MIDWEST CITY, Okla. – Metro families are panicking after seeing a man walking around parks with a gun.
Now, law enforcement is firing back, saying it’s too dangerous.
He is going to public places like Hafer Park in Edmond and along SE 29th Street in Midwest City with a gun.
He says his goal is to quote, “audit the second amendment.”
“Are you video recording this to see what type of rise you get out of people when they call,” said the Edmond Police Officer.
“Yes, this is an audit,” said Tim Harper, an armed man. “We are going to see if you guys respect the second amendment and how you respond to someone carrying a pistol.”
Edmond Police are questioning Timothy Harpers intentions after someone saw him walking around the park with a gun.
“I started carrying the AR-15 pistol around to help migrate our law enforcement officers and citizens into realizing that when you see a citizen with a rifle, it`s not always a bad thing,” said Harper.
But, not everyone thinks he is doing it responsibly.
“That`s not a good way to audit the second amendment because it causes stress and apprehension, not only for the public, but the officers involved, said Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes.
Chief Clabes says it’s causing people to panic.
Those people, in turn, call 9-1-1, prompting a response for police officers.
“There`s a guy walking eastbound on 29th street,” said a 9-1-1 caller. “He`s in a brown jacket. He has an AR pistol. He`s open carrying the pistol. Can you send officers out to check him out?”
“I understand it can be scary,” said Harper. “As you start to see it more, you`ll get more comfortable with it.”
Harper says he will continue to test law enforcement until Oklahoma has more friendly gun laws.
“We don`t need to be scared of law abiding citizens with firearms, we need to embrace it because we are here to protect everybody and exercise our second amendment rights,” said Harper.
Chief Clabes warns Harper to advocate another way before he or someone else gets hurt.
“This could be hazardous to him himself because if any further movement is made or the officers feel like they`re threatened, they certainly have the right to use deadly force,” said Chief Clabes.
Chief Clabes hopes folks will still call 9-1-1 if you see something like this.
He says they will check it out and make sure that person has their proper license.