Open Carry gun activists kicked out of Los Angeles area restaurant
A dozen armed South Bay Open Carry gun activists were escorted out of a restaurant at the South Bay Galleria mall Saturday afternoon by a Redondo Beach policeman.
Open Carry activists accused the officer of “rogue” behavior in singling out the group at the Red Robin restaurant and said he violated their Constitutional right to privacy by checking to see if their firearms were loaded. The officer, Sgt. Pete Grimm, said he was responding to a request from the restaurant and was simply following the law by checking their firearms.
“What was it that I did that was rogue?” Grimm said. “For the record, the South Bay Galleria does not allow weapons on their property. It is private property…The management at the Red Robin did not want them in there, and they are not allowed to be on Galleria premises with firearms.”
But Harley Green, president of South Bay Open Carry, said that he and his group have been at the mall previously while armed and have not encountered problems. He said this is the second time that Grimm has confronted them in the vicinity of the mall.
“It’s very suspicious,” he said. “We were there before, many times, and had no problems. The only time it is a problem is when Officer Grimm shows up. If the mall really wanted us gone, and Red Robin wanted us gone, why are they feeding us, and welcoming us there?”
The incident occurred at about 12:20 p.m. Members of the group, which included Green, were wearing holsters that held visible, unloaded firearms, which is permitted in most public places by California law. South Bay Open Carry has made of a point of carrying their weapons at places and events around the South Bay – including the Hermosa Beach Strand and Manhattan Beach’s Hometown Fair – in order to demonstrate their Second Amendment right to bear firearms.
South Bay Galleria marketing director Mickey Marraffino confirmed that the mall’s guest code of conduct does not allow anyone to bring firearms onto the premises unless permission has been granted ahead of time by mall management.
“We have a code of conduct, and we were enforcing our code of conduct,” she said.
Green said California law is more restrictive than the laws in most other states that allow the carrying of loaded weapons. He said the purpose in Open Carry activists carrying weapons is twofold – they carry both for self defense and to help educate others on their Second Amendment rights. He said members of the group carry loaded magazine clips – as is legal – so they can defend themselves should danger arise.
“So while it’s certainly not the ideal way to carry – you can carry loaded weapons in Arizona and 42 other states – we are doing the best we can here in California,” Green said.
Grimm also checked group members’ weapons in a Dec. 11 incident near the intersection Artesia and Hawthorne boulevards, shortly after they’d left the Galleria. The officer said he was just following California Penal Code 12031(e).
“It authorizes the checking of firearms to see if they are loaded,” Grimm said.
Green believes that state law is in conflict with federal law and that Grimm’s actions put the city at risk of civil rights litigation. He also argued that since Grimm had already encountered the group on Dec. 11 and knew that it did not represent a danger, he must have been personally motivated to harass group members.
“The fact is that this officer is acting in a manner not consistent with his peers in the South Bay or even in the rest of California,” Green said. “Police officers throughout California have all but stopped performing the unconstitutional, optional, PC 12031(e) check, except for this RBPD officer…Despite all of us being law abiding citizens with no criminal record, in full compliance with California state law, meaning he has no reasonable suspicion that we would be in violation of the law, he continues to harass us.”
“If I was a trial lawyer I would be all over this,” said Green, 24, who works as a computer engineer. “But I make my money elsewhere, so no need to worry about that.”
City Attorney Mike Webb said that police officers can continue to check firearms under state law.
“It’s still in the penal code,” Webb said. “Police officers have to balance, daily, protecting public safety without infringing on anybody’s constitutional rights. That is specifically in the penal code to allow police to determine if somebody is lawfully carrying an unloaded weapon or illegally carrying a loaded weapon. The penal code says you don’t have to wait until someone starts shooting to find out. But it is an evolving area.” ER