what if the police had to hold my gun

[Doug.38PR]

Suppose (and I know this can depend on if the gun shot anyone or not) a I had to use or show my gun and the police can and had to take it into custody for evidence or just to keep the situation under control.

When would I get it back?

How would I get it back? (UPS or an officer knocking on the door "here ya go, thanks")

They couldn't KEEP it could they? I mean it is my property.

Could they "misplace it" or would it be secured, registered and monitered while in police custody?

I remember the John Wayne Movie McQ where he kept using his gun and the fellow police kept having to confiscate it for evidence....wayne would just have an extra gun stashed away somewhere in his car or would just go out and buy a new one (he went from six shooters to Browning Highpower high capacity auto to Uzzi in that one )

[Limeyfellow]

They will keep it as evidence until the trial and appeals are over. It could also be called back to be used as evidence for a prior crime.

You must usually contact them ahead of time to make an appointment to pick up the firearms usually since its not always kept on site. This is after you contacted the department involved to find out if the case is even over. When you go for your appointment you will be required to present a current government-issued picture identification and the case number involving the items you wish to claim. Wait for a little while and then they give you the item. Just make sure you have all the paperwork in states that require licenses or they will send the firearm off to be destroyed.

[Edward429451]

The first thing to do is to get a receipt for the weapon, with its description & serial number, at the same time that it is being taken into custody, even if you're being arrested at the same time. The police will have this paperwork right in their car but you wont get the receipt if you do not ask for it.

The second thing to do is to file an order to preserve property (or your attorney) with the court. Once the judge signs the order to preserve, the only way you lose it is if you plea bargain it away or are convicted. Do not lose the order to preserve, they are uh, almost guarenteed to not be able to find their copy upon the conclusion of the case.

Having the order to preserve really helps. After 3 yrs of drawn out proceedings ending in my favor, they uh, had no record of ever having my property. Then I produced an order to preserve signed by the judge and 'shazam! they found it no problem then.

[jsp98m3]

For those following the Michael Jackson case, Perv-o-Matic couldn't get his property back from arch-enemy (and likely Osmond fan) Sneddon even with a judge's order, months after being found not guilty.

Regardless of Jackson's guilt or innocence, the man should have been given his stuff (delivered) within a week of being found not guilty in my view. This is fast becoming a Nazi and Socialist state at the same time.

[Derius_T]

I have always been told to get the following information on PAPER.

The officer who takes your guns:

Full Name
Badge Number
Department
Name of Superior Officer of that Department
Serial Number/make/model of weapon

And make the officer SIGN it. And NEVER LOSE IT.

Also there is some type of paperwork you can get from a judge that will assure you will recieve your property back. Some type of order. Can't readily remember what its called.

Hope this helps.

[AndrewTB]

Can they by law take it? I was going to ask this very question the other day. I would not trust my gun in the hands of LEOS.

[Wynterbourne]

I was in a similar situation, in Fort Worth, TX, back in February.

The SHORT version is that I had my weapon sitting in my vehical at work. I normally went to the range AFTER work on either Friday or Monday, after payday. My going to the range wasn't exactly a secret.

The Head of Security for Uniden North America started checking my vehical for a weapon. One day he saw something that looked like it might have been part of a weapon. So he called the police.

I consented to the search, which shows just how stupid I truly am, and they located the weapon. Now ultimately it was determined that I'd done NOTHING illegal, and even the officers on hand stated that they didn't think it was illegal. But, in the words of one officer, "It doesn't matter if it's legal or not. Our police is to confiscate it anyways and let the Attorney's Office hash it out."

In the time that they had my weapon they test fired it for ballistics purposes. They transferred the case to 3 different department 'regions', not to mention the 'Intelligence Division'. Intelligence is the group in Fort Worth that handles Homeland Security, Terrorism, Anti-Semiticism, and Gang Activity. I was advised later that they were checking my 'file' to see if there was ANYTHING they could charge me with.

After a few months of chasing my case, and my weapon, I was allowed to pick it up. No appointment was necessary. I simply verified the hours of operation and went to Evidence Storage. I passed no checkpoints on the way in, and simply presented a valid picture ID to start the processing.

I signed SEVERAL receipts for my items. They looked at me funny when I refused to sign for my weapon until I had actually recieved my weapon. But I ultimately recieved it, and signed for it, and was on my way.

They DID allow me to take my ammunition when I picked up my pistol, which is not the normal policy. They told me later that I was allowed to do so because of my 'positive attitude'.

All in all, getting my weapon, my holsters, my athame, my ammunition, and bag took approximately 2 hours. This was because the items were stored in several areas throughout the building. If it had only been my weapon and ammunition it would've taken approximately 45 minutes, I was told.

A side note. If you want to get some funny looks, be standing outside of a police station with a full sized firearm in your hand, a box of ammo in the other, while smoking a cigarette. The funny thing is, the police never batted an eye.

I have always been told to get the following information on PAPER.

The officer who takes your guns:

Full Name
Badge Number
Department
Name of Superior Officer of that Department
Serial Number/make/model of weapon

And make the officer SIGN it. And NEVER LOSE IT.

If possible, have the officer list the CONDITION of the equipment as well, as best as he can determine.

When I recieved my equipment from the FWPD, I found that it had been seriously mistreated.

The handgun looked as if an extremely sugary liquid, such as coffee or sugar, had been spilled into it and not cleaned out. Gunk covered the chamber, the firing pin, the grip, the safety, the mag well, the recoil spring, the guide rod, the hammer and hammer mechanism, the trigger, the front and backstrap, the barrel, and the dust cover. It had been seriously scratched, predominantly on the dust cover, the right side of the slide, and the grip. The grip itself had been wrapped in industrial packaging tape, to prevent the property tag from coming loose. The extractor was damaged. Additionally, my rear sight had been gouged and the sights were knocked out of alignment.

One of the magazines had been wrapped in tape, once again to keep the property tags intact. The feed lips on the other were bent, as if it had recieved a somewhat hefty impact. The same gunk that was on the pistol was inside of the factory magazine.

My beautiful Tucker Gunleather 'Texas Heritage' had a cut in it, over an inch wide, that punctured the holster.

My range bag had a very small puncture. My range bag was also stained.

I don't know what they did to the ammunition, but it was dented, coated in something that almost looked like cosmoline. I refused to fire it.

What really hacked me off was the fact that my Athame, which was stored in a seperate container in the back of the vehical, had been confiscated as well. When I recieved it back it had been etched with the confiscating officer's initials and badge number on both the blade and the scabbard.

At this point I almost ALWAYS have a camera on me, just in case something like this happens again.

[sendec]

If the gun is evidence in a criminal trial the judge has to order its disposition. If it was for example stolen from you it would be returned upon the judges's order which is routine.

If it was used in the commission of a crime typically upon completion of the court proceedings( and usually some extra time to see if there are any appeals) the judge will again order it's disposition, sometimes deeding it to the investigating agency for destruction, use or sale. Frequently agencies use them in trades with dealers for new duty weapons.

For every gun that alledgedly "disappears" or is mysteriously damaged in police custody there are a gazillion that are not. There are so many checks and balances in the evidence handling process that those things have a difficult time happening. Literally every step of custody, and everyone who has custody of the weapon, is documented.

And a court order to produce an item is frequently refered to as a writ of habeus corpus.

[sendec]

".......if the gun shot anyone or not....."

Ah yes, the gun did it

[TATER]

My experience...., I have never seen a firearm returned that
wasn't screwed up to hell and back! With all seriousness, They
seem to go out of their way to damage a firearm.
-If its a long gun, busted stock always.
-If its a shotgun its going to have a crimped barrel too.
-If its custom grips,they will be Busted...
Of course, its no ones fault..

[Ramcharger]

So did the people who had thier rifles taken away to be tested when the DC sniper thingie was happening get thier rifles back?

[SAXD9]

An example of LEO's holding your weapon in NC would be if you get served with a domestic violence protective order (50B order). On a 50B it says you have to surrender all firearms to the agency serving the paper. They have to store that weapon, and care for it, indefinitely until a judge says to give it back to you, or if you get some felony conviction in the meantime they'll be ordered to destroy it.
If it get's damaged in storage, the agency would be liable. I'd be highly pissed if my gun came back damaged, and would seek a legal remedy!

[atlctyslkr]

Plan on losing it if you have to use it. That way if you get it back (undamaged) you aren't dissapointed. I would never carry a gun I felt was a collectors item, heriloom, or otherwise "really cool" out on the street. When cops decide they want to crack down on you it doesn't matter if you're innocent or not. They'll take anything and everything you've got on you that is valuable and you'll never get it back, money, watches, rings, you name it. Unless you've got a witness with you who isn't also getting jacked up who can accurately get property receitps for you you're hosed.

[Capt. Charlie]

I think this is more appropriate for L&P.

Moved, from T&T.

[shooter_john]

We had a gentleman shoot and kill a burglar in his home last year, and I believe he got his gun back within the week. There was no trial, the DA cleared it without ever going to grand jury even.
Sounds like some of you with these horror stories should move to Bama. Recently a man who had been involved in a domestic claimed that my partner and I had damaged his pistol while unloading it ( pistol was not involved in the incident, but was in the room), so the Sheriff's Office went to the trouble of having it checked out for him, and it was soon returned 'in working order.'

[MeekAndMild]

Doug, some years ago this happened to me. I was pulling into a hamburger place in a small town 75 miles from the city when I was broadsided. The wreck caused me a minor head injury and a broken shoulder. The car had to be towed.

I was rattled from the knock on the head and in no shape to travel nor to really do anything except go to the hospital so I showed the LEO my permit and told him where my pistol was stored (under the seat). I was afraid it would walk off somewhere between the accident scene and the wrecker yard and the body shop I asked him to store it until things settled down.

It took about 2 hours for me to get x-rays and to get the shoulder set and cuts on the head cleaned up. Mrs. Meek arrived on the scene about the time they set the bone. She reclaimed the pistol about 10 minutes after I was released. She had to sign a receipt.

[David Armstrong]

As an old LEO I can tell you without any doubt: It varies a lot from place to place. Different agencies, different states, sometimes different officers, can all play a part in the process. It might be no problem at all, it might take a court order and an attorney. And don't expect the police to take real good care of the gun while it is in their custody. It might be your favorite piece and have all sorts of cash as well as sentimental value to you, but to them it is just another piece of evidence.

[marks655]

In many places you will probably never see the gun again. That's why a lot of CCWs carry rather inexpensive weapons like Makarovs.