What does the Lacey police department do with surrendered and seized guns?
Ever wonder what a police department does with firearms it has seized or that have been surrendered to them?
That question was raised by the city of Lacey’s equity commission this week and answered by Police Chief Robert Almada.
Almada said some firearms are surrendered to police and some are seized as part of evidence or as part of a protective order, such as in cases involving domestic violence. Surrendered guns are those that are turned over by residents to police because the gun might be too old, they are concerned about liability issues, or they have no one to give it to.
Once police have the weapons, the guns are either destroyed or returned once the legal case has been adjudicated, Almada said. The guns are not sold, he said.
Almada shared the following statistics for Lacey in 2021:
▪ Surrendered guns: 24.
▪ Destroyed: None.
▪ Held as evidence: 163.
And statistics and estimates for 2022:
▪ Surrendered guns: 34.
▪ Destroyed: 80.
▪ Held as evidence: 200.
Almada said no guns were destroyed in 2021 because of pandemic-related restrictions on travel, and the guns are destroyed at a site in Eastern Washington. But that means the police department now estimates it has 80 guns to destroy this year, he said.
Council member Lenny Greenstein asked if the department has enough space to store all those guns.
Almada acknowledged the space is tight, but the department also has an evidence custodian who is good about identifying guns to be destroyed, he said.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
