FRESNO COUNTY – Fresno County is following through on its pledge to allow some prosecutors and special investigators within the district attorney’s office to arm themselves at work.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance amendment Sept. 8 to once again revise the county’s rules related to who can carry firearms on county-owned and -maintained properties. Soon, District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp and authorized employees of her office will be able to carry firearms so long as they are properly permitted.
This move is in direct response to the Aug. 20 stabbing of a senior deputy district attorney in Courthouse Park in downtown Fresno during the middle of the afternoon. It also follows a previous expansion of authorized firearm carriers approved by the board earlier in the summer.
“Thank you so much for making this such a priority,” Smittcamp told the board. “It’s been a rough few weeks for us at the DA’s office.”
Smittcamp said her office is still in the process of developing a policy that will ensure workplace safety is the number one priority when it comes to the new firearm rules. She said that if people are going to be carrying weapons, she wants those individuals to be prepared and well-trained.
“We don’t take this lightly; we understand the seriousness of it,” Smittcamp said.
Under the ordinance, peace officers and select members of other county offices are the only people permitted to carry firearms on county properties. Members of the public and other county employees who have concealed carry weapon permits are otherwise not allowed to have their firearms in these locations.
Training and security
Smittcamp said members of her department who prosecute homicide cases and work with the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC) are particularly vulnerable to violent and mentally ill people “that we have roaming around in our communities.”
While not every instance of an attack or threat against a member of the DA’s office goes widely reported or is as serious as the stabbing incident, Smittcamp said herself and her staff are regularly harassed and threatened.
Considering that prosecutors are not trained in the same way peace officers are, both Smittcamp and Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said they would ensure that those who carry weapons and obtain CCW permits are qualified multiple times a year and are comfortable with their weapons.
Smittcamp said weapons will be secured inside the office while prosecutors are there, and Zanoni said he is in contact with the Fresno County Superior Court’s presiding judge and administrative office to work out how prosecutors will lock away their firearms while in the courthouse.
Zanoni said this does increase the county’s risk management needs because if something does happen on county property with an employee on duty, the county would be in the liability chain of an incident.
“But I think these are all things that we can work toward, and we can make this a reality sooner than later, because we do need to protect these individuals,” Zanoni said.
The board also discussed how this is just one step in protecting its staff. Smittcamp and Zanoni reiterated points they made at a press conference in August about changes needed in California’s mental health courts to ensure that violent offenders are held to higher levels of accountability.
“I think if there’s one message we need to be communicating loud and clear is here in Fresno County, we will not tolerate crime, and we support those who abide by the law, and we’re very supportive of individuals carrying concealed weapons permits and exercising their Second Amendment rights,” Supervisor Nathan Magsig said.
The board will consider the ordinance again on a second reading later in September and the changes will take effect 30 days after final approval.
