Baltimore: Mayor Declares War On ILLegal Guns

[Lambo]

I wonder how she defines ILLegal Gun? She defines ILLegal Alien incorrectly!
"Lambo"

~snip
History of gun points to tracking problems
Weapon used to kill city officer had been in police hands
By Annie Linskey
Sun reporter
Originally published May 7, 2007

The investigation into who killed Detective Troy Chesley moved quickly. Within hours of his death, police found a suspect, witnesses and the weapon used in the killing - a Sig Sauer handgun customized with a laser targeting system.

The serial number: U5408
At a news conference held the day Chesley died, police commanders angrily complained that the suspect, Brandon Grimes, had been arrested 17 times - twice for handgun possession - yet was still on the street.

But police later learned some disturbing news: The gun used to kill Chesley in January had slipped through their hands - twice.

A Sig Sauer with serial number U540876 was one of eight weapons seized by police in a 2001 firearms investigation but returned to the owner when the case fell apart. Last year, the gun owner reported some of his weapons stolen, including that Sig Sauer, but a city police officer never followed through on her investigation and didn't obtain an arrest warrant for the prime suspect, the gun owner's son.
~snip

For Complete Article,
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...7may07,0,953484.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

 

[Soybomb]

The serial number: U5408
At a news conference held the day Chesley died, police commanders angrily complained that the suspect, Brandon Grimes, had been arrested 17 times - twice for handgun possession - yet was still on the street.

But police later learned some disturbing news: The gun used to kill Chesley in January had slipped through their hands - twice.

17 times....2 times....and they focus on the gun...hmmm, odd.

 

[Cliff47]

If I may ask, just what constitutes an 'Illegal Firearm'? I keep hearing the term used (like global warming, and a couple of others), but nobody cares to define the term.

 

[nico]

yeah, WJZ had a real hatchet job of the story on their site, talking about how "loopholes" in the law allowed the guy to kill the cop. I also found this interesting:

Bealefeld said that the detective who led the raid, Anthony N. Fata, felt that the guns should not be returned.

"It was a big hassle because Fata did not want to return those guns," Bealefeld said. "Most cops that risk their lives and work to take guns from bad guys are not anxious to return them to private citizens. That is part of their DNA."

But in the summer of 2002, a commander in the Internal Affairs division, George Mitchell, ordered the detective to return the weapons. Mitchell has since retired. The department had little choice, because Alif was not convicted of any crime.

That is when problems began.

sooo, there wasn't a problem with the cops illegally holding on to the guy's legally possessed guns (if you or I did it, it'd be called "theft"); the problems started when they were forced to give them back. It's nice to have official confirmation that cops in this city think they're better than the rest of us.

I've seen a fair amount about this case, and it's painfully obvious that the murderer shouldn't have been on the street. The courts and police completely screwed the pooch on this one, and making a big deal about where the gun came from is nothing more than a poor effort to deflect attention from their own, larger failures. That being said, I'm sure the mayor and her cronies will be more than happy to try to push some draconian BS on those of us who do follow the law.:banghead:

 

[ilbob]

why don't they focus on illegal activities by criminals and lock them up instead of worrying about inanimate objects?

 

[HUMONGO]

Balmer is really starting to scare me. Problem is, I gotta get my money some how and I kinda like my job.

Maryland in general is full of idiots in the statehouse.

 

[jpk1md]

Md is bad in part due to a lot of crusty old entrenched politicians that are caught up in the party machine.

A few folks are calling their reps to request that they sponsor a Term Limit Bill.

This will help clean house, encourage common sense and get some new blood in there.

Call your Senator and Delegate and encourage them to support a Term Limit Bill

 

[Scanr]

Baltimore: Mayor Declares War On ILLegal Guns

Did these guns slip over the border? Did they jump ship when they got close to port? Did they over stay their visa? Are these guns doing the jobs that American guns wouldn't do? Should they not be called undocumented guns.

 

[Kharn]

A Sig Sauer with serial number U540876 was one of eight weapons seized by police in a 2001 firearms investigation but returned to the owner when the case fell apart.

"Fell apart" as in there was no case against the guy since he was innocent.

Last year, the gun owner reported some of his weapons stolen, including that Sig Sauer, but a city police officer never followed through on her investigation and didn't obtain an arrest warrant for the prime suspect, the gun owner's son.

If you expect the Baltimore PD to do anything for you, you had better be related to the Boy-Emperor.

Kharn

 

[gunny1022]

All I know about Baltimore comes from a book called "Homicide". A SUN reporter spent a year with detectives researching the book. A killing a day(365) resulted. Nice city.

 

[alucard0822]

At a news conference held the day Chesley died, police commanders angrily complained that the suspect, Brandon Grimes, had been arrested 17 times - twice for handgun possession - yet was still on the street.

But police later learned some disturbing news: The gun used to kill Chesley in January had slipped through their hands - twice.

they didn't seem too upset that the guy who pulled the trigger fell through the cracks 17 times
no wonder they are trying to divert the attention to a gun they were holding illegally from its proper owner, welcome to Baltimore politics, when you don't have a leg to stand on, jump high :banghead: