Money, money changes everything.
Posted on 03/18/2004 4:25:30 PM PST by neverdem
For years, firearms seized in Wichita Municipal Court cases were destroyed. Now, the city's planning to sell them.
The Wichita City Council's decision this week to allow the sale of weapons confiscated in Wichita Municipal Court cases reversed a long-standing policy that was designed to keep guns off city streets.
Supporters of the change said Tuesday that the council's action offers a logical way to raise thousands of dollars during tight budget times. Opponents said the move sets a dangerous precedent.
"I don't think the city should be in the business of getting guns back out on the street," said City Council member Sharon Fearey, who voted against the move. "It's just been a long-standing policy of the city that we destroy those weapons."
Council member Paul Gray suggested the move after reviewing a list of weapons that were scheduled to be destroyed this spring. After reading the list, he said, he was left with one thought: "There's too much value in that list of firearms to melt them down."
The list included 159 handguns and 88 shotguns and rifles.
Instead of destroying the guns, the council asked the city's legal department to draft an amendment to a city ordinance that would allow the city to sell some of its guns to licensed firearms dealers.
Police said the action would apply only to cases that went through Municipal Court. Guns seized in state court cases would continue to be destroyed.
Police spokeswoman Janet Johnson said police seize or confiscate 600 to 1,000 guns in a typical year. She said the department doesn't track the number that come from Municipal Court cases.
Gray said waiting lists and other restrictions placed on gun dealers since the early 1990s have made it unlikely that a criminal will be able to buy one of the city's guns.
Police Chief Norman Williams said he will remain neutral on the issue while the department researches the question. He said he planned to have a report on the issue in early April, when the council is scheduled to take another look at it.
"One of the things you always have concerns with is, what is the likelihood that they're going to wind up back on your streets and used in other crimes," he said. "That is the major concern we have."
Williams said the department once traded confiscated weapons for service weapons used by officers. He said that practice was stopped after some of the guns started turning up on the streets. He said he did not recall a specific crime where a criminal used one of those guns.
Nationwide, Williams said, police departments became leery in the early 1990s of selling confiscated weapons after some guns in one or two large cities were used in serious crimes.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said his office routinely destroys guns that have been confiscated or seized by deputies. He said investigators try to find the owners of guns that have been stolen.
Fraternal Order of Police vice president Chester Pinkston said the police union has not taken an official position on the issue, but he said he was not opposed.
"Personally, I think that the city is looking in the right direction," he said. "Personally I have no problem with law-abiding citizens having guns."
Kansas state Sen. Phil Journey, a longtime gun rights advocate who is embroiled in a legislative debate over carrying concealed firearms, said the council's actions were logical. He said he has looked at lists of guns about to be destroyed and seen some expensive ones.
"I've seen firearms that were destroyed that were worth over $1,000 easily," he said.
"If there's 1,000 firearms that sell for $100 apiece, that's $100,000," he said. "If there's 2,000 firearms that sell for $150 apiece, that's $300,000. Maybe it's only $150,000 a year, but heck, that's two cops."
In Mesa, Ariz., last year, city officials surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and found that only Chicago and Houston were selling confiscated guns. The Mesa City Council later approved the sale of that city's weapons.
John Daily, who manages the Bullet Stop at 2625 W. Pawnee, said he thinks local gun dealers would be interested in buying some of the department's confiscated weapons.
"Absolutely -- depending on the type of gun that it is," he said. "We would be interested in any type of firearms that are used in hunting, and other types of sporting guns. We're not interested in Saturday night specials."
Deputy Sedgwick County Attorney Ann Swegle said a state law would prevent the city from selling one group of guns -- those that have been used in crimes. The law says if such weapons cannot be returned to a rightful owner, they must be destroyed or forfeited to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, she said.
"I don't know that the city has the ability to make that decision (to sell those weapons)," she said.
Reach Hurst Laviana at 268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.
Money, money changes everything.
Smith & Wesson Gun-Cam™ |
I would like to see a policy that any time a firearm is destroyed, the portion of the frame containing the serial number must be retained. Otherwise, as noted, many such firearms are apt to escape, though just as likely into the hands of criminals as into a cop's collection.
Though I should be clear that the policies requiring destruction are wrongheaded to begin with.
BTW, in many areas, cops deliberately avoid running traces on firearms recovered from criminals; I suspect highly that this is because if the guns were stolen (usual scenario) such traces would identify the rightful owners and the cops would have to comply with the laws requiring that all stolen property be returned to its owner when no longer needed for evidentiary purposes.
Looks like the chief wants to build up the funds available for defending lawsuits or buying off the victims' families.<p. -archy-/-
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