Sydney Martinez, Campus Carrier news editor
The Berry College Police Department (BCPD) escorted a middle-aged man who was carrying a gun on campus on April 9. Berry Police charged the man with criminal trespass. He is not allowed back on campus until next April, when he can appeal his case with BCPD.
According to Chief of Police Ryan Chesley, an officer found the man biking along Viking Trail. The officer then wrote an incident report at 3:24 p.m.
“He did have a small firearm in a holster on his hip,” Chesley said. “One of our officers observed him, observed the weapon and initiated a stop to identify him and ask him about the weapon.”
Chesley said that the visitor did not know about Berry’s weapon policy because it was his first time on campus.
“Really, what it was, it was just ignorance on his part about the rules here,” Chesley said.
Chesley said that the man complied with BCPD. The officer who stopped the man had taken the firearm away before escorting him off campus.
“He was fully compliant and did everything he was asked to do,” Chesley said. “Ultimately, we temporarily took the weapon away from him until we escorted it off the property, where it was returned. He was in legal possession of it; it’s just there are some nuances in the law when it comes to private property and private colleges and universities specifically, and he was just unaware of those.”
In Georgia, concealed firearms are allowed on public college campuses by those who carry a license, but are prohibited in resident housing. Private colleges establish their own gun policies.
“Berry College did not elect to [adopt House Bill 280] and so it remains illegal to posess a firearm on Berry’s campus,” Chesley said.
Rules and regulations regarding weapons on campus can be found at berry.edu on the Wildlife Management Area page, which states that firearms are prohibited on campus.
Chesley said that the man had to be charge with criminal trespass even if he complied with officers to maintain consistency.
“It isn’t that he wasn’t compliant, it isn’t that he was deemed to feel like a threat, it’s just a violation of our regulations and rules,” Chesley said. “We would typically follow that with a criminal trespass. But it is certainly something that he can appeal.”
The visitor could ask to appeal his restriction from entering campus after 12 months have passed. Chesley said it is likely that BCPD can lift the restriction and he could visit campus again next spring.
“I would suspect after 12 months if he approached us about coming back, it’s one of those instances where we would remove the trespass,” Chesley said. “Conditionally, he understood the rules.”
If students see a person with a weapon on campus, they should call BCPD at their emergency number, 706-236-2262, with the location and a general description of the person so the situation can be investigated and the individual can be properly escorted off campus.
“I can’t say this happens very often, but it does happen from time to time,” Chesley said. “Almost always, everybody’s compliant and doesn’t give us any trouble when we explain [the rules] and ask them to leave, but students should always call if they observe [someone on campus with a firearm].”