Hermosa Beach Police Chief Savelli
I've extensively interviewed the Hermosa Beach Police Chief Savelli and I think that Harley's Open Carry Event shows that he is a man of his word.
I went up to Lt Gaines who was in charge of "crowd" control to see if he was going to conduct 12031(e) inspection stops and he simply said "no". We chatted some more and it turns out he owns the So. Cal
Sharpshooter range in Torrance. To him, civilians carrying guns is no big deal. This is my first post, if I don't screw it up I'll attach a photo of Lt Gaines in the background where it is fairly easy to see by the bored look on his face that this was a non-event to him.
As for Chief Savelli, he is going to enforce the letter of the law. He is fully aware of the Heller/McDonald decisions but he doesn't pick and choose which laws he is going to enforce. To quote Chief Savelli "The police department will follow all the appropriate laws or changes in the laws as they occur."
The Hermosa Beach City Attorney is currently reviewing the Heller/McDonald decisions. The City Attorney is one of the persons who decides what laws will be enforced. If he tells Chief Savelli that 12031(e) inspections, for example, are now unconstitutional, all of his officers will immediately be notified and their manuals updated and the law will no longer be enforced. The same can be said of the District Attorneys office since they are the ones who prosecute felonies and of course the Chief will obey court orders.
In short, Hermosa Beach is an Open Carry friendly city provided one follows the pre-Heller laws.
Chief Savelli has created a
map with the pre-Heller prohibited areas marked.
As for the actual beach being a prohibited area. That is due to a city ordinance not a county one. If you would like to change it then make your desires known to the City Council not the police. If the City Council repeals the ordinance then the police will no longer enforce it. The same can be said of the greenbelt and other prohibited areas except for the Gun Free School Zones.
If you would like to carry in them then I suggest you contact the "school district superintendent, his or her designee, or equivalent school authority" and ask for written permission under California Penal Code Section 626.9 and while you are at it tell them to send a written letter to the Police Chief stating that all persons are free to carry within their school zone because the schools, their agents and employees are now personally liable for Federal Civil Rights lawsuits as a result of the recent US Supreme Court decision.
If the photo attached correctly, Lt Gaines is the man in the dark blue shirt next to the truck with a radio in his hand. As you can see, he can hardly contain his excitement.