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What would you do? (Sheriff dragging feet)

2K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  rstickle 
#1 ·
Sandy and I applied for our CCW's on October 21st, 2005. Last Friday marked 90 days since our application. Now, the people involved have had their problems (Cmdr. Oreskey's father died, his replacement is new, etc., etc., ad nauseum).

Here is the law:

If the sheriff does not receive the results of the fingerprint checks conducted by the bureau and by the federal bureau of investigation within ninety days after receiving a permit application, the sheriff shall determine whether to grant or deny the permit application without considering the fingerprint check information. If, upon receipt of the information, the sheriff finds that the permit was issued or denied erroneously, based on the criteria specified in section 18-12-203 (1) and (2), the sheriff shall either revoke or issue the permit, whichever is appropriate.

What would you do? We're at 100 days since application and the department keeps blowing us off. Who do you report the Sheriff's dept to for breaking the law? The State Attorney General maybe?

We are at our wits' end trying to get these permits. Seems like the powers that be are just dragging us out.

BTW, all checks came back OK, the Sheriff's department has our money and we're just sitting here waiting.

Any ideas?
 
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#2 ·
I would talk directly to the Sheriff and tell him your story. He may not even be aware of the delay if his clerks are the ones doing the paperwork. If its a big dept, he wont see the applications until the final step.

Give him the date of application, your names and politely remind him that the law gives 90 days and it is past due.

It may be that a simple call to the right people from him gets it expedited, I've seen this happen on numerous occasions in my own S.O. Depending on the work load and the dept, sometimes permits are way down on the list of priorities.

At the very least, give him a chance to rectify it. If that dosent work at least you could say that you spoke to him about it and didnt get any satisfaction. The next step would be to have a lawyer call and remind him....but hopefully it wont go that far.
 
#3 ·
Oh Larry - my oh my - this p's me off when this stuff drags on.

HG's suggestions are probably way to go. Polite and courtious hassling is probably all you can do - and it is diabolical you should be so messed around.

I do hope very much if you can do that, that you get immediate results - holy crap you and Sandy have lashed out a small fortune to - so far - get nowhere!!!

I certainly hope long before we meet at Tulsa, this will all be a bad dream! Did you ever go for the FL non-res BTW - it'll cover you in OK as well as IIRC another 25 states.

Anyways - here's hoping!
 
#4 ·
It reads to me that if after 90 days the sheriff doesn't recieve the results of the finger print check, then it's up to him to issue or deny the permit. It DOESN'T seem to say how long HE, has to do this... In Minnesota it's immediately after 30 days. (no print check). And they SHALL issue, if no red flags fly...
Call and ask him what the problem is, NICELY! Otherwise he may have to take his own 90 days to check you out... If you know what I mean!!
 
#5 ·
The local sheriff back home got me confused with my cousin that was always into mischief, but he was never in any real trouble. We have the same first and last names (I use my middle name) and are only four months apart in age; so, people either confused us for one another or thought we were brothers, etc...

Anyway, the sheriff held onto my fingerprints and never gave them to the Probate Judge. He didn't take into account that the Probate Judge was a friend of the family and had actually given me a pony when I was a boy.

It only took one trip to the courthouse to get it straightened out.
 
#6 ·
Relax

You are 10 days over the max fingerprint limit but, there is no minimum or maximum time stated in that law as to how much time the Sheriff is granted to either Permit or Deny without prints.
So the Sheriff is not breaking that law.
The law only states that the Sheriff is granted the power to decide to Accept Or Deny without the fingerprints or print check...after 90 days.


Call & ask to speak with the Sheriff.
If the Sheriff cannot come to the phone (at the time of your call) then ask that he return your phone call.
Make some notes for yourself prior to calling so that you have your exact application dates and other info close at hand & available to you.
Remember that if they are honestly running behind then your one phone call is likely being multiplied by probably 50 or 100 other daily calls.
Right now...obtaining your License To Carry is still based solely on Sheriff Discretion.
You'll accomplish nothing by getting upset & everything by being polite, professional, & brief.
Depending on his answer then your next step should be to call a qualified lawyer & have him/her expedite your application.

BTW: Before Pennsylvania became a Shall Issue State ~ the PA was "License To Carry Concealed" based solely on the discretion of the Sheriff's department.
The Sheriff having been granted the power to either "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down" any L.T.C. Concealed.
I did not have a problem getting mine back then (since I knew that Sheriff) but, I heard stories of some folks that did have problems.
I learned that nothing is ever accomplished by losing your temper or getting outwardly upset.
 
#7 ·
I agree that politely is the only way to deal with this. After all, I have to live and do business in this county. And it is a big county so I'm sure the Sheriiff's Dept. has other things to do.

The young girl twho took over Cmdr. Oreskey's job is brand new and I would hate to get her in trouble her first two weeks on the job. She has been nice enough to us anyway.

I'll wait a few more days and leave a message for her again. After all, I carry at home, in my business and in my car anyway (legal in this state).

Chris, I haven't looked into the Fla permit yet, but I believe we are reciprocal with OK, so I'll likely wait until summer to get that one.
 
#9 ·
Being polite and courteous should go a long way here. Get in touch with the sheriff via the proper channels and give him an opportunity to get this settled for you. After that you can go another route.

Here's hoping you get that permit soon! :hand10:
 
#10 ·
Seems like you're going through the issues of a smaller department, but since you're located (IIRC) in Pueblo that shouldn't be happening. It sounds like you've been caught up in the SNAFUs that arise when there's a sudden and unplanned change in leadership and they're trying to sort it all out. I'd give the sheriff a call tomorrow or Tuesday and explain your situation and see what can be worked out. Then I'd get moving on your FL and/or UT non-res permit so that you have other CCW options and not keep waiting around for the sheriff to act on your application.

BTW, I carry on both FL & NH here in CO and don't have any issues. I'll apply for my CO permit once I'm permanently out here so that my NH, ME & PA permits stay valid since I won't be a VA resident anymore. Luckily, I'm going to be living in unincorporated Arapahoe County and won't have to deal with these issues since I know the sheriff personally. He runs an efficient department and is very pro-gun.
 
#14 ·
Woohoo! :danceban: :danceban: :danceban: :danceban: :danceban: :danceban: :danceban: :danceban: :danceban:
 
#16 ·
congrats and i regret the time it took for all us colorado packers that it went so well for
 
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