Gun Law Should Apply Only to Commoners, Not Cops, Ohio Supremes Rule

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a specification in the law that provides stiffer penalties for people who use a gun in commission of a crime cannot be applied to a police officer convicted of wrongdoing while performing his duty.

In a split decision, the court held that Ohio's firearms specification was intended to deter criminals from using firearms while committing an offense and not to deter police officers from carrying a firearm while on duty.

The case involved an Ottawa Hills police officer, Thomas White, who shot a motorcyclist he had pulled over for a traffic stop, leaving him paralyzed.

White contended he thought the man was reaching for a weapon as White approached the motorcycle, according to the court record. It turned out the motorcyclist had no gun.

White was convicted of felonious assault and sentenced to seven years in prison. The court sentenced him to three additional years, as state law specifically requires when a person uses a gun in the commission of a crime.

An appellate court overturned White's conviction, holding that use of the gun specification in this case was unconstitutional. It also found that the trial court erred when it barred White from testifying about offenses he thought the motorcyclist had committed leading up the the shooting and also erred in its jury instructions on use of force.

Prosecutors in Lucas County appealed to the Supreme Court.

Writing for the majority, Justice Terrence O'Donnell said the purpose of a firearm specification is to enhance punishment for voluntarily using a gun while committing a crime and to deter other criminals from using firearms.

"A firearm specification is not intended to deter a peace officer from possessing a firearm, because the officer is required to carry a firearm and permitted to use it, when necessary, in the course of carrying out the duties of a law enforcement officer," O'Donnell wrote. "The General Assembly did not intend the firearm specification to apply to a police officer who fired a gun issued to him to protect himself, fellow officers, and the public from a person he thought was about to brandish a weapon."

A gun specification could apply to an officer, O'Donnell wrote, if the facts showed the officer engaged in criminal activity that was beyond the scope of his official duties. He cited as an example an officer robbing a drug dealer at gunpoint.

"Police officers are human. We know that any human being, whether a police officer, a judge, or a priest, can commit an offense and be an 'offender,'"she wrote. "The law must apply to all or it applies to none."