Reps. Michael Foley and Bill Patmon: Blaming the many for the sins of a few

by Chad D. Baus

On May 11, 2011, during House debate on Restaurant Carry legislation, two Ohio state representatives took to the floor to explain their opposition to the bill. Both Representatives Michael Foley (D-14) and Bill Patmon (D-10) blamed their refusal to support the Second Amendment rights of Ohioans because of a few extreme examples of licensed individuals breaking the law.

Consider the following from Foley:

Last week, a week and a half ago someone with a CCW license killed four people in Adams County and shot three police officers in Columbus.

Those are the folks who, you know, they're like you and me, they're like -- they're not like you and me, but they're like the regular people throughout this State who commit crimes just like anyone else does -- do.

In point of fact, the individual Foley mentioned did not have a concealed handgun license at the time of his alleged crimes - it had expired months earlier. But what if he had been a CHL-holder? Do the actions of this one man justify Foley's opposition to restoring the rights of so many other law-abiding Ohioans?

Consider too the words of Patmon:

I'm gonna read you something from a web site that I found through my research in that committee, it's called CCW Killers. These are people who have Concealed Carry Permits and have done some of the most onerous things that you want to think about.

...Here in the State of Ohio, four people right in Cleveland, Ohio three people, one wounded; fireman concealed carry had a dispute, been having a good time 4th of July, people blowing off fireworks in the next yard. He walks out upset, Cleveland fireman, and kills three of the people participating and disturbing the peace, a Concealed Carry Permit holder.

It is highly unlikely that Patmon would bring up this case involving the Cleveland fireman, for example, to address legislation involving the rights of firemen to bargain collectively. But while he would never want this example to be used to infringe on the rights of all firefighters, he has no problem in using it to judge all CHL-holders.

Should the estimated one quarter of one million license-holders in Ohio be judged, or have their rights be infringed upon, because the actions of a few? Reps. Patmon and Foley believe they should.

But would they also like to judge Ohio's law enforcement officers for the actions of a few?

Court documents obtained by WTRF reveal that former Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter has been indicted on three counts of thefts of firearms.

Special Prosecutor Shawn Hervey said Carpenter allegedly stole guns from the Martins Ferry Police Department while he was chief there. The guns allegedly stolen include two pistols and one sniper rifle.

Two Scioto County men, who were at the time both Hanging Rock police officers, have been indicted on felony charges of tampering with evidence and theft in office.

Clyde Franklin “Frank” Sanders Jr., who had been chief deputy under former Pike County Sheriff Larry Travis, was arraigned last week on two counts of kidnapping, one count of rape, one count of gross sexual imposition and child endangering.

According to the indictment, Sanders had sex with a child who was, at the time, under the age of 10, in October 2008 and January 2009.

On the morning he shot and killed a gun-wielding felon, Cleveland police officer Walter Thomas was breaking a rule his supervisors had accused him of violating at least twice before: working off-duty without permission.
Not that Thomas would have gotten approval had he asked. The 19-year veteran had been on the department's sick list for most of the past year, and written police orders explicitly forbid inactive officers from accepting part-time security jobs.

Records reviewed by The Plain Dealer show that officials had found enough evidence to pursue 11 disciplinary charges against Thomas since 2008, but Police Chief Michael McGrath never punished him.

A police chiefs group in Ohio mishandled nearly $5 million in federal anti-terrorism grants, according to an audit by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog. The state hopes to recoup some but not all the money.

A former Miami County police officer was found guilty Monday of stealing from pee wee football players in Troy.

Bobby Chaney of Tipp City pleaded no contest to the charge before he was found guilty by a judge.

Chaney was accused of stealing nearly $12,000 from the Pee Wee Football Association of Tipp City while serving as its treasurer.

Chaney was formerly the police chief in the village of Potsdam.

The Cleveland Police Department announced on Friday that charges have been filed against four white police officers for assaulting an African-American male suspect on the evening of January 1, 2011.

The officers who were charged with felonious assault are Martin Lentz, 34, Kevin Smith, 25, Paul Crawford 28, and Christopher Randolph, 26.

CBS News has learned the alleged beating of the man named Edward Henderson was filmed by a police helicopter hovering overhead. The video of the beating has been described to CBS News by Henderson's attorney as "shocking." A judge has so far refused to release the footage to the media.

A Franklin County sheriff's deputy is stabbed by her husband before he turns a gun on himself overnight Wednesday.

Columbus police told NBC4 the husband, a former sheriff's deputy, called 911 around 1 a.m. Wednesday and told the dispatcher he stabbed his wife.

Officers responded to the 2200 block of Breeze Hill Drive and found 39-year-old Laura Worthington inside the house, suffering from a stab wound to the throat.

A trooper from the Canfield post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol has entered a diversion program after his January arrest at a Cleveland Browns game.

...Mahoning County Sheriff deputies working at the football game arrested Fantone after he was accused of heckling two officers by throwing peanuts at them and shouting obscenities. Officers confronted Fantone who became belligerent and refused to comply with orders.

An Ohio State Highway Patrol captain accused of assaulting his wife was placed on administrative duty on Monday after he was arrested over the weekend.

Patrol Capt. Arthur Combest will have to surrender his gun and badge while the patrol investigates allegations that he assaulted his wife, 10 Investigates' Paul Aker reported.

Genoa Township police answered a domestic violence call at Combest's home on Sunday evening.

An officer was shot on Wednesday evening when another officer's
gun accidentally fired as police prepared to execute a search warrant at a home
on the city's northeast side.

The Sugarcreek Township Police Department has arrested a West Carrollton police officer and his wife who are accused of shoplifting. The couple is accused of stealing about $80 worth of DVDs and children's toys Friday, police said.They had an 18-month-old child with them when they were arrested, police said.Sgt. Mark White with Sugarcreek Township

Police said, "Our job is to be the standard and set the example for the community to follow. When something like this happens, it definitely puts a black eye on the profession."

A former Columbus police sergeant pleaded not guilty onTuesday to gross sexual imposition and sexual imposition charges afterallegedly groping a woman while he was in her care.

The alleged act occurred when Thomas E. Glover was still a member of the Columbus Division of Police and the womanserved as his caretaker while he was recovering from surgery at a carefacility, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported.

Glover, a 33-year veteran of the Columbus Division of Police, was a sergeant in the narcotics vision and servedin the internal affairs bureau. He retired six months after the allegedcomplaint was filed.

According to the indictment, Glovercompelled the victim to submit by force or threat of force and that he knewthat sexual contact was offensive or reckless.

NOTE: These are just some examples from Ohio in 2011, and the list is by no means-exhaustive. On the other hand, Foley and Patmon had to use resources going back to 2007, and encompassing the entire nation, to come up with the examples they used involving CHL holders, many of which involved incidents having nothing to do with any state-issued license or permit.

So what about it? Do all of Ohio's law enforcement officers deserve to be judged based on the actions of a few? If Foley and Patmon were at all consistent, they would answer with a hearty "yes!"

But the vast majority of Ohioans believe otherwise. They do NOT believe these examples represent the majority of law enforcement officers, just as they do NOT believe the examples Foley and Patmon exploited are representative of the vast majority of concealed handgun license-holders (or, for that matter, the majority of state representatives).

And that is why Foley and Patmon continue to be in the minority in the Ohio General Assembly.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.

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