exemption.
Johnson was 18 when he pleaded guilty to an arson in Philadelphia in which no one was injured. He was put on probation for five years, which he completed.
Contact staff writer Christine Schiavo at 215-348-0337 or [email protected].
Who said this guy wasn't a citizen?