Open Carry Radio

Photo by David Julian

I thought “Brad Lawrence” (who introduced himself to me as “Kevin”) looked out of place hiding behind some bushes and recycling bins, so I approached to check him out. As I mentioned in a previous post I thought he was sent from the Brady Campaign to get Photos and Video they could use. The first thing he claimed was that he had a fear of guns and didn’t want me to approach him. I began to explain that his fears were irrational and that he could be a Hoplophobe. Based on his demeanor and questions he had about me (I have training to detect liars). I begin to suspect he was not who he said he was and rolled video of half of our conversation.

This man was later outed by the San Francisco Chronicle as an undercover officer.

A U.S. Park Police officer is facing disciplinary action after lying to The Chronicle and the New York Times by identifying himself as a former officer and in an unseemly manner, according to the San Francisco field office commander for the U.S. Park Police.

The officer, Ken Rawles, was assigned to work undercover to take photographs and video of officers and their interactions with gun activists during a Baker Beach event at which activists sought to carry visible, unloaded handguns on the beach, said Major Jason Wu.

But, dressed in plain clothes, Rawles told reporters covering the event that he was Brad Lawrence. Lawrence is the name of a former U.S. Park Police officer who now works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Georgia. Rawles told reporters he was at the beach to video people sunbathing in the nude, but finding none began to photograph and video the gun activists.

His statements appeared in a Chronicle story Sunday and in a New York Times blog about the event. Colleagues of Lawrence contacted the Chronicle upset at the portrayal.

“What Officer Rawles did is not something that we would do,” said Wu. “Certainly, I am not too pleased about that myself.”

Here is that video of our interaction. Undercover.m4v

Now because he lied to the Press and gave negative statements to the press about law abiding citizen protecting themselves, which could sway public opinion, I believe we could have our first documented “agent provocateur“.  Were Ken’s next missions going to be “befriend the group, let them think you’ve had a change of heart on the issue and want to join them” ?

Things to think about.