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4 <br />Chief Deputy Sykes said the officer on the scene will use the facts they encounter to inform their <br />discretion. If a person is shooting toward Highway 54 but into a bank of land that’s capturing the <br />bullet, then the officer can conclude that the shooting is safe under an ordinance that allows for <br />aneffective, natural backstop. If it were flat land in a direct line of sight toward the highway, <br />then that would be in violation of that type of ordinance. The existence of the ordinance gives us <br />the authority to act if we see a violation, and we would notneed “in the discretion of law <br />enforcement” to do so. Dr. Arvik said that he has had the experience of seeing law enforcement <br />officers unable to act when a neighbor was shooting unsafely.I need assurance that the Sheriff’s <br />deputies are going to get the proper training about what is safe and clear authority that they can <br />make that decision in the moment. Right now I do not believe they can make that determination. <br />Mr. Tilley said that right now –and back when Dr. Arvik witnessed the unsafe shooter –thereis <br />noCounty ordinance the Sheriff’s Office can use to exert such authority. Passage of an ordinance <br />as the group has been discussing will give theSheriff authority, he said. Dr. Arvik said that law <br />enforcement has the authority and the responsibility tostop dangerous behavior, whether we <br />have an ordinance or not. In reply to a question from Deputy Chief Sykes, Dr. Arvik said that he <br />did not know if the law enforcement officers who did not stop the unsafe shooter were State <br />Troopers or Orange County deputies. Mr. Roberts said that he is not aware of any existing <br />ordinance that gives law enforcement authority to stop the discharge of firearms in <br />unincorporated Orange County other than for discharges into an occupied dwelling or at a <br />person. <br />Mr. Tesoro said that it is too difficult for law enforcement to ascertain compliance with specific <br />standards for a backstop; that is why none of the ordinances we have reviewed from all the other <br />counties in North Carolina have avoided such standards. The Harnett County ordinance does a <br />good job at saying what we want: that you have to stop the bullet however it is that you do it. <br />Ms. Conti said that Mecklenberg County cites specifications promulgated by the NRA; it is a <br />legitimate authority in this contextand it gives law enforcement something tangible to work <br />with, she said. Mr. Hunnell said that it is too expensive for ordinary people to construct <br />backstops according to the NRA specifications; those specifications are for shooting ranges, he <br />said. Ms. Conti said no,that the Mecklenberg County ordinance uses the NRA specifications for <br />“a person target shooting on his own property.” Mr. Tilley said that the NRA specifications do <br />not sound like a practical solution. Ms. Conti said that she would want to seethe specifications <br />for herself, and highlighted the Mecklenberg County language associating a backstop with “the <br />type and caliber of firearms being fired.” Mr. Hunnell agreed that the backstop should be <br />appropriate for the type and caliber of firearms being fired. Mr. Kirkland proposed that <br />paragraph (c) read, “It is unlawful for any person to discharge a firearm except into a natural or <br />constructed backstop sufficient to stop the projectile.” The allowance would be for natural or <br />constructed backstops, he said.