Do police melt down your handgun?

[kingnereli]

I was recently told by a friend that if you have to use your handgun for personal defense the police will automatically melt you gun down. Is this true? I understand that there needs to be an investigation, but destroying the weapon no matter what seems excessive. I'm about to buy a new CCW and if this is true I would rather buy in the $500-$600 range then drop a thousand plus on a handgun and loose it if I ever have to use it.

 

[NateIU10]

Never heard that one before.

Complete and utter BS man

 

[esrice]

What Nate said. . .

And even though it isn't true, you should still be buying a Glock for CCW.

And welcome to INGO!

 

[NateIU10]

you should still be buying a Glock for CCW.

And welcome to INGO!

Two valid points I forgot to mention

 

[Fordmadman]

I work for the street dept and one day we was dumping the dumpsters at the police station and a rossi 357 fell out of the dumpster and it looked like they took a cutting torch to the top of it.

 

[ATM]

What Nate said. . .

And even though it isn't true, you should still be buying a Glock for CCW.

And welcome to INGO!

And if it were true, you should get a ceramic Glock model 7.






(But since it's not, you'll want an XD.)

 

[NateIU10]

They most certainly do destroy SOME guns, but not ALL used in self-defense situations.




As to what gun to buy, get your hands on all the gun you can, and buy what fits YOU best

 

[Drail]

Actually they only destroy the cheap junk. The good ones lay around for awhile and then some nice officer will take it home. Then it will be sold or given to a friend or sometimes the nice officer will keep it for himself. I am not making this up boys and girls.

 

[dice dealer]

Actually they only destroy the cheap junk. The good ones lay around for awhile and then some nice officer will take it home. Then it will be sold or given to a friend or sometimes the nice officer will keep it for himself. I am not making this up boys and girls.

A friend of mine a former louisville PD officer told me a fellow officer while working one of the city BUY BACKS , had a newly widowed grandma bring in a piece belonging to her late husband ..
The nice officer gave her the $20 (or however much it was )
Thanked her for being a good citizen and keeping guns off the street .
He then took a $20 outta his pocket to replace the one he gave her from the city budget and took home his $20,000 original civil war colt ...


Thank god the nice officer was looking out for all of our safety

 

[USAShooter]

Actually they only destroy the cheap junk. The good ones lay around for awhile and then some nice officer will take it home. Then it will be sold or given to a friend or sometimes the nice officer will keep it for himself. I am not making this up boys and girls.

And how do you know this to be true ?????

 

[namor24]

Depends on the County. Some counties will put them up for auction to raise cash... This is the most humain thing to do.

 

[dice dealer]

I picked up a .243 rifle last year from kieslers in jeffersonville ..still had the police dept. evadence tag on it .

 

[sloughfoot]

I was working the desk one night and a lady called and said she wanted to turn in a 22 that belonged to her dead husband. She didn't want to get into trouble for bringing a gun into the Police station. I asked her what it was and she said, it is a Colt Woodsman.

I started salivating and told her sure, she could bring it right in and don't worry about it. But she was to ask for me in case I had to step away.

She brought it in and left and what was inside the 50 year old Colt Woodsman box was a Jennings 22, chrome plated pot metal with pink plastic grips.

It was turned into the property room.

OP, the Police do not destroy every gun that is put into evidence. Even the guns that are used in crimes and kept as evidence for court, require a Court Order to be destroyed.

Guns used in lawful self defense are kept long enough for testing and then the owner is notified to come in to claim the gun if no charges are going to be filed.

 

[Cactus Jack]

I was recently told by a friend that if you have to use your handgun for PERSONAL DEFENSE the police will automatically melt you gun down. Is this true? I understand that there needs to be an investigation, but destroying the weapon no matter what seems excessive. I'm about to buy a new CCW and if this is true I would rather buy in the $500-$600 range then drop a thousand plus on a handgun and loose it if I ever have to use it.

If a gun is used in a crime they may melt it down, If you use a gun in self defence and you are cleared of any wrong doing you will get your gun back.

 

[MikeS]

I thought the police were suppose to return guns to their registered owner.

 

[dice dealer]

I thought the police were suppose to return guns to their registered owner.

Whats a registered owner ?
no such thing in indiana

 

[cordex]

There seem to be two issues being discussed here.

1. Do police automatically destroy a weapon used in self defense?

The answer to this is simply no. Nor do police automatically destroy a vehicle that justifiably violated a traffic law.

If you ever use a gun in self defense, expect the police to take it from you and not give it back for a long time. You will get it back someday, so long as it doesn't go missing (which would be the exception, not the rule).

2. Do police ever destroy or dispose of firearms?

The answer to this is absolutely. However, a lawfully used handgun is not automatically destroyed. If that ever happens, call the NRA and hire a lawyer.

That said, there is something to be said for being utilitarian about your defensive weapons. I can't afford to have multiple $2k handguns for self defense in case one breaks down or is taken after a shooting. Thus I have multiple $500 defensive handguns.

 

[techres]

Guys, just two little points:

1. If you use whatever in a justifiable shooting, the last thing you are going to be concerned about is your firearm.

2. If you use whatever in a non-justifiable shooting, the last thing you are going to be concerned about is your firearm.

Personally, if the door gets kicked in and it is "go time" to protect my family, I am going to grab the best tool for the job and all other considerations will happen later.

 

[sloughfoot]

And how do you know this to be true ?????

Because there is like a "Million stories in the Naked City"........

When I was an Army EOD soldier in 1972, the local FBI office was switching from their Thompson SMG's to Uzi's. They brought their Thompsons to our range for destruction.

Guys, they brought a dozen or so cased Thompsons with 50 round drum and 30 round stick mags. I still remember the green color of the lining in the cases.

As I was packing C4 to destroy the treasure, I was bantering with the agent that one of the SMG's could be loaned to the 88th EOD (my unit) for testing before destruction and I would be glad to provide the appropriate paperwork. He was not amused. He would not even let me keep one of the cases.

Every one was completely destroyed.

I cried inside...

 

[Annie Oakley]

Most guns aren't "registered" hence finding the legal owner can be impossible unless the owner reports the weapon as stolen. Twenty years ago I had three stolen, one was recovered and every year, like clockwork, ISP calls to see if by chance they have found their way home. It really kills me that people like to believe that LEO's just take what they want as a group. The percentage of the dishonest ones probably doesn't vary much from the number of people on gun boards that are dishonest. Just MHO...