united-states police firearms
Can a policeman have his service weapon on him in a building that does not allow guns?
<p>I am French, so the US regulations about who can hold a gun where are complicated for me, I apologise if the question is obvious in the US.</p>
<p>YouTube brought me to a 2019 case (the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE85BO6vUYM" rel="noreferrer">TV News version</a> and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi7cjvB32Yw" rel="noreferrer">bodycam version</a> with more details) where a policeman in uniform (and with his service weapon) entered an IRS building for personal business.</p>
<p>He was then stopped and &quot;chased&quot; by a security guard because he did not want to remove his service weapon. The policeman was being asked whether he was on official duties (in which case I assume that the service weapon is fine, having all the right paperwork or situation), he said no and wanted to leave.</p>
<p>He was stopped by the security guard and finally, it is all the security guard's fault.</p>
<p>My questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Can a policeman enter a no-gun building with his service weapon while on duty, but for personal business?</li>
<li>Can a policeman enter a no-gun building with his service weapon while not on duty (again, for personal business)?</li>
<li>Can a security guard stop someone who entered the no-gun building by all reasonable means awaiting for police to intervene? (the rationale being that someone broke the law)</li>
</ul>

<p>A <a href="https://www.13abc.com/content/news/Security-guard-receives-probation-after-May-incident--567733751.html" rel="noreferrer">follow-up story</a> appears on the local ABC television station, indicating that the security guard pleaded no contest to simple assault. The fact that the security guard was convicted of a misdemeanor does not necessarily indicate that the deputy was allowed to have the gun in the IRS office, only that the security guard's response to the situation was not acceptable.</p>
<p>I am not able to locate any firearm policy for the Lucas County, Ohio' sheriff's office. Many US law enforcement agencies have a policy that their officers carry their firearms essentially at all times, so that they can respond to unexpected incidents even when they are off duty.</p>
<p>At the same time, owners of private property ordinarily can admit people, or not, for any reason at all. Unless the officer has an official reason for entering a property when the owner doesn't want the officer there, the officer isn't allowed to enter. It appears that in this case the officer had no official law-enforcement reason to enter.</p>
<p>But this case doesn't involve private property, it involves federal property. A <a href="https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/legal-digest/legal-digest-off-duty-officers-and-firearms" rel="noreferrer">digest from the FBI</a> states &quot;Federal laws or regulations are not superseded by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_Enforcement_Officers_Safety_Act" rel="noreferrer">LEOSA</a>. Qualified officers may not carry concealed weapons onto aircraft under the act. They also cannot carry firearms into federal buildings or onto federal property.&quot;</p>

<p>The owner of a property can prohibit people from entering the property. If they want to make entering the property contingent on not carrying a gun, they are generally free to do so. There are, however, cases where a police officer doesn't need permission from the owner of a building to enter, and in such a case they probably will be allowed to carry a gun, absent further facts. Examples of such cases are executing a search or arrest warrant and exigent circumstances (for instance, if they see through a window that someone is being beaten).</p>
<p>Whether they are &quot;on official business&quot; is not dispositive; if a cop comes to your house and asks to interview you regarding a crime, that is official business, but it doesn't mean that they have the right to enter your house without your permission.</p>
