Weapon being confiscated for evidence ??

[drgnrobo]

Insert whatever scenario you want , If you are involved in a justifiable self defense shooting ,being held up with a perp with a knife for example, will the police confiscate your weapon if it is a clear case of self defense or seize your weapon until the investigation is complete?? I know this largely depends on what kind of mood an officer would be in or if you get one of those that believe only the police should carry firearms but this has always been in the back of my mind as what would happen .If this has been discussed already I apologize for starting it up again

 

[shooter521]

I don't know, but I assume the gun will get taken for some length of time in any event... that's why I like to have duplicates of any gun I'm likely to use for personal protection.

 

[00BlasterResto]

LoL. That's what I was thinking.
"that's okay I have another one"

 

[bigg cheese]

I wonder if you could get off by signing an affidavit saying "I shot this individual with this gun" (list serial), rather than having it confiscated for evidence...

 

[drgnrobo]

Yeah thats what I was thinking,I hate the thought of one my working guns sitting in a evidence locker for to long though,might get rusty if I dont clean it.I have heard justifiable shootings in the past around my area

 

[Liberty Sanders]

Any weapon that you use in a self-defense situation wherein you actually injure your assailant will be held until your case is resolved in one way or another. For example, in Cincinnati, where I worked as a police officer, if you were involved in a fatal shooting your gun would be held both for ballistics testing, and for necessary legal proceedings. If the grand jury did not indict you (the most common outcome) your weapon would be returned. This is normal practice throughout the law enforcement profession and does not reflect anti-gun mentality. It simply protects "chain-of-custody" of evidence.

This is one more good reason to carry two guns (which I do at all times).

At one point my rabidly anti-gun superiors started trying to get away with NOT returning firearms to people who had legitimately used them in self-defense, requiring the owners to get an attorney and sue the police department for their return. I raised a stink in the media and both the city and county prosecutors warned my superiors to discontinue the practice, which they hastily did.

 

[00BlasterResto]

Wow, I never thought of that. "Officer I understand that you are required to confiscate the firearm, but do you happen to have a bottle of hoppes,clp or m-pro7 with you I could use real quick"

 

[shooter521]

I hate the thought of one my working guns sitting in a evidence locker for to long though,might get rusty if I dont clean it.

You are right to assume the worst; at the shop, we've gotten several guns back from evidence over the years (stolen), and they normally aren't returned in a timely manner or in the best of shape. That's also why I don't have fancy, rare or super-expensive guns in my defensive battery - they should be inexpensive enough that I can afford duplicates (functional if not exact), and common enough that it won't be the end of the world if I never get the thing back.

My

 

[singlestacksig]

it is just a tool, if you just used it to kill an attacker, it has done it's job.. if you get it back, great.. but the gun has little value when compaired to a life..

 

[Liberty Sanders]

Oh, and one other thing...

If a police officer confiscates a firearm for evidence purposes he must mark it in such a way that he can positively identify it later at any time, such as on the witness stand. It can't be done in any removeable way, such as an evidence tag. And no, the fact that the gun has a unique serial number doesn't matter...the axxhole defense attorney will simply ask you to PROVE that no other gun on earth has that serial number. Unfortunately in my police department the commmon way of doing this was to scratch your badge number into the surface of the gun with something like a pocketknife blade. The good news is that probably 95% of the guns we confiscated were total pieces of sxxt that couldn't possibly lose any more of their value. The BAD news is that many young cops who were not raised in the gun culture don't differentiate between quality guns and crappy ones, and treat them for evidence purposes in exactly the same manner.

If you're unfortunate enough to be involved in a self-defense shooting and you don't want your piece returned with grafitti scratched all over it, POLITELY inform whatever officer who has custody of it that it is valuable and you would appreciate it if he/she would mark it unobtrusively, such as underneath the grips (the place of choice where I taught my men to do it).

It has been my experience that your average working cop (as opposed to the scum-sucking, badge-wearing thugs that command them) is not hostile to people who have been forced to defend themselves, and in fact are delighted when a taxpayer punches some predator's ticket. Your request will probably be complied with.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

will the police confiscate your weapon if it is a clear case of self defense or seize your weapon until the investigation is complete??

If fired, likely, but it depends.

I've had cases where the police do and do not. Not all self-defense scenarios necessitate firing of the weapon.

As well, be aware that the police may get a warrant and confiscate the firearms at your home.

4 guns: one to carry, one in the safe, one at the gunsmith (or in the safe if back from the smith) and one off your property.

There's a reason that I advise people to have multiple copies of the same gun. Have a deep bench.

 

[Cat-Herder]

It has been my experience that your average working cop (as opposed to the scum-sucking, badge-wearing thugs that command them) is not hostile to people who have been forced to defend themselves, and in fact are delighted when a taxpayer punches some predator's ticket. Your request will probably be complied with.

you just gave me some hope for humanity.

 

[dross]

I have read about police departments with policies of destroying any weapon that comes into their custody upon resolution of the case. The NRA has published stories about legal battles like this.

There was a case involving the ATF, where they refused for years to give back a guy's entire extensive gun collection, going so far as to defy court orders over a period of years.

 

[Jar_Head]

I'm a cop here in Indy, the gun will be taken to match up the rounds in the person or what ever location they end up to your gun making sure that was the gun used, can't get around that. And yes it will sit in the property room downtown until the grand jury or prosecutor say it's a justified killing or shooting and that will take 6 months and can be up to a year. I was in an officer involved shooting in another city as an officer years ago, my duty gun, a glock, sat in that property room for a year and did rust for the environment.

I seized 10 guns this year and all were involved in crimes to include dope dealing, and possession of handgun without a license. If someone goes to jail an you are in legal possession of your gun with a permint say in a car or motel room the gun is also seized but only for safe keeping and put in the property room until you pick it up. Don't plan on getting th ammo back, that will not be returned. That idea came from Anderson as an building safety issue.

 

[GuyRelford]

Any weapon that you use in a self-defense situation wherein you actually injure your assailant will be held until your case is resolved in one way or another. For example, in Cincinnati, where I worked as a police officer, if you were involved in a fatal shooting your gun would be held both for ballistics testing, and for necessary legal proceedings. If the grand jury did not indict you (the most common outcome) your weapon would be returned. This is normal practice throughout the law enforcement profession and does not reflect anti-gun mentality. It simply protects "chain-of-custody" of evidence.

This is exactly right and perfectly stated - as are Jar_Head's comments. Repped!

 

[GuyRelford]

By the way, I've also read about (but never been involved in) residential shooting scenarios where every firearm in the house was seized as evidence. Something to think about.

 

[Roadie]

You can also find posts on this board where citizens have had their guns confiscated, and held, for non criminal reasons. One such instance involved a person in a car accident. If I recall correctly, the medics in the ambulance gave the accident victim's gun to the police, and the party in question had one heck of a time getting it back.

Anyone remember who that was?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Indy, might have been my car wreck (t-boned by a Ford Ranger through driver's side door). However, Marion County Sheriff turned my pistols over to my father who had come to the scene of the accident.

 

[Roadie]

Indy, might have been my car wreck (t-boned by a Ford Ranger through driver's side door). However, Marion County Sheriff turned my pistols over to my father who had come to the scene of the accident.

No, that's not it. There was someone who had a heck of time getting their weapon back because the PD had to fire it and test it against records, etc. Even though it wasn't used in a crime.

Thanks though!

 

[ezdubbin97]

By the way, I've also read about (but never been involved in) residential shooting scenarios where every firearm in the house was seized as evidence. Something to think about.

That makes no sense in my mind. The gun in question, that's understandable, but to completely disarm a citizen? Say you shot a gang member who broke into your house and his brother comes back for vengeance days later, now what? I wonder how it affects your ability to run a background for a new gun directly after the seizure. I sure as heck wouldn't feel comfortable with that.