Posted: Feb. 23, 2010 12:52 p.m.
Between 50 and 75 gun owner's rights advocates demonstrated in front of a state police district headquarters in Waukesha Sunday protesting because two state troopers ordered a Lisbon man to return his gun to his car after he walked into a Sussex restaurant with the loaded weapon last week.
"Open Carry is completely legal and they had no reason to believe I had committed a crime or I was about to commit a crime," said Joseph Schneider, 27, of the Town of Lisbon.
"If he would have walked into that restaurant and shot someone we would have had egg on our face," Trooper Sgt. Nathan Clark observed earlier.
Clark, the supervisor of the two troopers involved in the Feb. 15 incident at the China Wok restaurant, said the troopers acted properly but he was "disappointed" that Schneider was not questioned before he walked into the restaurant with the .45 caliber pistol in a holster on his hip.
However, Nik Clark, president of Wisconsin Carry Inc., who organized the demonstration, said the troopers were not entitled to question Schneider, or order him to take the gun back to his car, because he had not violated any laws and carrying an unconcealed weapon is permitted in Wisconsin.
Last summer, the Wisconsin Attorney General confirmed that residents of the state, with some exceptions, may carry unconcealed weapons.
Sgt. Clark said the troopers were entitled to question Schneider after one of them observed him removing the gun from the trunk of his car, inserting a magazine, and placing a round in the firing chamber of the weapon before walking into the restaurant.
In addition, the troopers observed police scanners, a police style radar gun, and a device that the troopers initially believed was for mounting an emergency flashing light in the interior of the car.
Schneider's car was also equipped with tinted glass windows and three antennae; one for a cb radio and one for each police scanner.
The troopers questioned Schneider because they had reason to believe he was impersonating a police officer, said Clark who added the case was later referred to the Waukesha County Sheriff's office for further investigation.
According to Schneider, the mounting device holds a pocket-sized video camera. He said he used the video camera, the scanners, and the radar gun, which he said is similar to one used to measure the speed of a baseball pitch, for "recreational" purposes and to monitor the speed and flow of traffic while he is driving.
Schneider said he routinely carries guns into restaurants and emphasized that he did not place a round in the firing chamber of the gun.
He pointed out that state law does not permit him to carry a gun while in an automobile and therefore he has to remove the gun from the trunk of the car before carrying it into the restaurant.
Asked why it would be necessary to carry a gun into a restaurant in Sussex, he responded by referring to recent news accounts of stolen weapons and gang activities in Waukesha.
"Waukesha isn't that far from Sussex," he observed.
But, both Sheriff Dan Trawicki and Village Administrator Evan Teich said it would be unusual for someone to carry a gun in a Sussex restaurant considering the low crime rate in the community.
Trawicki said his deputies later questioned Schneider but no charges were filed.
Sgt. Clark said he expects state police policies to be revised to more clearly define when and how troopers will question individuals carrying weapons.
He said the trooper who first spotted Schneider should have questioned him immediately in the parking lot rather than waiting for the arrival of another trooper and permitting Schneider to enter the restaurant with the gun, unchallenged.
The Waukesha County Sheriff's office provides contractual police services to the Village of Sussex and Town of Lisbon.
According to department policy, deputies will not detain or arrest individuals carrying weapons unless law enforcement authorities believe the individual has, or is about to, commit a crime or is carrying the weapon in an area where it is not permitted.
Weapons are not permitted in government buildings and facilities and or in businesses, institutions or other facilities where a policy prohibiting weapons has been posted.
Deputies, however, if they believe the circumstances merit, may question individuals about their side arms, according to Trawicki, who said he supports the attorney general's opinion.
In a video tape of the incident, taken by Schneider, it is apparent that the troopers, not the restaurant's owner or employees, told him to return the gun to his car. The restaurant's policy pertaining to weapons was not clearly established in the video.
