Cops, guns and booze in Baltimore's

As a rule I have my off duty weapon and if I know I'm going drinking I will drink a minimum amount. If I know I'm getting plastered I will not have it. Guns and heavy drinking can only lead to problems.

I wish this guy had followed common sense over his general orders.

Baltimore's drunk-and-armed police rule questioned

BALTIMORE (AP) — Off-duty police officer Gahiji A. Tshamba was enjoying a summer evening in a historic neighborhood known for its nightlife when he encountered trouble around closing time. He was carrying his department-issued, semiautomatic Glock handgun — unfortunately, as it turned out.


After he left the Red Maple nightclub around 1:30 a.m., Tshamba saw a man groping a woman and confronted him, starting a heated argument. The officer eventually drew his gun and emptied the clip, firing 13 shots — 12 of which struck and killed Tyrone Brown, an unarmed Iraq war veteran. The June 5 shooting resulted in a murder charge for Tshamba.


There's nothing unusual about a Baltimore officer packing heat for a night of carousing. In fact, officers are generally required to do so. But recent shootings involving alcohol and off-duty officers have some experts decrying the department's gun policy as an outdated approach other big cities have abandoned.


Baltimore's policy "boils down to the whole dated concept that a cop was a cop 24 hours a day. New York and many other places have become much more realistic," said Eugene O'Donnell, a former New York officer and current lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.


Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III is considering changes, such as a restriction on drinking while armed. But he's reluctant to toss out a decades-old policy that he says helps protect the public...


...Baltimore's policy on off-duty officers and guns is a single sentence: "Sworn members, off-duty, within the city of Baltimore, shall be suitably armed, except at such times, or under such circumstances, or when engaged in such activities as a prudent person would reasonably conclude the wearing of a firearm to be inappropriate..."

Slight problem...we are cops 24/7. We have to take action when something is happening. Taking action may only be getting a description and then calling for help. Or you may have to use deadly force.

I don't know enough details to really make a judgement of Officer Tshamba...that is for his department and a jury. But a major part of this job is judgement...and the first thing alcohol affects is you judgement. Don't mix guns and booze, period.