Ohioans For Concealed Carry will be holding an open carry walk in Northwood, Ohio (Wood County) to express our dissatisfaction with the findings of an internal affairs investigation regarding the treatment of one of our members after an encounter with Northwood Police.
Back in early July, OFCC member Edwin Farbrother was detained and harassed by Northwood Police for legally openly carrying a firearm at Netty's Ice Cream Shop. The police had been called to the scene by the chief of police, who was off-duty and at the shop.
After arriving, officers began berating Farbrother for openly carrying a gun where children were present. They told Farbrother he was breaking the law by carrying his firearm openly. One officer insisted that if they were responding to a burglar alarm and saw Farbrother carrying a firearm that he would be the first one they would "take down," and that he risked getting "popped". They then informed him that they were letting him go, but if he did it again he would be arrested and they would let the judge sort out who was right and who was wrong. During the course of the incident, Farbrother’s drivers license was broken by one of the officers.
Immediately following this incident, OFCC contacted the Northwood police department and spoke with the police chief and law director. A complaint was filed and investigated. The findings of the Internal Affairs investigation was that “no officer misconduct occurredâ€. The broken drivers license was claimed to be the result of faulty laminating. Farbrother's local BMV did not corroborate that claim and did not re-issue a license for free. In an email to OFCC Director Daniel White, Ohio BMV Field Operations Administrative Assistant Chris Lee stated, "our driver license cards are supposed to hold up for the 4 year duration."
There is no prohibition against law-abiding citizens openly carrying a firearm for personal protection in the State of Ohio. In fact, at the request of Ohioans For Concealed Carry and other law enforcement agencies who have made similar mistakes, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has begun publicizing the fact that openly carrying a firearm in Ohio is not an illegal act and is working that information into its statewide training programs and printed materials.
When a similar incident happened in Willowick, the police department admitted their error and worked with OFCC to resolve the incident. Willowick Police Chief Michael Lazor wrote a letter to Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers asking for an official opinion that would help spread the word. OFCC submitted a similar letter, and in response the AG's office added open carry to their official publication covering Ohio's concealed carry laws. They also put a short article in the latest issue of the Trainer, plan to put a longer one in the next issue, and are adding it to the curriculum of their continuing education programs for law enforcement.
Northwood Police Chief Cairl was less than helpful when we attempted to resolve the incident with him. He claims he did not know that open carry is legal. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. No citizen deserves to be berated by the police for conducting a legal activity.
OFCC disagrees with the findings of the investigation that no officer misconduct occurred and believes that Farbrother is owed an apology by the Northwood Police Department. Berating someone publicly and in front of his daughter for a perfectly legal act is not an appropriate response.
OFCC members will meet at Central Park, adjacent to city hall, at noon on Saturday, September 20th and conduct an open carry walk past the municipal complex containing city hall and the police department to reinforce the fact that open carry is a legal activity in the state of Ohio and to encourage the Northwood Police Department to issue an apology to Mr. Farbrother.
Press Release
I don't have any problem with this. If you worry about being around nuts with guns you just stay away. You patronize businesses where you have the fiction of "being safe".
And people wonder why Woodville Rd. has nothing but empty buildings.
Who doesn't carry a gun to the ice cream shop?
Otherwise they'll put too much air in the soft serve.
Guns are a standard tool for negotiation in a civilized society. That's how I prenupt my 3rd wife.
If scared paranoid people want to carry guns, you can't help but let them and laugh.
An armed society is a polite society.
Or an insecure douchebag society.
Im always unarmed. Never thought to pull a gun on anyone evvsss.
Midget?
sorry I'm neither insecure or a douchbag sorry, but I also believe that I will not take any chances of putting my life in anyone else's hands.
Sorry my waking up breathing everyday to my family is more important than taking any chances.
They can have my ice cream cone when they pry it from my dead cold hand.
Instead of just settling for carrying a gun, go all out. Really protect yourself and wear a bulletproof vest, helmet with shatterproof visor, gas mask, radiation suit, oxygen tank, and a supply of emergency food. You can't be too sure today.
But seriously, after seeing how some idiots conduct themselves without guns, I'm now worried that they have that much fire power. I guess I better go get my permit.
And bulletproof vests are fashionable.
If you really care about the health and well-being of you and your family... you'd probably change some yours and their habits. Like getting a car with a better safety rating, eating organic grains, beans, and veggies, getting proper exercise, etc.
People who assault people are usually provoked by bad business dealings, ill-fated love affairs, the theft of vain property....
Cause of Death Lifetime Odds
Heart Disease
1-in-5
Cancer
1-in-7
Stroke
1-in-23
Accidental Injury
1-in-36
Motor Vehicle Accident*
1-in-100
Intentional Self-harm (suicide)
1-in-121
Falling Down
1-in-246
Assault by Firearm
1-in-325
Fire or Smoke
1-in-1,116
Natural Forces (heat, cold, storms, quakes, etc.)
1-in-3,357
Electrocution*
1-in-5,000
Drowning
1-in-8,942
Air Travel Accident*
1-in-20,000
Flood* (included also in Natural Forces above)
1-in-30,000
Legal Execution
1-in-58,618
Tornado* (included also in Natural Forces above)
1-in-60,000
Lightning Strike (included also in Natural Forces above)
1-in-83,930
Snake, Bee or other Venomous Bite or Sting*
1-in-100,000
Earthquake (included also in Natural Forces above)
1-in-131,890
Dog Attack
1-in-147,717
Asteroid Impact*
1-in-200,000**
Tsunami* 1-in-500,000
Fireworks Discharge
1-in-615,488
That's a great bunch of numbers probably put together by the same group that told me that every dollar spent by the zoo gives a return of 7 to the local economy.
In simple terms, hogwash.
I personally don't think people are responsible enough to drive at 16, drink at 21, have children before the age of 30, and be able to carry a gun by just filling out paperwork.
I'm not completely against it, I just lack faith in people's responsibility and accountability.
No offense hockey,but you need to do your research before you talk about something you apparently don't know anything about.
First of all you just do not go fill out paper work, and of course the applicant has to be atleast 21 years of age. A person has to go through 12 hours of class room and range training, If they pass that then they have to submit their application to their sheriff or an adjoing county. Then they have to submit their finger prints for a background check. Then if the background check comes back clean the sheriff will issue a license.
Seriously, if you wanna learn about the concealed carry law, most everything you need to know can be found here
http://www.ag.state.oh.us/le/prevention/concealcarry/index.asp
Ok, I missed the specifics, but my main point is contained in the last line of my previous post.
Good post and great link, lfrost. Thank you.
Thanks Graphics, That is the boiled down version and of course there is alot more to getting a CHL than just what I wrote. I learn even more everyday by frequenting OFCC, who's members and administration put together that specific OC walk.
Here is the link if you would like it.
http://ohioccwforums.org/index.php?sid=9aaacd6692c776cc27e64c10be958340
Hockeyfan, I'm sorry you feel that you need to group everyone into those categories. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
I offer an invite for anyone to our next local meet and greet for OFCC, to see that we are just normal everyday people, from every walk of life that are just worried about our own safety.
message boards are so limited sometimes in expressing your opinion and this is an example. I'm thinking one way, yet typing another.
I am not against the law. I firmly believe in the classic line, "Guns don't commit crimes, only criminals do."
Maybe I can be a little clearer with this example.
Cars can be dangerous. Some people that drive cars aren't as responsible as others. In fact, some drivers actually scare me. I feel the same way about guns. It's not the responsible gun owners/carriers that worry me. I didn't mean to group all gun owners/carriers into one group. Like everything else, there are different types of people in every group. The responsible and accountable ones, and the irresponsible ones. I get the opinion from here that frost and some others are the responsible ones. I'd be glad to share an ice cream store with you and your gun. No problem at all.
Sorry about the confusion in my sarastic posts.
I understand now. Thank you for explaining it better and now I do agree with you. I know it is hard on the internet to sometimes tell someone's tone and mood.