HR 218 tested. Charges dropped in Sturgis case

[evp5O]

Last charges dropped against cop in bar fight

Prosecutors in South Dakota have dismissed the last of several criminal charges filed against a Seattle police detective who shot a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club during a barroom fight at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

By Jennifer Sullivan

Seattle Times staff reporter

Related

Archive | Seattle cop charged in Sturgis bar fight; so is Hells Angel
Archive | Seattle officer held in Sturgis Motorcycle Rally shooting
Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of UseSee more mapped stories
Prosecutors in South Dakota have dismissed the last of several criminal charges filed against a Seattle police detective who shot a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club during a barroom fight at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

On Friday, prosecutors in Sturgis dismissed misdemeanor charges of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit against Detective Ron Smith and several other members of the Iron Pigs, a motorcycle club comprised of law-enforcement officers and firefighters.

Smith had also been charged with felony charges of aggravated assault and perjury stemming from the barroom fight and shooting, but those charges had been previously dismissed, said his attorney, Robert Van Norman.

Smith and fellow Seattle police officer Sgt. Dennis McCoy both faced criminal charges following a barroom fight and shooting on Aug. 9 during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Smith shot and wounded a Hells Angels during the fight.

Smith told The Seattle Times shortly after the incident that he had opened fire after Joseph McGuire and other members of the Hells Angels jumped him inside the Loud American Roadhouse. Smith said he may have been targeted by the Hells Angels because he testified in a high-profile federal racketeering and murder trial in Seattle last year that sent several former and current members of the gang to prison.

McGuire, of Imperial Beach, Calif., survived the shooting and was charged with aggravated assault, which can result in a 15-year prison term if he's convicted.

After the shooting, Smith and McCoy were placed on administrative leave by the Seattle Police Department. According to police, both men have recently returned to work.

Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb declined to comment on the department's internal investigation into the Sturgis shooting.

Meade County, S.D., State Attorney Jesse Sondreal said the aggravated-assault charge against Smith was dropped because it appeared that the officer was the victim of a premeditated attack. The perjury charge was dropped after police in South Dakota and Seattle determined that Smith was correct when he said he had used a personal handgun, not a department-issued weapon, in the shooting.

Charges against two other members of the Iron Pigs who were in the bar during the fight also were dropped. U.S. Customs and Border Inspection officers Scott Lazalde, 38, of Bellingham, and James Rector, 44, of Ferndale, Whatcom County, had been charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, Van Norman said.

Van Norman said that a judge in Meade County, S.D., agreed with his argument that the four officers are protected under a federal law that allows off-duty law-enforcement officers to carry weapons anywhere they choose, including a bar. The federal law requires that the weapons handler not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Sondreal had pursued charges against the law-enforcement officers regardless of the federal law.



Erik Pingel, 35, a firefighter from Aurora, Colo., a fellow Iron Pig who was carrying a gun that night, still faces the misdemeanor weapons charge because federal statute does not allow firefighters to carry a weapon inside a bar.

Smith didn't return calls for comment on Monday, but Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officer's Guild, said "this is a day of vindication for Detective Smith and Sergeant McCoy."

[airborneguy]

To all the naysayers: phhhhttttt! (That's a raspberry for you) I never understood why everyone questioned the extremely clear language of HR 218, especially in regards to active officers.

[Bailiffoldaccount]

Nice quote from the judge's memorandum...

Weapons charges dropped against four Iron Pigs
By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal staff Monday, November 17, 2008


A judge has ordered that concealed weapons charges be dismissed against four off-duty Washington police officers who were charged in connection with a shooting during the Sturgis rally.

Circuit Judge Warren Johnson ruled Friday that Scott Lazalde, Dennis McCoy, James Rector and Ron Smith are exempt from prosecution under South Dakota state law because of the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act.

However, Johnson ruled that a concealed weapons charge against Erik Pingel, 35, of Aurora, Colo., can proceed.

Lazalde, 38, of Bellingham, Wash., and Rector, 44, Ferndale, Wash., are law enforcement officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service. McCoy, 58, of Seattle, Wash., is a Seattle police sergeant and Smith, 43, is a Seattle police detective. Pingel is a firefighter with the U.S. Department of Defense.

All are members of the Iron Pigs motorcycle club and all were carrying concealed pistols when they were arrested Aug. 7 at the Loud American Roadhouse bar in Sturgis following an altercation with Hells Angels.

During the scuffle Smith shot Hells Angel member Joseph Patrick McGuire of Imperial Beach, Calif. Smith originally was charged with assault and perjury but those charges were dismissed following a grand jury investigation. Smith has said he used his personal handgun in acting in self-defense.

Authorities have accused McGuire of starting the fight. He has pleaded not guilty to assault and has a status hearing on Wednesday. He has remained free on bond as he recuperates from his wounds.

Under a 2005 federal law, any qualified law enforcement officer carrying proper identification is allowed to carry a concealed weapon in any state except under certain circumstances.

"While states retain the right to prohibit the possession of firearms on government property and to permit private persons and entities to prohibit the possession of firearms on their property, they cannot restrict qualified law enforcement officers in any other manner," Johnson wrote in his memorandum opinion.


Defense attorney Robert Van Norman represented all five of the Iron Pigs.

"It's a great decision and should be reassuring to a lot of law enforcement officers all over the country," he said.

Meade County State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal could not be reached for comment Monday.

Meanwhile, a concealed weapons charge against Pingel can proceed, Johnson ruled. Pingel has a concealed weapons permit in Colorado, which has a reciprocity agreement with South Dakota. However, his carrying the weapon into a bar violated South Dakota law, according to the memorandum decision.

All of the weapons charges are class 1 misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or [e-mail]

[exfed2002]

Here's the link to one article if you want to read the comments:
www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/11/18/news/local/doc492204ea686aa194895385.txt