Off-duty officer brings AR-15 to 'March for our Lives' rally

GREENSBURG, Pa. — A photo that has now gone viral shows an off-duty officer holding an AR-15 at a "March for Our Lives rally" in Westmoreland County.

The anti-gun violence event took place this weekend in Greensburg and since then, the story has gotten a lot of attention.

Since the photo of Martin Palla, standing on a sidewalk with an AR-15 slung over his shoulder went viral, the Rostraver Police Department has been fielding phone calls from across the country.

"We are being inundated with phone calls and it's utilizing most of our resources," said Police Chief Greg Resetar.

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Palla, with his dog, stood across the street from hundreds of people who were taking part in the "March for Our Lives" rally in Greensburg on Friday.

Palla was in plainclothes, but he was quickly called out for being a police officer with Rostraver Township.

His presence with the weapon created a firestorm on social media, and some people questioned his motives.

The reaction created by the incident is one that Rostraver police are not taking lightly.

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"This does not imply that the department approved of this protest, and certainly does not reflect the opinion of individual officers and, in my capacity of police chief, I cannot condone the actions of Mr. Palla," Resetar said.

Palla told our news partners with TribLIVE.com on Friday, "I believe that both sides of this debate have a common goal, and that's the safety of our students. I don't know if there's an overall solution. You can't legislate crazy."

By law, according to Resetar, every person in the state is entitled to an open carry law.

"As far as our civil service rules and regulations; the department SOPs (standard operating procedures), the officers' bill of rights and collective bargaining agreement, there's a conglomerate of material that we have to look at to base our decision upon whether there was or was not any wrongdoing," Resetar said.

There is no timeline on when that decision will be made.

Palla has been with the Police Department for eight years.

Cox Media Group