PD’s will ruin/keep your expensive CCW?

[ugimports]

Thank you! This makes much more sense than those saying they would never carry an expensive 1911 because of the dreaded evidence locker. I think people should carry whatever is going to give them the best chance to stay alive. That said, I imagine agencies handle firearms like any other piece of evidence. It would be counterproductive to damage evidence.

There have been threads here that basically state if it's a nice firearm it will get "lost". Not sure how much truth there is to that and have no personal experience.

The only anecdotal experience I have related is missing accessories that were never on the inventory sheet when a customer claimed the PD lost XYZ item when I went to pickup their firearms. That has only occurred once out of the 5 or so PD pickups I've done. The item they claim was "lost/stolen" by the PD wasn't on the inventory sheet the PD had.. so I have no idea how true or not their statement was.

[71MUSTY]

There have been threads here that basically state if it's a nice firearm it will get "lost". Not sure how much truth there is to that and have no personal experience.

I had a local PD take a handgun and a rifle into custody for "safekeeping" after an auto accident, claiming I could recover it at the station when I was discharged from the hospital.

When I went to the station they told me it is their policy never to release a firearm once in their custody. When I returned with the proper paperwork to "force" the release they claimed the rifle barrel was too short and had been surrendered to ATF and that the pistol had been destroyed.

When I returned with a lawyer and my neighbor the ATF officer and asked to meet with the Chief, we were escorted into the Chief's office. When my Attorney started to speak the Chief said "I never said we were not going to release his weapons, please wait here while I make a phone call. He left his office and we sat their for about 30 minutes when I see out the window someone not in a uniform pull in and park a pick up and brings me weapons' from his truck to the Chief's office.

At that point we took possession of both weapons and were allowed to leave with no paperwork what so ever. When I went to the range the next time I discovered neither weapon would feed properly and when looked at by a gunsmith he informed me someone had taken a cold chisel to the feed ramps.

My conclusion, The guy in the truck (An officer) really wanted my weapons and the Dept. tried to cover for him. When I escalated it to the Chief the jig was up, but he decided since he couldn't have them he would ruin them.

Do what you want but I have a second of all of my CCW tools and all are easily replaceable. (Well the 1006 is a bit pricy but available)

I would never carry something irreplaceable like my fathers Duty revolver.

[M1NM]

A clean CCW shooting will cost you at least $50,000 in California ....
Expect to be sued by all their family while the DA is reviewing the event.

The husband of a friend of the wife's shot a 19 year old in his backyard at 3am. The dog had barked at him and he kicked the gate in and was kicking the dog when he was confronted. The kid shoved him and he tripped and went down and the 1911 went off on his way to the ground. 45 entered the kid just above left hip and stopped just short of the right shoulder. Kid made it to the driveway and died.
Cops came took all his guns. Both spent the next 8 hours at the PD. DA said accidental shooting no charges. They spent a week at a hotel to keep away from the kids friends who were yelling at their house and leaving memorials to their druggy friend.
Kid hadn't seen his father since he was 8 he ran away from mom's home at 16 and was living in the creek area with his pregnant girl friend near their house. Parents both sued ... homeowners policy settled with parents for policy limit of $300,000. Said it was cheaper than fighting in front of a jury. About six months later a detective called them just to let them know the kids older brother was getting out of prison (Arson of school) and to be alert.

..... but nobody is going to wipe the firearm down with oil or scrub the bore before submitting it back into evidence,

Nor should they. Once it hits the courtroom the evidence should be presented in as recovered condition. Fingerprint dust bolsters where the prints were found. A dirty bore shows it was fired. etc

When I worked at a PD in the late 60s evidence care wasn't up to what it is today. Pistols were tagged and piled on a shelf unless they were actually used in a shooting then all the evidence of that crime was kept in one box. Rifles all got tagged and dropped into a 55 gallon drum.

[RickD427]

This question comes up quite often.

You should carry the best weapon that you can for your CCW. Your life is important. Don't compromise.

If you have to employ your weapon in a defensive shooting, plan on it going into evidence and staying in police custody until the conclusion of the case (and until the exhaustion of any potential appeals). Don't blame the LE agency for that, blame the confrontation clause of the Constitution.

The value of your temporarily lost weapon is going to be pretty minimal in relation to your legal bills resulting from a shooting. Remember that California does not have "Castle Doctrine" provisions to protect you from civil lawsuit.

As to the care of your weapon while in police custody, it's important to remember that its evidentiary value must be maintained. That means no cleaning and no oiling and no disassembly unless done for a forensic purpose.

I often hear comments suggesting that LEOs routinely "acquire" evidence guns for personal use. There was such a documented instance involving Sheriff Floyd Tidwell of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department some 30-40 years ago. I haven't seen any proven reports since that time. Firearms are very strictly accounted for and a missing gun from evidence is gonna create a major internal investigation. As to "71Musty's" post, I'd be very interested to learn the agency involved and the time period.

Some LE agencies have a political agenda not to return firearms, but that doesn't give them the ability to override state laws. An item of evidence remains the property of the owner and must be returned unless there is a lawful reason not to.

[badfish71]

If you’ve never been in a shooting let me tell you this.. the LAST thing you care about is what happens to your gun.

[-hanko]

My conclusion, The guy in the truck (An officer) really wanted my weapons and the Dept. tried to cover for him. When I escalated it to the Chief the jig was up, but he decided since he couldn't have them he would ruin them.

Which department??

[Mr. Blue]

I had a local PD take a handgun and a rifle into custody for "safekeeping" after an auto accident, claiming I could recover it at the station when I was discharged from the hospital.

When I went to the station they told me it is their policy never to release a firearm once in their custody. When I returned with the proper paperwork to "force" the release they claimed the rifle barrel was too short and had been surrendered to ATF and that the pistol had been destroyed.

When I returned with a lawyer and my neighbor the ATF officer and asked to meet with the Chief, we were escorted into the Chief's office. When my Attorney started to speak the Chief said "I never said we were not going to release his weapons, please wait here while I make a phone call. He left his office and we sat their for about 30 minutes when I see out the window someone not in a uniform pull in and park a pick up and brings me weapons' from his truck to the Chief's office.

At that point we took possession of both weapons and were allowed to leave with no paperwork what so ever. When I went to the range the next time I discovered neither weapon would feed properly and when looked at by a gunsmith he informed me someone had taken a cold chisel to the feed ramps.

My conclusion, The guy in the truck (An officer) really wanted my weapons and the Dept. tried to cover for him. When I escalated it to the Chief the jig was up, but he decided since he couldn't have them he would ruin them.

Do what you want but I have a second of all of my CCW tools and all are easily replaceable. (Well the 1006 is a bit pricy but available)

I would never carry something irreplaceable like my fathers Duty revolver.

Wow. I would be pretty darn mad if that happened to me.

[Mr. Blue]

[9Cal_OC]

Haha I had to laugh at that one.

[TrailerparkTrash]

Which department??

[71MUSTY]

It is a City Dept. here is So Cal. It was better then ten years ago but I still work in that city so I'm not outing them on the internet.

[MajorSideburns]

It is a City Dept. here is So Cal. It was better then ten years ago but I still work in that city so I'm not outing them on the internet.

I hope you filed an internal affairs complaint. If not, it's still worth doing now. Who knows if the crook is still on the force and how many other people he has victimized the same way

[ptmn]

I am also interested in the agency that 71MUSTY dealt with. If I was to discover any of my cops trying to acquire an evidence weapon or any weapon not belonging to them, I would initiate a criminal complaint immediately, the IA will follow.

Our evidence storage room is limited access, electronic locks that log who entered and at what time and surveillance cameras 24/7.

[Portcullis]

Smart

Two fights-first for your life, second for your livelihood.

Buy two CCW guns, expensive or otherwise: buy two stock guns. Make sure you have supplemental insurance (USCCA, LawShield, CCWSafe, PORAC LDF, Personal Liability Umbrella etc.)

Have an attorney now. Call them, speak with them about the subject and listen. Law suits will be filed on everyone involved no matter how involved in the incident.

Be prepared for both fights.

wise words/ well said

[jarhead714]

It is a City Dept. here is So Cal. It was better then ten years ago but I still work in that city so I'm not outing them on the internet.

Sounds like Pasadena or some other SGV department to me.