From our friends at Fairfax County Privacy Council:

Norfolk police step on it again on Fourth Amendment privacy
In an interesting article at http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/norfolk-police-clashes-fires-gun-rights-... the Norfolk police defend an apparent custom and practice to seize people not suspected of any crime in violation of the Fourth Amendment merely because somebody calls 911 and “requests service.”

SNIP

“Chris Amos, Norfolk PD’s spokesman, said he couldn't respond to Moore's specific claims about his September run-in with officers. ‘All I know is, we responded to a call for service,’ Amos said. ‘We are not at liberty to just refuse’ to do so.”

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Here’s the problem with Norfolk PD-think: Besides the fact that police have no duty to respond to 911 calls even if they know you are in danger, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_of_Castle_Rock_v._Gonzales, the police have no lawful power to seize persons or their property absent some reasonable suspicion that crime is afoot – and a mere report of gun carry does not rise to that level, says the federal Supreme Court, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_v._J.L. See also the Virginia AG’s recent opinion that “[a] person’s right to carry a firearm openly is considered universal within the Commonwealth, subject to definite and limited restrictions upon certain locations and classifications of individuals” at http://www.oag.state.va.us/OPINIONS/2008opns/08-043-Cuccinelli.pdf.

Violations of Fourth Amendment rights subject police and taxpayers to civil rights actions for damages, see http://thetimes-tribune.com/articles/2008/06/13/top_local_stories/197708... & http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/27706824.html?showALL=y&c=y.

FCPC wonders why this Fourth Amendment privacy is so hard for Norfolk?