Gun Case Favors Off-Duty Officers

An appellate court ruling Thursday cleared the way for more than 700 Orange County peace officers to carry guns while off-duty without getting permission from their employers, a union spokesman said.

The ruling issued by the state Court of Appeal in Santa Ana overturned a lower court decision. The case dealt with a lawsuit between the Orange County government and 155 special sheriff’s officers, 20 deputy coroners and 45 court services officers, said Nick Berardino, director of employee relations for the Orange County Employees Assn.

But the effect of the appellate court’s decision will be felt by another 515 peace officers in the county’s Probation Department, including deputy probation officers and counselors, Berardino said.

The county’s attorney, Terry C. Andrus, said he would reserve comment on the case until he has had time to study the ruling.

“I think that the officers involved would view this as very significant,” said John Sawyer, attorney for the Orange County Employees Assn.

The case, which was filed last year, hinged on whether the county could control whether those three classes of peace officers may carry handguns when off duty, Sawyer said.

The employees’ group argued that state statutes, not regulations by the county, control whether these particular peace officers may carry weapons off duty without gun permits.

Although a Superior Court ruling favored the county, the appellate court overturned the decision, in effect saying that the employees do not need a permit to carry the weapons off duty, Sawyer said.

The special sheriff’s officers are a group of peace officers in the Sheriff’s Department used mainly to protect county facilities, Sawyer said.