Cops attack gun availability, yet recycle own weapons

Few props carry the impact of a semiautomatic assault rifle. So on June 9, 1999, when Mayor Sharpe James announced that Newark would sue gun manufacturers to recover the costs of gun violence, the mayor picked up an AK-47 rifle.

"It's immoral and unconscionable that you can purchase a weapon of destruction over the counter like popcorn and ice cream," James said as he gripped the rifle.

With less fanfare 10 months earlier, authorities in Baltimore had made a drug arrest and seized a sub-machine gun. That weapon was allowed to go on the market by the city of Newark, according to records from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF.

In fact, Newark has provided more than 1,500 firearms to gun dealers who in turn sell the used weapons over the counter. Like most New Jersey cities, Newark trades in used police weapons to dealers who provide a large discount when the city buys new police guns. It's as legal as selling popcorn.

Some cities have recycled hundreds of guns, some with high-capacity magazines that can no longer be manufactured, even as they work to reduce the guns available on the street.

Camden City and Camden County governments both sued gun manufacturers over the carnage caused by gun violence, yet combined they have traded in more than 250 guns. Dozens of cities, including Atlantic City, Pleasantville and Vineland, have run gun buy-back programs to take guns off the street, yet have provided hundreds of guns to dealers for resale.

New Jersey law-enforcement agencies traded in nearly 12,000 weapons from 1985 to 2000. More than 100 of those guns were ultimately used in crimes, according to an analysis of ATF gun records by The Press of Atlantic City. Guns originally owned by police departments were used in murders in Florida and Puerto Rico. Two were used in suicides.

The actual numbers of New Jersey guns traded in and used in crimes are undoubtedly higher. Press reporters restricted their research only to police departments in the Atlantic City region and those statewide with 100 or more officers, accounting for about one-third of the state's police force. However, the vast majority of New Jersey police departments have traded weapons when they upgraded their guns.

The Press obtained the makes and serial numbers of guns traded in by police and compared them with ATF reports that traced ownership of guns used in crimes. (Most police departments willingly provided gun trade-in information. But several cities, including Trenton, Newark, Camden and Cherry Hill, provided the information only after The Press filed complaints charging Open Public Records Act violations.)

In 1996, a Trenton police gun was among a number of guns seized from the car of a man charged with killing a 17-year-old boy in a drive-by shooting near Nashville.

Colt revolver originally used by the N.J. State Police - which has ended its practice of weapons trade-ins - was used in a Jacksonville-area homicide about 10 years ago.

A 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun traded in by Franklin Township police in Somerset County was used in a Miami-area homicide in 1998.

A former Newark Smith & Wesson was used by a Mobile, Ala., man who pistol-whipped his girlfriend and fired at her several times. Fortunately, he missed.

Questions from Press reporters about the practice have already caused some government agencies, including the state of New Jersey, to reverse their policies of trading in used guns.

Armando Fountoura became Essex County sheriff in 1990 after serving as a Newark policeman for 22 years. Two years ago, his department could have saved nearly $80,000 by trading in old weapons when it bought new guns.

"There are too many guns out there," he said. "The last thing I'm going to do is put more of them on the street. ... Some day, a police gun is going to be used to kill a police officer."

The sheriff noted that many cities have conducted gun buy-back programs, paying about $50 for handguns turned in by the public to reduce the number in circulation.

"Why, then, would we turn around and sell our guns, which gets them back on the street?" he asked.

Lawrence Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation criticized cities like Newark and Camden that sue manufacturers for selling guns while the cities themselves sell guns. Newark's suit in part charges manufacturers with negligent marketing and distribution of guns.

"It's the height of hypocrisy for these public agencies to sue the gun makers for doing what they are essentially doing," Keane said.

Camden mayoral spokesman Tony Evans said he did not know his city had sued gun manufacturers - the case is pending - and refused to comment on why the city has traded in weapons. City attorney Dennis Kille did not return repeated calls for comment.

Newark Mayor James also did not return repeated calls for comment. A hearing on motions in Newark's gun-manufacturer lawsuit is scheduled for May 9.

Dealers discount the cost of new guns when old ones are traded in. Sometimes the discount is deep enough to entirely cover the cost of the new guns. This is especially true when departments trade in guns with magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Congress banned the manufacture of such magazines in 1994, but allowed existing magazines to be resold.

Atlantic City Public Safety Director Robert Flipping said with so many guns legally available, destroying used police guns wouldn't make it any harder for anyone to buy a gun.

"If a person is going to legitimately buy a gun and then use it in a crime, it doesn't matter if it was (originally) one of our guns," Flipping said. "The person would have purchased a different gun."

Atlantic City police traded in 460 guns between 1985 and 2000; eight were believed to have been used in crimes, according to ATF records.

Over the last 20 years, many police officials decided their officers needed more firepower to counter the sophisticated weaponry carried by gangs and drug dealers. Many officers used revolvers that held six bullets, while the criminals' guns had magazines that held 15 or more rounds.

Many cities might not have been able to afford more powerful guns for their police without the discounts provided through trade-ins.

After a few years, though, when police wanted to again upgrade their guns, those higher-capacity guns were traded in to dealers who resold them. In April 1992, Union Township in Union County traded in 28 machine guns. Ironically, among the former police guns used in crimes, many were confiscated from people charged with drug offenses.

For example, a loaded 9 mm Beretta that originated with the Woodbridge Police Department was taken from drug dealers arrested in Hyattsville, Md., in January 1999.

Uneasy over crimes committed with former police guns, some departments have financially bit the bullet and have foregone the discounts that come with trades.

After The Press asked about the practice, Trenton Police Director Joseph Santiago decided his department will no longer trade in used weapons. Since 1985, Trenton had traded in nearly 400 guns, 13 of which were used in crimes. In the future, the guns will be offered to police officers to buy or will be destroyed, Santiago said.

Eighteen months ago, when the N.J. State Police purchased new guns, former Attorney General John Farmer decided not to let the old guns back onto the market.

More than 3,000 former State Police guns are being warehoused in a state-owned building somewhere in New Jersey until they are melted down.

The no-trade policy, however, didn't extend to all of state government - at least until The Press asked why the State Police banned the practice while the Department of Corrections would soon trade guns in. After consulting with Gov. James E. McGreevey, Corrections Commissioner Devon Brown decided to stop future gun trade-ins.

"The governor clearly believes that no barter can offset the price of crime," Corrections spokesman Chris Carden said.

As a result of Press inquiries, McGreevey spokesman Micah Rasmussen said, the attorney general is developing a no-trade policy for all state agencies that use weapons. It won't affect local and county agencies, but look for the governor to announce an end to state weapons trade-ins any day.

Many cities might not have been able to afford more powerful guns for their police without the discounts provided through trade-ins.

Well, by this logic, does not the selling of the "old" police weaponry keep the criminals who purportedly buy these weapons behind the curve, thus doing the cops and society some benefit (in addiditon to the funding potential of the weapon sales? Don't want to support the Chinese government do we?

We are passing out AK47s to civilians to protect their own property and making cops out of Saddams former SS troops (and they have been flashing badges and robbing their bros)
And nobody even gets a background check

"A former Newark Smith & Wesson was used by a Mobile, Ala., man who pistol-whipped his girlfriend..."

Mmmmm...pistol whip....

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