Getting an impounded Firearm from Evidence, City County Building Downtown Indy

[actaeon277]

So is this like a cashier skimming the till or an anti gun thing?

I would say an anti-gun bureaucrat.

 

[Denny347]

Actually they do. Its probably over at MCSO and either parted out or sold to Numrich.

MCSO has NOTHING to do with the property room and they have no way to retrieve guns they didn't put there.

 

[Mgderf]

They have guns handed to them because someone was in an accident.
They have guns they never got to, where the person that owned the gun has no charges.
Therefore.. checking the gun is looking for a crime to fit the person, as opposed to checking AFTER there is a crime to charge someone with.

I had not considered that type of situation.
You are correct.
Those should not be subject to the same scrutiny as those confiscated during the commission of a crime.

 

[Denny347]

Sure, it can be said that the Prosecutor has to realease it, BUT each police officer who "confiscates" a firearm, knows it'll be a miracle if it's ever returned when they take it, so the police acted as an accomplice to the theft when the lawful owner has a right to it.

Most officers have NO IDEA about this. I had no idea what happened to the guns after I entered them as property. This forum is where I learned it. Officers have no interaction after they drop them off at the property room.

 

[WebSnyper]

Semantics.
I agree that once cleared, it should not need tested.
If the gun was confiscated it is likely in relation to the investigation of a crime.
Why else would they confiscate it, legally?
Once in police hands, how can they clear it of being used in a crime if they can't test ballistics?
If it's not cleared it shouldn't be released onto the streets.

My big beef here is not that they want to test ballistics of firearms that end up in police possession.
My bitch is that once cleared, they are not simply reluctant, but prohibitive to the process of returning it to the rightful owner.

Kind of like a person being DNA swabbed after being arrested vs actually having been convicted or anything.

 

[JEBland]

Kind of like a person being DNA swabbed after being arrested vs actually having been convicted or anything.

Yeah, but Maryland V. King messed that all up.

Sorry about your misfortunes, OP

 

[WebSnyper]

Yeah, but Maryland V. King messed that all up.

Sorry about your misfortunes, OP

Understood, and agreed with the dissenting opinion, that it's a complete over reach.

 

[Cameramonkey]

So is this like a cashier skimming the till or an anti gun thing?

Negative. You are seeing this backwards. These LEOs understand what is going on and are on our side. And being "gun guys" they want to help the owner not get into the black hole.

So they call the family member on behalf of the MVA victim and try to hand it off to keep it safe. They arent trying to skim/steal, it just sometimes takes a few hours before the family/friend can meet up with the officer due to travel time, work commitments, etc. These officers just know that if it goes into the property room, its not coming out easily. So they'll drag their feet taking it downtown until they have no other choice. (and I presume if they keep it after their shift to try to get it back to family it becomes theft)

 

[Sigblitz]

Negative. You are seeing this backwards. These LEOs understand what is going on and are on our side. And being "gun guys" they want to help the owner not get into the black hole.

So they call the family member on behalf of the MVA victim and try to hand it off to keep it safe. They arent trying to skim/steal, it just sometimes takes a few hours before the family/friend can meet up with the officer due to travel time, work commitments, etc. These officers just know that if it goes into the property room, its not coming out easily. So they'll drag their feet taking it downtown until they have no other choice. (and I presume if they keep it after their shift to try to get it back to family it becomes theft)

I like that. I thought you went down an entirely different role.

 

[bgcatty]

Unfortunately getting the firearm back is probably a lost cause. The system is designed to frustrate all of your efforts are retrieval. The bureaucrats do not give a damn about your property rights or legal rights in general. The prosecutors have moved on and could care less about “justice” once they close their file on a particular case. I do feel your pain but I advise to look forward and not backward and just thank your lucky stars that the prosecutors did not find a way to prosecute you somehow-someway for exercising your right to self defense in Marion County. Finally, the cost and expense and effort of commencing a suit to retrieve the firearm would become a rabbit hole so deep that you will never see the light of day for years. Peace to you OP!

 

[MadMan66]

But the consensus is that you'll need to hire a lawyer. There is one person in the chain of command there that just plain refuses to do their job and sign off on the paperwork to let the firearm out.

This used to be the case. I know the person you speak of personally. That person has retired, and the new person appointed that position has made many improvements to the way it is handled.

OP, if you haven't made a call or trip down there recently, I would do so. They are trying to speed up the process and I've heard the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I totally understand being angry at this point, but being persistent and nice goes a long way with the new ones in charge. I'm not telling you to NOT get a lawyer, but I know it can be done without one.

 

[Bigtanker]

This used to be the case. I know the person you speak of personally. That person has retired, and the new person appointed that position has made many improvements to the way it is handled.

OP, if you haven't made a call or trip down there recently, I would do so. They are trying to speed up the process and I've heard the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I totally understand being angry at this point, but being persistent and nice goes a long way with the new ones in charge. I'm not telling you to NOT get a lawyer, but I know it can be done without one.

That's really good news.

 

[Cameramonkey]

This used to be the case. I know the person you speak of personally. That person has retired, and the new person appointed that position has made many improvements to the way it is handled.

That is great news. I wasnt even involved, and when I heard she told the INGO LEO "I'll sign it when I get around to it. Have a good day. " (with an implied "now go away" at the end) even I was furious. All she had to do was find the form, sign it and be done with it. No big deal. And that was one less thing on her plate so she would come out better in the end as well. She was only asked to do her job and nothing more.

She sounded like the classic, stereotypical .gov employee. You know, the kind that works only as fast as they feel like, know they arent going to be fired so long as they do the minimum, and if you dare say anything to them, they'll take offense to it and NOT do it out of spite as a way to feel powerful in an otherwise powerless job*. And of course nobody will do anything about it. Even the managers will cover for them because they have the same attitude.

Though I wonder whether she was truly lazy just to be lazy, or if she was anti gun and it was her way of harming gun owners?

*Which reminds me of the truly sad individual I once encountered. Trying to drive through a crosswalk in front of the doors at walmart. At the aisle before the official crosswalk started, I stopped to allow a gentleman to cross. He gets right in front of my car, and turns 90* to walk slowly directly away from me in my lane, making no effort to cross the drive and get to the sidewalk. (there were no cars coming the other direction) That forced me to spend the next 30 seconds or so idling behind him as he kept walking in my way preventing me from getting to where I wanted to be. He finally got ALMOST past the doors before angling back to the doors and finally got out of my way.

At first I was furious. Then it hit me; how sad of an existence did he have that he felt that the only way he could feel powerful and in control was to get in somebody else's way intentionally and make them bow to his power? So sad. I took a minute and prayed for him. He obviously was a miserable individual.

 

[dudley0]

Officers have no interaction after they drop them off at the property room.

Just like the owners it seems.

Ha ha.

Sorry, I jest even though it is a sad state of affairs.

 

[Hop]

I've always had a court order.

No problems with State Police in Indy. No problems with Airport Police. Think I have had couple of delays at IMPD. Had to call Corp. Counsel once.

Strangest pistol return I had was here in Tippecanoe County. Sheriff burned it (Glock) rather than return as court order said. When County Attorney found out, he asked how much, I told him, got the money next day. Client did not want to pursue contempt, just took money and bought new gun.

^^ this guy right here is who got my Shield 9mm out of IMPD inventory room purgatory.

Even after his call to city councel, & councel's agreement to promptly return, an IMPD officer in the 4th floor fingerprint office delayed me another day. I blew up at him, nearly cussing him out, stomped out and lost more work time & parking fees to get my gun back 24 hrs later.

It almost cost me another hour of My Freeman's time.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

^^ this guy right here is who got my Shield 9mm out of IMPD inventory room purgatory.

Even after his call to city councel, & councel's agreement to promptly return, an IMPD officer in the 4th floor fingerprint office delayed me another day. I blew up at him, nearly cussing him out, stomped out and lost more work time & parking fees to get my gun back 24 hrs later.

It almost cost me another hour of My Freeman's time.

Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

[flightsimmer]

Several decades back I had a Charter Arms 38 that was taken for evidence after an incident.
I got it back 9 weeks later but it's because I knew a detective downtown at IMPD and he inquired about it and got it released for me, but when I went to pick it up the guy in the evidence locker wrapped it up with paper and tape and everything he could find and told me don't you dare open that until you get home. I thought well, well whatever.
I had a personal protection permit to carry it so why the warning? Might have been the standard procedure.

 

[MadMan66]

That is great news. I wasnt even involved, and when I heard she told the INGO LEO "I'll sign it when I get around to it. Have a good day. " (with an implied "now go away" at the end) even I was furious. All she had to do was find the form, sign it and be done with it. No big deal. And that was one less thing on her plate so she would come out better in the end as well. She was only asked to do her job and nothing more.

She sounded like the classic, stereotypical .gov employee. You know, the kind that works only as fast as they feel like, know they arent going to be fired so long as they do the minimum, and if you dare say anything to them, they'll take offense to it and NOT do it out of spite as a way to feel powerful in an otherwise powerless job*. And of course nobody will do anything about it. Even the managers will cover for them because they have the same attitude.

Though I wonder whether she was truly lazy just to be lazy, or if she was anti gun and it was her way of harming gun owners?

*Which reminds me of the truly sad individual I once encountered. Trying to drive through a crosswalk in front of the doors at walmart. At the aisle before the official crosswalk started, I stopped to allow a gentleman to cross. He gets right in front of my car, and turns 90* to walk slowly directly away from me in my lane, making no effort to cross the drive and get to the sidewalk. (there were no cars coming the other direction) That forced me to spend the next 30 seconds or so idling behind him as he kept walking in my way preventing me from getting to where I wanted to be. He finally got ALMOST past the doors before angling back to the doors and finally got out of my way.

At first I was furious. Then it hit me; how sad of an existence did he have that he felt that the only way he could feel powerful and in control was to get in somebody else's way intentionally and make them bow to his power? So sad. I took a minute and prayed for him. He obviously was a miserable individual.

As much as I'd like to agree with you, I'll say it wasn't quite like that. I am a close friend of the individual you speak of, and I'll just say there is a lot more than meets the eye as to why things were the way they were.

The fact that everything .gov is involved with is slow, and the larger the .gov is, the slower it gets. An antiquated system designed well before the technological cataloging systems we have today, as well as no one upstairs wanting to throw money at a system that "worked" in their eyes, because they didn't have to deal with the headache of it all.

I worked on the unit of 4 people for 6 months while on light duty and got more firearms out of our property room in those 6 months than they did the previous 3 years combined, but all I did everyday was that. It was practically my only responsibility. They actually paid me overtime to come back in after the supervisor retired to train the new one and tweak a few things (as much as I could).

And in fact, the person you speak of was not anti-2A, and would have probably been a member here if they knew how computers worked.

I'm not saying that you might not be right on some of those points, because I think there were a lot of factors involved as to why the system was so slow. I know there were personal reasons involved, that I won't get into on a public forum. I think the supervisor was just overly cautious at releasing firearms due to previous incidents.

And just for the record, I totally agree that it was wrong that it took that long for people to get their property back when there was no reason to hold onto it.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I really appreciate your insight Madman. Mad props for the work you did to help out in there.

Now go get injured again so you can do more good.

 

[actaeon277]

Th

As much as I'd like to agree with you, I'll say it wasn't quite like that. I am a close friend of the individual you speak of, and I'll just say there is a lot more than meets the eye as to why things were the way they were.

The fact that everything .gov is involved with is slow, and the larger the .gov is, the slower it gets. An antiquated system designed well before the technological cataloging systems we have today, as well as no one upstairs wanting to throw money at a system that "worked" in their eyes, because they didn't have to deal with the headache of it all.

I worked on the unit of 4 people for 6 months while on light duty and got more firearms out of our property room in those 6 months than they did the previous 3 years combined, but all I did everyday was that. It was practically my only responsibility. They actually paid me overtime to come back in after the supervisor retired to train the new one and tweak a few things (as much as I could).

And in fact, the person you speak of was not anti-2A, and would have probably been a member here if they knew how computers worked.

I'm not saying that you might not be right on some of those points, because I think there were a lot of factors involved as to why the system was so slow. I know there were personal reasons involved, that I won't get into on a public forum. I think the supervisor was just overly cautious at releasing firearms due to previous incidents.

And just for the record, I totally agree that it was wrong that it took that long for people to get their property back when there was no reason to hold onto it.

Thanks for the info