What was done, was done SO BADLY and upset so many people, that the state of Louisiana PASSED LAWS to PREVENT it ever happening again.
Seized guns, like most seized property is generally not well cared for. Even big ticket items that get sold at auction like cars, boats, etc. usually don't get the best of care, or even decent treatment. They aren't the property of anyone, anymore, at best they are evidence, and at worst, contraband.
And its not just neglect. It's common (or at least it was) for the cops to actually deface your property being held as evidence. And by deface, I mean adding a marking of some kind, scratched or even electro-penciled on so its permanent, to "identify" the item.
I grew up watching Perry Mason, (among other things) and one of the staples of every trial was the prosecutor handing a gun to the cop on the stand, asking if this was the gun he recovered from the murder scene...
Answer was always the same, cop looks at gun for a moment, then answers, Yes sir, it is, there's my mark, right there. (and points to a spot on the gun)
Remember that seized property is no longer your property. It now belongs to the state, and will belong to the state until ALL the legal processes are completed. And the state is under no obligation to do more than preserve that evidence's existance and provide a valid chain of custody to the court.
After the law is ENTIRELY done with it, you MAY get it back. You may have to ask, you may have to jump through some hoops, you may even have to go to court and get a court order to have your property returned. And, sometimes, even then, it never is returned. Some place will simply not return a firearm, ever, despite the law, or a court order.
Their usual tactic is to have the gun destroyed (or claim it was) and cut the former owner a check for what they determine it's value was.
as to this,
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Are there any member officers who would / would not do this?
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Are you seriously expecting a reply in written, text, online, or any searchable or hackable media?? Today, anything you say ANYWHERE it can be found, can be used against you in the Twitter Court of public opinion, and possibly in a court of law as well.
With cops getting fired for expressing their personal opinions on some social media, I doubt any one worth taking seriously will commit themselves in a public forum. And if some do, do you think you can trust their answers to be their honest feelings??
I wouldn't.