Toy Gun ‘Protest’ at City Hall Draws Fire

Pool hall owner Jerry Jamgotchian says bringing a toy gun to Hawthorne council meetings and repeatedly pulling the trigger was his symbolic protest of Mayor Larry Guidi’s firing of a handgun in public in October.

But city officials say that type of protest is not appropriate in council chambers, and City Clerk Daniel D. Juarez has asked City Atty. Glen Shishido to look for legal ways to keep toy guns out of City Hall.

Juarez sent a memo to Shishido after he spotted Jamgotchian playing with a small gun during a Dec. 12 council meeting. According to the memo, Jamgotchian was “cocking the hammer of the gun and depressing the trigger” repeatedly. The gun was aimed at Guidi, Juarez said.

Jamgotchian said he paid about $2 for the bright orange plastic cap gun at a local toy store. He brought it to the meeting to call attention to an Oct. 27 incident in which Guidi fired his 9-millimeter handgun into the air to scare off three juveniles who were breaking into a neighbor’s car.

“Guidi wants to cover up his own gun escapade and wants people to forget about it,” Jamgotchian said. “We need to make sure that people remember that what he did was criminal.” But Guidi, who was cleared by police in the incident, was not amused by the protest.

“How do we know that was a plastic gun?” he said. “I get a lot of threats anonymously. I fear for my safety.”

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Guidi said he was unaware of the toy gun until after the meeting, but he said the incident has led him to question the security measures at City Hall.

“When I’m on a public street, I take my life into my own hands, but in the council chambers I should be protected,” he said.

No uniformed police officers regularly attend council meetings, but Police Chief Stephen R. Port said the chambers are safe. Port, who attends most regular meetings and sometimes carries a handgun, said bringing a toy gun to the meetings is not illegal as long as council members are not distracted.

“If they are distracted, that conduct could be called out of order and (Jamgotchian) could be ejected,” Port said.

Guidi said he is considering seeking a restraining order against Jamgotchian.