PD destroyed my gun

[geeknow]

Why? The magazine probably holds more than 10 rounds.

No, this never came into play.

[HowardW56]

Now that you have retrieved your gun, are you going to tell us which agency had the gun?

[geeknow]

Now that you have retrieved your gun, are you going to tell us which agency had the gun?

I dont think that would be prudent at this time. Yes, I did get my gun back, but this isnt over.

[foxtrotuniformlima]

Glad you got it back. Sorry it was such a PITA. BTW, what kind of handgun is it ?

[MrTenX]

Un effing believeable!
Is there any doubt we are not dealing with a bunch of tyrants throughout this state.

I can remember while working at Sherwood International in the 80's on a number of occassions people coming in with firearms in pieces still in PD evidence bags buying the parts they needed to reassemble them.

Thanks for sharing your story.

[45DAVID1]

Regarding your question, the big clue for me was my initials that were engraved into the baseplate some 12 yrs ago by me.

Well then, it obviously was yours

[geeknow]

**UPDATED**

So, this is turning into a world class mess.

After all of the nonsense that I had to go through to get my gun back, I found that it had been permantly rendered inoperable by the Police Dept.

I took this little gem to my smith to have him give it a thorough looking over (remember, the homies have had it for the last dozen years. do they have armorers?), and he found that the top half of the breech face had been pounded off with a punch, thus rendering the gun a freaking paperweight. The top half of the breech was included in the little envelope and cataloged on the outside. I must have missed it while i was arguing with them about my firing pin, springs, and mags. This sucks.

So to review. They delayed returning my property, then returned it minus mags, then returned the mags (after a hassle), then returned the parts (after another hassle), and somewhere along the way, destroyed my property.

Good job, Police.

OK guys, now what? let it go? pursue it further? I am out of bright ideas.
g

[Afmo]

So, this is turning into a world class mess.

After all of the nonsense that I had to go through to get my gun back, I found that it had been permantly rendered inoperable by the Police Dept.

I took this little gem to my smith to have him give it a thorough looking over (remember, the homies have had it for the last dozen years. do they have armorers?), and he found that the top half of the breech face had been pounded off with a punch, thus rendering the gun a freaking paperweight. The top half of the breech was included in the little envelope and cataloged on the outside. I must have missed it while i was arguing with them about my firing pin, springs, and mags. This sucks.

So to review. They delayed returning my property, then returned it minus mags, then returned the mags (after a hassle), then returned the parts (after another hassle), and somewhere along the way, destroyed my property.

Good job, Police.

OK guys, now what? let it go? pursue it further? I am out of bright ideas.
g

sue for the value of the gun.

[yellowfin]

Sue for value of gun, time of trouble (your wages times amount of time spent on this), and punitive damages.

[geeknow]

sue for the value of the gun.

Yeah, that is one thing to do. Problem with that is that while the "value" of the gun isnt tremendous, that is not what I'm "out". What I have been deprived of in its most base sense is what the police are there to provide. The problem is the policy. How do you "sue" that?

[Afmo]

Yeah, that is one thing to do. Problem with that is that while the "value" of the gun isnt tremendous, that is not what I'm "out". What I have been deprived of in its most base sense is what the police are there to provide. The problem is the policy. How do you "sue" that?

unfortunately, i don't think you do "sue" that. My opinion is that at this point, since the gun is destroyed, its about getting every cent you can from the PD and hoping that it goes smoother for the next guy.

Of course, depending on how into it you want to get, you could file a lawsuit challenging the policy, though on what grounds i'm not sure.

[yellowfin]

Press charges for vandalism, perhaps?

[Afmo]

Press charges for vandalism, perhaps?

If it were me, i don't think I'd attempt this route. It probably wouldn't go anywhere since they'd probably claim that it was "rendered inoperable during the course of the investigation" or something to that effect.

[Fire in the Hole]

Before you can sue, if you decide to go that route; you must file a "Board of Control Claim" at least that's what the state calls it. Your city or county may have another word for it. Basically it's a form you obtain from the city that seeks reimbursement (not punative damages) for damage done to your property at the hands of a city or county employee. Include photos of your damaged gun, along with a letter from your gunsmith stating the specific damages. The city will either pay up, or deny the claim. It may take awhile to process. Then you can sue in small claims court. You will have to file a discovery motion through the court to the PD demanding to know the name(s) of the person(s) that altered your gun, and under who's direction/authority. This process will require patience, and a little work. It kind of boils down the the value of the gun and the value of your time. Plus court costs if you loose.

[Tarn_Helm]

Our legal system is less to blame than human nature.

I new someone who went to pick up a gun from an LASO station with court orders to have it released to him. He is an attorney for a state LE agency. The SO refused to release the brand new Kimber to him. He actually had to use his cel phone to call the judge and explain the situation to him. Well, the judge, who had signed the order, wasn't too pleased and ended up talking to the deputy who was refusing to comply with his orders. Needless to say, the gun was finally released but, even then, the SO tried to keep the mags and holdster because they were not named in the judges orders. Well, the judge did speak to the property clerk again and the attorney finally recieved everything. Remember, he had the judges numbers preprogramed in his phone, he was an attorney for a state LEA, he had a court order to release property to him and the LASO still refused to release it until the judge personally talked with some deputy who was probably threatened jail time unless he complied with the orders. We have a great legal system, don't we?

If they illegally destroy your property, I wonder if you could sue them for damages?

Good luck!

If you give undereducated average human beings a gun, a club, a badge, and orders to protect and serve, this is what you get, because (let's all say it now together) "POWER TENDS TO CORRUPT, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY."

The power of life and death over another person IS absolute power, in case you are wondering how to interpret that phrase.

You get lots of folks who hear the first part "protect" and ignore the second part "SERVE."

The next thing you know, they think the "SERVE" part refers to EVERYONE BUT THEM, i.e., we should serve their needs rather than the other way around.

Power and human nature:

http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcnobody.html

http://www.gunscholar.org/gunban.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-taU9d26wT4

It is about power and human nature, not the legal system.

The same thing that happens when a person gets drunk tends to happen when he gets drunk with POWER.

He thinks he's more authoritative, smarter, better looking, and more (fill in the blank) than everyone else who is now beneath him.

It's human nature.


As much as I respect law enforcement, LEOs are only human.


Good luck.

You'll need a lot of it.