[Poser]

"Robert Frank, a volunteer firefighter and off-duty police officer from Little Silver, grabbed Arford and the rifle before he could raise the weapon, McGovern said. "

Hmm... If I had my tinfoil hat on I would suspect that the guy didn't point the gun at anybody and the off-duty cop arrested him without provocation. I don't think there is a rule against grabbing an unloaded weapon in your own house and *not* pointing it at anybody.

[tpaine]

"Robert Frank, a volunteer firefighter and off-duty police officer from Little Silver, grabbed Arford and the rifle before he could raise the weapon, McGovern said. "

Hmm... If I had my tinfoil hat on I would suspect that the guy didn't point the gun at anybody and the off-duty cop arrested him without provocation. I don't think there is a rule against grabbing an unloaded weapon in your own house and *not* pointing it at anybody. - 311


Exactly. The most simple logical explanation is usually best:

The firefighter chief ~insists~ that Arford leave his house, pissing him off.
He argues to no avail, and in leaving, grabs a valued gun to take it out of harms way, -- when the cop/volunteer over-reacts and arrests him.
This snowballs into a complete 'seizure of the arsenal'.

I'd lay odds that eventually Arford gets his collection returned, along with an 'undisclosed settlement' from the towns insurance carrier.