police won't give gun back?

[jboritzki]

First a little background. My 22 year old son-in-law was in a fight a couple of years ago. He was put on probation and finished it. He has not been in any other trouble.

He and my step daughter were pulled over a few weeks back. When the officer came to the car to ask for his license he seen a shotgun in the back seat. He took my son-in-law out of the car and arrested him because the police mistakenly thought he was still on probation and was in violation of the probation because of the shotgun in his back seat. He had taken the shotgun to show me at my house. It was not loaded and there was no shells for the gun in the car. He spent the night in jail and went to court the next morning. The judge said there was no reason for him to be there or to have even been arrested since he was not on probation. The 9 original charges were dropped and he was released immediately. He has tried to get his shotgun back and keeps getting told that it can take up to 1 year before it can be returned to him.

Does anyone have any advice for him? To me, this is bull. He did nothing wrong. I don't know why he was pulled over in the first place. I am sure there was a reason but the gun in the car took any and all attention away from that so even he don't know why he was pulled over in he first place. So he did nothing wrong, there was a mistake in the police computer system so he got to spend the night in jail, miss work, get his private property taken away, which I totally understand because of what the officer thought. Had he been on probation the officer would have been right and because of the mistake in the computer system, the officer had no way of knowing that my son-in-law was within his rights. But now that everything has been cleared up, he can't get his private property back for a year? Does anyone know what steps he should take to get his shotgun back asap?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[NateIU10]

Get a lawyer to contact the department.

 

[LEaSH]

It's a pay to play legal system.
Unfortunately it's going to cost more than the shotgun is worth.

 

[Bastispah]

It's a pay to play legal system.
Unfortunately it's going to cost more than the shotgun is worth.

that the sad, unfair, truth. Sorry man.

 

[jboritzki]

It should cost nothing. This is just flat out wrong. This is government thievery. They also took his wallet and belt and ring, but they gave those back. They allowed my step daughter to go home with the car, but they want to keep the semiauto shotgun for a year in hopes he'll just forget about it and then they can either give it away to someone or sell it at auction. It should never be a matter of how much it costs. That only means that the police and/or government agencies are free to do as they please, violate whatever right they wish so long as the person is too poor to make a stink about it.

 

[MinuteManMike]

One more reason to hate the totalitarian bastards.

 

[MyGlockRocks19]

Thats bull. As far as I know, they cannot hold private property unless its contraband, or is evidence in an ongoing investigation. Who is it that is telling him they have to hold it for a year? Whoever it is, go over their head. And if nothing gets done when you do, keep going up.

Raise a stink. This is flat out illegal. I'm not a lawyer, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but even I know that the government cannot seize property like this.

 

[Eddie]

ON the cheap

On the cheap you could file a small claim asking for possession of the shotgun, but if you can afford it hire a local attorney.

 

[LEaSH]

It is wrong. By any reasonable standards, it's wrong.

Authoritarianism is the future. And for many, it is the here and now.

By the way, I don't want to make you angry further. But they won't sell it, or auction it. They chop the receiver in half.
Ther is no respect for law abiding citizens and their property.

 

[Bigum1969]

You should file a theft charge with the local PD.
Seriously.

At this point, it is stolen property.

If you do try and file a charge, you should also garner some media coverage. I'm sure your neighbors and fellow citizens would like to know how your son in law's property is being stolen by the government.

 

[OneBadV8]

You should file a theft charge with the local PD.
Seriously.

At this point, it is stolen property.

If you do try and file a charge, you should also garner some media coverage. I'm sure your neighbors and fellow citizens would like to know how your son in law's property is being stolen by the government.

I like this idea.

 

[MyGlockRocks19]

You should file a theft charge with the local PD.
Seriously.

At this point, it is stolen property.

If you do try and file a charge, you should also garner some media coverage. I'm sure your neighbors and fellow citizens would like to know how your son in law's property is being stolen by the government.

 

[Mgderf]

+1 for the "Small claims court".

I believe if you win your case in a small claims court, the defendant is charged with paying the court fees.

 

[22lr]

Or you can just write a letter saying if it isnt returned you are calling your congressman. DO NOT get into a legal battle unless your willing to drop some serious change on it. Call your congressman/women and im sure they will help you out. After all catering to the voting public is what they do best. Work the system because its a lot easier than working against it.

If all else fails find a lawyer who will file a civil suit for damages with enough extra to cover legal fees. But that might be a real pain in the butt as the department will just claim "paper mixup" and hand the gun back at which point you have no case and might be out the legal fees.

 

[LEaSH]

If small claims court trumps department policy, I'll eat crow.

The guy is going to need a lawyer - the kind that want to get paid.

After the tragedy that killed Baird (justin I think), all area leo agencies were given the power to sieze firearms from questionable characters (read: too poor to do a damn thing about it).

I hate it. I don't condone it. I don't ever want to see it happen.

Athoritarianism. Catch the wave.

 

[ocsdor]

Didn't we just have this discussion?

Here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ussion/65199-lawrence_pd_property_return.html

 

[fpdshooter]

If small claims court trumps department policy, I'll eat crow.

The guy is going to need a lawyer - the kind that want to get paid.

After the tragedy that killed Baird (justin I think), all area leo agencies were given the power to sieze firearms from questionable characters (read: too poor to do a damn thing about it).

I hate it. I don't condone it. I don't ever want to see it happen.

Athoritarianism. Catch the wave.

You are wrong.

Jake Laird was killed. As a result of this the Larid Law came about. The only thing this law allows is the confiscation of weapons from those who are mentally unstable and are proven in court to be a danger to themselves.

First a warrant must be obtained just to seize the guns. Second a seperate probable cause hearing is established to determine if the accused individual is actually a threat to anyone.

The only people affected by the Larid law are people who should not have access to weapons in the first place, no where is poor or questionable ever mentioned in the law.

 

[groovatron]

They technically can't keep his gun like that. Unfortunately, without a lawyer, the inbred legal system will find a way to make it not worth your time. Holding the firearm won't hurt them in the least, and if you bring it to legal action, it's just your tax dollars footin the bill for their defense. Lose lose situatiuon. It is something you could represent yourself on, but with court fees alone it probably wouldn't be worth it. I would just continue to bug them and try to make as big of a legal stink about it as possible. Contact all local media with a well written summary of your story and you may be suprised who will want to interview you.

 

[LEaSH]

You are wrong.

Jake Laird was killed..

Thank You for the correction.

Do you think the OP will get his shotgun back? Without a two thousand dollar bill from a lawyer? Honestly. Have any input?

 

[scheesman]

Do you think the OP will get his shotgun back? Without a two thousand dollar bill from a lawyer? Honestly. Have any input?

Absolutely. They HAVE to give it back. They just don't have to do it in a timely manner.