Ripley Co. deputy takes airsoft guns

[z96Cobra]

Not sure what the rules are for the site where this occurred, but it doesn't seem right. Also, I've never heard an air soft gun that sounds like a real firearm. All sorts of goofiness in this article...

Eagle Country 99.3 FM | Lawrenceburg, IN

 

[Birds Away]

Oh, horse. Under what authority can they confiscate legal property?

 

[phatgemi]

Ripley county fairground. Sounds bogus to me. Glad the Sheriff's department was able to save osgood from the evil hoard!!!

 

[eldirector]

Interesting that your property can be seized and then returned, even though you are not cited for any violations.
Edit: let me expand on that.... LE can show up at your place of business "after hours, determine nothing illegal is happening, confiscate your personal property, hold it for several days, and then simply return it when they want to?

Maybe they mean airsoft sounds much like a suppressed .22 short?

 

[Bsubtown]

Quoted from the article: (Osgood, Ind.) – Off-duty carnival employees at the Ripley County 4-H Fair caused some tense moments at the fairgrounds in Osgood last week.
Was it the airlift players that caused the tense moments or the person to call the police or the police themselves? I would say that Legally using a toy has never caused a tense situation

 

[horsehaulin]

Since when does a air soft gun sound like a normal firearm? Maybe I should start carrying one of these lethal beasts to protect my self instead of my 9MM!

add purple where you see fit.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

What's the beef, chief?

 

[Meezer]

The sheriff said his office displays high regard for the second amendment rights of all citizens, and encourages responsible gun ownership and handling practices.

“Air-soft firearms like the ones stated above can appear in many forms, and often times resemble functioning lethal firearms. Differentiation among a lethal firearm, and life like air-soft firearms, create a great challenge for officers and citizens alike.

The Sheriff is a complete idiot along with the deputy that confiscated the airsoft toys. They both lack common sense & their actions, statements, etc., clearly show that they "need to be doing something else for a living"

 

[totenkopf]

I used to do airsoft because I thought it was cheaper than paintball, and it was, when we were playing with spring powered guns. Then somebody got the bright idea to start buying gas guns, and from there it progressed to electric. As we progressed the "cheaper than paintball" factor rapidly eroded to a point where I'd wager it was costing us as much or more to play airsoft. I had a really nice M16 and a 226 replica which weighed about as much as the AR 15 and actual 226 I later came to own. Both ran on CO2. Another dude in our group actually got his folks at the time to plunk down the $800-900 and had an airsoft version of an MK 48. We had the cops called on us several times while playing because the average person unfamiliar with firearms can't or doesn't want to differentiate between the sounds of a CO2 powered airsoft gun and a 9mm, let alone that of a toy MK 48 from a real one.

Even though I left airsoft behind me once I turned 18 and could start buying real firearms, I find them to be highly useful training tools. My replica 226 stripped down just like a real one. I had to clean and lubricate it, just like a real one. Even the decocker worked just like a real Sig. Trigger pull seemed similar too. But even with the pop of the gas and sounds of the slide cycling, it was never as loud as my actual Sig pistols.

I do realize from a LE point of view, the manufacturers could do more to prevent the orange rings around the front of the barrels from being removed or painted over, and it might reduce some of the confrontations which occur. But at the end of the day, the anti-gun crowd is still going to exhibit the same snap judgment mentality and call 911 no matter what. Even if they're completely wrong in their assumption.

 

[Westside]

Oh, horse. Under what authority can they confiscate legal property?

after sitting in a Hendricks county court room for 4+ hours yesterday watching court proceeding. I know that police can seize a firearm and LTCH without a warrant!

short version of case police responded to a domestic disturbance call. tazed the defendant 2 times. then seized the firearm without warrant on 6/11/13 (same date as call). The police then filed a petition to keep the seized firearm and it had a hearing yesterday (has been in police custody the entire time). Judge granted the order for 6 months he confiscated the LTCH at the hearing.

The defendant is a veteran who has been diagnosed with PTSD and is undergoing treatment. another court date was set for 6 months later to re-evaluate the seizure.

link to the case history. https://mycase.in.gov/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=13760521


what's to stop them from doing it with anything else?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I know that police can seize a firearm and LTCH without a warrant! ... short version of case police responded to a domestic disturbance call.

IC code spells out the procedure for a domestic:

IC 35-33-1-1.5
Crime involving domestic or family violence; duties of law enforcement officers; confiscation of firearm, ammunition, or deadly weapon
Sec. 1.5. (a) A law enforcement officer responding to the scene of an alleged crime involving domestic or family violence shall use all reasonable means to prevent further violence, including the following:
(1) Transporting or obtaining transportation for the alleged victim and each child to a designated safe place to meet with a domestic violence counselor, local family member, or friend.
(2) Assisting the alleged victim in removing toiletries, medication, and necessary clothing.
(3) Giving the alleged victim immediate and written notice of the rights under IC 35-40.
(b) A law enforcement officer may confiscate and remove a firearm, ammunition, or a deadly weapon from the scene if the law enforcement officer has:
(1) probable cause to believe that a crime involving domestic or family violence has occurred;
(2) a reasonable belief that the firearm, ammunition, or deadly weapon:
(A) exposes the victim to an immediate risk of serious bodily injury; or
(B) was an instrumentality of the crime involving domestic or family violence; and
(3) observed the firearm, ammunition, or deadly weapon at the scene during the response.
(c) If a firearm, ammunition, or a deadly weapon is removed from the scene under subsection (b), the law enforcement officer shall provide for the safe storage of the firearm, ammunition, or deadly
weapon during the pendency of a proceeding related to the alleged act of domestic or family violence.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Not sure what the rules are for the site where this occurred, but it doesn't seem right. Also, I've never heard an air soft gun that sounds like a real firearm. All sorts of goofiness in this article...

Eagle Country 99.3 FM | Lawrenceburg, IN

I'm curious as to what age the kids were. I've yet to confiscate an airsoft gun that wasn't used in a crime (yes, robbers sometimes use them). Sounds like an overreaction at first blush, but my mind could be changed based on the details of the situation.

 

[JimH]

I wonder how this would have turned out had it occured in downtown Indy or Gary?I'm betting they would have probably had a SWAT team on the scene.The Ripley Co. Sheriff and the deputy's that I know are 100% pro-gun,but when called to a complaint,they,like all LEO,have to respond and use their best judgement to handle the situation-sometimes right,sometimes wrong,in this case a compromise-no one charged,no one fined,but any disturbance quelled.Common sense should tell you not to run around in town at night shooting at others with an AR-15 look alike.One of the first rules of gun safety is don't point a gun at anything you aren't willing to destroy.

 

[Sgt7330]

I can remember 2 night ordeals as LEO where reported suspicious people ended up having airsoft guns. Of course I didn't realize these were airsoft until later. One was near a business prone to burglary, late at night and another was near a residence along the road out in the county. The latter I saw the "handgun" in hand of the person and ordered him, with my gun drawn, to drop it. He did, thankfully.
Another airsoft or BB gun incident comes to mind from several years ago with guys driving around pointing it various other motorists. I do believe that one was seized and a case for criminal recklessness and intimidation was made. So yes, you can seize an airsoft. I don't think these are relevant to the incident above, just thoughts

 

[armedindy]

when i was probably 14 my friends and i got caught by the cops having a late night airsoft battle on a school playground... i know...but the cops were really cool and basically just told us how stupid what we were doing was....now i know

 

[Trigger Time]

In other news: osgood citizens were appauled to see a man with all of his own teeth roll through town in some sort of machine on 4 wheels without a horse.

 

[Tanfodude]

Can't really fix stupid.

 

[karatejoe]

This will be the type of police Obama will use to go door to door to confiscate our guns.

 

[The Wamp]

Full of holes.

“Air-soft firearms look, feel, fire, and sound like real weapons, but they are not lethal in just about every instance,” Grills said. “However, they do fire a BB like projectile at varying velocities, which can pose a threat to an unsuspecting victim.”

1. A threat? As in, a red mark that almost looks like a welt?
2. Sound like? Have you ever mistaken automatic 7.62 fire with the sound of an air soft gun?

“Air-soft firearms like the ones stated above can appear in many forms, and often times resemble functioning lethal firearms. Differentiation among a lethal firearm, and life like air-soft firearms, create a great challenge for officers and citizens alike.”

1. "Air-soft firearm?" Do you understand the definition of firearm?
2. You confiscated 8 of these "firearms," did none of them have a blaze orange air soft gun tip?

Off-duty carnival employees at the Ripley County 4-H Fair caused some tense moments at the fairgrounds in Osgood last week.

These weren't 14 year old kids either... These were the carnies... They said they do this all the time. I bet they were willing to hand over their "firearms" upon request of the sheriff. Wow.