Fresno County moves forward with plan to let prosecutors carry guns after park stabbing

Your prosecutors could soon be armed in county buildings and parks.

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to advance an ordinance allowing certain prosecutors and investigators to carry concealed firearms on county property — a direct response to the August 20 stabbing of a deputy district attorney in Courthouse Park downtown.

District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp told supervisors the prosecutor who was attacked has recovered and returned to work. Authorities have described the stabbing as a targeted attack.

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Under the proposal, Smittcamp herself would be allowed to carry a concealed weapon on county property if she holds the required license. She’d also gain authority to authorize prosecutors and special investigators with concealed-carry permits to possess firearms on county property. Employees could carry pepper spray or Tasers when expressly authorized in writing by the district attorney.

“I think because the lack of respect for law enforcement has changed so much, we have to adapt, and we are targets. We are targeted,” Smittcamp said during Tuesday’s meeting.

She told supervisors she receives about two threats against her life each month and raised broader concerns about safety for prosecutors and other county employees working downtown.

Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni backed the proposal, noting there are about 15,000 active concealed-carry permits countywide. “The DA’s are out there prosecuting homicide cases and M.A.G.E.C. cases,” Zanoni said, referring to the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium. “I think we all know that any of us in the public eye, whether you’re a sheriff, a board supervisor or the district attorney — we all have incidents that occur … and we all need to be able to protect ourselves.”

Zanoni added that public awareness that employees may be armed could deter threats.

Smittcamp stressed that employees who carry must be properly trained and educated. Under the policy, participating employees must hold valid concealed-weapons permits, register any firearm they carry, and pass a firearms qualification test twice each year. The county plans to install lockboxes in courtrooms and at the district attorney’s office for secure storage while employees conduct official business.

County officials said the changes would not increase net county costs. The ordinance is scheduled for a second hearing September 22. If approved, it would take effect 30 days later.

The Breakdown

• The ordinance would allow District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp to carry a concealed weapon on county property if she holds the required license, and to authorize prosecutors and special investigators with concealed-carry permits to do the same.
• Employees could also carry pepper spray or Tasers when expressly authorized in writing by the district attorney.
• Participating employees must hold valid concealed-weapons permits, register their firearms, and pass qualification tests twice yearly.
• The county will install secure lockboxes in courtrooms and at the DA’s office for storage during official business.
• The Board of Supervisors will hold a second hearing September 22; if passed, the changes take effect 30 days later.

What This Means for You

The five supervisors you elected are deciding whether to give one county official — the district attorney — the authority to determine which employees in her office carry firearms into the same county buildings, parks, and courthouses you and your children use. That’s a meaningful shift in who makes safety decisions for shared public spaces, and it’s worth understanding whether the board is weighing the full picture: not just the threat prosecutors face, but also the risks that come with more firearms in crowded, high-stress environments where families, children, and vulnerable residents are present every day.

This vote will shape the environment your family encounters when you visit a county building, attend a hearing, or walk through Courthouse Park. It’s also a measure of how your supervisors are responding to the August attack — whether with a thoughtful security plan or a reactive policy that trades one set of risks for another.

What You Can Do

The Board of Supervisors will hold a second hearing on this ordinance September 22. You can attend in person at the Hall of Records, 2281 Tulare Street in Fresno, or submit written comments ahead of the meeting through the county’s public comment process. Contact information for each supervisor is available on the county’s website.

What to Watch

Smittcamp herself said Tuesday that this policy “is not the be-all and end-all solution for crime against law enforcement officials” — so what else is being done? The man accused in the August stabbing interrupted his own hearing Wednesday with an outburst, and his family says he struggles with mental illness. The man accused still hasn’t been arraigned nearly three weeks later because of mental-health concerns.

Arming employees is the easiest policy to approve quickly, but it’s worth asking whether your supervisors are stopping there because it’s the right answer or because it’s the politically simplest one. What happens when an employee who’s authorized to carry has a weapon stolen, or when a firearm is discharged — even accidentally — in a building full of people? The ordinance includes training and qualification requirements.

The county also plans to install lockboxes for secure storage. If the threat to prosecutors includes people in crisis, then the question supervisors should be answering is whether arming employees addresses that threat or just makes the county feel like it’s doing something. A firearm is a tool for stopping an attacker; it does nothing to prevent the attack from starting. What is the county doing to keep people in crisis from reaching the point where they’re a danger to anyone?