The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is firing back at critics of a new comprehensive gun log after a leaked memo led critics to call it unconstitutional.
Chief Deputy Patrick Clayton said Tuesday that the policy doesn’t change procedures, it just organizes these details in a way that could reduce gun violence.
[adrotate banner=”26″]
“Sheriff Richard Roundtree respects the gun rights of all of our citizens,” Clayton said by email. “We do not believe that this policy abridges the rights of our citizens but focuses on those who carry and use weapons illegally. We have always had the right to compile and record this type of information in police reports.”
The policy lists a purpose of “providing intelligence on gun ownership” that can be used for leads in firearm-related crimes. The log can be “studied for demographic information as it pertains to firearm ownership in Richmond County for future gun violence reduction plans.”
The old policy collected details only from seized guns. The new policy instructs deputies to gather information on guns they come into contact with during the regular course of their duties.
“Deputies should not stop citizens or try to acquire information on their firearms if they are not directly related to a criminal investigation or suspected of a possible crime,” the policy reads.
Deputies are told to document the color, make, model and serial number of any gun they come across. Also, officers are told to document the amount and brand of ammunition along with the owner’s name, race, sex and date of birth.
WGAC radio host Austin Rhodes obtained a leaked copy of the three-page memo and posted it on his show’s Facebook page on Sunday, sparking intense backlash from several sides, including neighboring Sheriff Alonzo Williams. The Burke County sheriff called it too intrusive and said the policy did not serve a legitimate governmental interest.
The most disturbing section, Sheriff Williams said, was one allowing deputies to collect information on firearms from any subject of a “criminal investigation.” He said the term “criminal investigation” should be defined because even traffic offenses are misdemeanor criminal violations.
“I hope the sheriff does not want his deputies pulling an old man out of his truck after stopping him for a headlight violation and temporarily seizing his weapon to collect the data,” Sheriff Williams said. “I would think that this would be an unconstitutional seizure, even if it was very temporary.”
But Clayton said his agency ran the proposed policy by District Attorney Natalie Paine, who advised last year that it was not illegal or unconstitutional.
Paine responded Tuesday, saying she didn’t recall the leaked memo being the same policy that she reviewed.
“What I said in my reply email at the time was that if there is a valid reason to run the gun, there’s no issue with maintaining a log of the guns that are run,” she said. “However, you can’t just run guns because you see a gun in plain view. What I was conveying was that there must be a valid reason, which would be decided on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts, to run the firearm. If that exists, there’s no issue with maintaining a log of the firearms run.”
Paine said she doesn’t think the agency’s intention is to stop people from open carrying. She just thinks the policy memo is poorly written.
“The gist that was conveyed to me months back was that they were just maintaining a separate log of guns they ran,” she said. “In reading the policy posted, it still sounds like that’s their intent. … I will call them out if they are doing something weird, but I don’t think this is one of those things. I just think this is a misunderstanding.”
Greg Rickabaugh is the Jail Report Contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at greg.rickabaugh@theaugustapress.com
[adrotate banner=”25″]
[adrotate banner=”38″]
