2 LAPD Officers Join NRA-Backed Lawsuit Against Gun Ordinance

The M1-A1 rifle weighs 12 pounds, holds 20 bullets and, when cradled in the steady arms of a sharpshooter, can hit a bull’s-eye at 600 yards, which is why Los Angeles Police Sgt. Louis H. Salseda owns three of the assault-type, semiautomatic rifles.

He is a member of the Police Department’s rifle team and uses the guns in both civilian and police shooting matches. He is also a member of the National Rifle Assn., which is why Salseda on Tuesday purposely put himself at odds with his boss--Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

Salseda and fellow Los Angeles Police Officer George A. Luczy are among seven gun enthusiasts from Los Angeles and Stockton who intend to file a lawsuit today, asking the California Supreme Court to block ordinances that ban the sale and ownership of assault-type weapons.

Gates has vociferously attacked such guns, particularly Uzis and AK-47s. “These weapons,” Gates said earlier this month before Congress, “have got to go. Policemen all over America are united on this.”

The chief’s contention, however, did little to dissuade Salseda, 36, from helping take up the NRA’s attack.

“It’s a tough position to be in,” the 15-year police veteran acknowledged Tuesday. “Will it affect my career? I don’t know yet. . . . I just know that because I live in the city, I will no longer be able to own these rifles legally. A lot of other police officers I know feel threatened by this law.”

Gates’ spokesman, Cmdr. William Booth, scoffed when asked if the two officers would face recriminations because of their involvement in the suit.

“They have a right to sue just like anyone else,” Booth said, “and they have a right to an opinion, no matter how dumb it is.”

Salseda is assigned to investigate officer-involved shootings. Luczy, 43, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, has been with the Police Department for 18 years and works in the firearms-explosives unit.

The furor over semiautomatic weapons has grown steadily in the weeks since drifter Patrick Edward Purdy, 24, opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle in a Stockton schoolyard, killing five children and wounding 29 others.

At least six California cities--Los Angeles, Compton, Stockton, Carson, Gardena and Lynwood--have since passed ordinances banning the sale and possession of assault rifles. Congress and the California Assembly are considering similar legislation.

Prohibitions of Law

The Los Angeles law now prohibits the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles. The possession aspect of the ordinance becomes effective March 1.

At a press conference Tuesday to announce the lawsuit, NRA attorney Richard Gardiner said his organization has been inundated with calls from its California members anxious to challenge what they perceive to be an infringement of their constitutional freedoms.

Gardiner said that Salseda, Luczy and the five other men named as plaintiffs were chosen to represent the NRA’s interests “simply because these gentlemen picked up the phone” faster than anyone else.

They are being assisted by attorneys from San Francisco paid by the NRA, which claims a California membership of 250,000.

Salseda and Luczy did not show up for Tuesday’s press conference, nor did a third plaintiff, identified by Gardiner as Los Angeles attorney Robert Feeley.

4 Other Plaintiffs

The remaining four plaintiffs who did present themselves before the cameras were Bill Hillburn Jr., 34, a U.S. Department of Energy mechanical designer from Stockton; Andre Coulombe, 35, a self-employed financial consultant and Explorer Scout adviser from Sylmar; Tony Aceuerdo, 35, an architectural intern from Stockton, and Donald Castillo, an aerospace engineer from Los Angeles.

“I’m here because I’m scared to death,” Castillo told reporters. “Once you hit one liberty, other liberties are going to fall.”

Aceuerdo was even more adamant. “I have a feeling,” he said, “that some people who are pushing these laws are thinking more like communists and liberals.”

As for Salseda, he said he decided to get involved in the suit after realizing the inconvenience of no longer being able to legally store his M1-A1s at his house. He said he discussed the matter with the NRA’s Northern and Southern California regional representatives, both of whom are former Los Angeles police officers, before joining the suit.

‘Too Restricting’

“I don’t think I should be exempted because I’m a police officer,” Salseda said, “but I do think there should be some exemptions for competitors who use these rifles legitimately. The way the law is written, it’s just too restricting.”

The Supreme Court has offered no indication of whether it will hear the gun enthusiasts’ case, according to the NRA.

Salseda is not holding his breath. He said he has made arrangements to keep his rifles at a friend’s house outside of Los Angeles.