Illinois investigators lobby Legislature for authority to carry guns full time

Hacker should be prepared for anything. But because of current state law, she and the 18 other arson investigators responsible for analyzing possible fire crime scenes are often without a protective weapon.

“If they’re at a fire scene, that’s just investigating the fire,” explains Gary Leach, IFPE executive director. “Once a fire scene has been determined to be arson, then they are legally able to wear their sidearm” at the arson crime location.

The IFPE is pushing for legislation that would allow Hacker and her colleagues to carry firearms at all times. The expanded authority, says the union, is necessary for the personal protection of investigators.

Hacker, who works investigations in north-central Illinois, frequently visits fire scenes alone. She knows she could run into an arsonist at any time.

“The people we deal with are drug dealers, drug users, people who have committed homi­cides,” she says. “We are dealing with some hard-core criminals, and there are situations where we really need to have weapons on us.”

Like the time Hacker saw a suspected arsonist in a parking lot. She quickly hid her face and tried to mix in with the crowd.

“I didn’t want him to see what my kids looked like, what my personal vehicle looked like,” she says. “You figure if you’re going to put somebody behind bars for 10 years, they’re ­going to want to get revenge.”

Tommy Bychowski, another IFPE member, agrees and presented testimony to the Legislature this spring urging them to allow investi­gators to carry firearms 24/7.

“We, as peace officers, have to make split second decisions when faced with a situation that involves great bodily harm or even death,” he wrote in prepared testimony. “We shouldn’t have to worry about having to call ‘time-out’ to go to our vehicle and retrieve our firearm.”

The investigators’ concerns about personal safety both on the job and off is largely attributable to the changing nature of arson. “Long gone are such cases involving a cow knocking over a lantern inside of a barn,” says Bychowski. “These cases have been replaced by violent individuals involved in the illegal manufacturing of methamphetamine; burning down places of worship; and even domestic acts of terrorism.”

There has been a particular rise in meth labs. “Meth makers and meth users are often armed and dangerous, and meth use makes them unpredictable, paranoid and even delusional,” says Bychowski. “This combination of dangers poses an acute threat to the lives and safety of law enforcement officers.”

IFPE expects further action on the measure this fall.