SWEETWATER
Cops sell old, confiscated guns
Unable to afford new weapons, the Sweetwater Police Department is selling old and confiscated guns. Some critics call this a very dangerous practice.
BY SUSANNAH A. NESMITH AND JONNELLE MARTE
[email protected]
The cash-strapped police department in Sweetwater has found a way to get brand-new guns for all its 23 officers -- sell the old ones.
Police Chief Robert Fulgueira just received commission approval to sell 20 guns that were either confiscated or voluntarily turned in over the past decade -- weapons that most police agencies would destroy. The department is also trading in about 45 old service weapons that were issued to officers.
Fulgueira set up the deal with Lou's Police and Security Equipment. The Hialeah store ranks first among Florida gun shops in terms of the number of guns sold that were subsequently used in crimes, according to a national study. The ranking does not mean that Lou's has violated any law, though.
''We're a poor city and I don't have the budget to be spending $7,000 to $8,000 on weapons,'' Fulgueira said. ``Why should I pay money to destroy these guns when I can sell them, make some money and use it to equip my men?''
But critics worry Sweetwater might be indirectly putting guns back into the hands of criminals.
''We understand the budget pressures facing small police departments and we're very sympathetic,'' said Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign, a gun control advocacy group in Washington, D.C. 'We just don't think police departments should be in the business of selling guns, even to a licensed gun dealer, because licensed gun dealers are the beginning of the process of putting guns into criminals' hands.''
Many departments, from the Florida Highway Patrol to the city of Miami, trade in their old service weapons when they buy new ones. But most melt down or dump into the ocean weapons they have confiscated.
The Herald could only find one other department in Miami-Dade County that had sold confiscated weapons recently.
South Miami Police Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro was the one who gave Fulgueira the idea.
''There are always guns in circulation and there are laws that permit background checks,'' Martinez de Castro said. ``As long as it goes through the system the correct way, where's the breakage of the law?''
Martinez de Castro said his department destroyed the cheapest guns, like the .22-caliber Saturday Night Specials, because they are popular with criminals. Sweetwater is doing the same.
But by selling confiscated weapons and some old service weapons, he said he saved his department at least $10,000. And it was almost an emergency; when he took over the department last year, he discovered the officers were using a variety of guns in various stages of repair.
The two chiefs have an ally in the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a gun rights lobbying group in Washington, D.C.
Executive director Joe Waldorn said a lot of departments did the same thing in the 1980s and 1990s until what he called ``a wave of political correctness swept the country.''
'In 1990s, a lot of city and county councils decided, `Oh golly, we can't be in the gun business; we can't be putting guns out on the street,' '' he said.
In 1999, the International Association of Chiefs of Police passed a resolution urging all departments to destroy their old guns -- both the service weapons and the ones they confiscate or find.
But IACP firearms committee chairman Ronald Glidden said many small departments only destroy their confiscated guns. They trade in or sell their old service weapons.
''I know there are departments that do destroy them, but there are not many departments that can afford that,'' said Glidden, who is chief of the Lee, Mass., police department. ``I know I can't afford that.''
The Sweetwater City Commission approved the gun sale and trade-in last week, and the mayor said he thought it was a good idea.
``It's a way of using what the city has impounded and turning it into a positive," said Mayor Manuel Maroño. ``We're on a tight budget and it's getting the city more equipment."
Fulgueira says he will buy the officers new .40-caliber Glock pistols, because the 10-year-old Glocks they are using now have ``malfunctions.''
He's selling about 15 revolvers, four hunting rifles and three sporting shotguns that have been confiscated or turned in over the years.
Fulgueira said that Lou's is the largest gun dealer in the state, and though he wasn't aware of the store's ranking in terms of selling guns used in crimes, he felt the sheer volume of weapons sold there probably explained it.
A manager at Lou's who identified himself only as Steve declined to comment for this story.
The ranking, done by the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation, did not take into consideration the volume of sales of specific stores.
''I would urge the police department demand that this store take the relevant steps to ensure that these weapons do not fall back into the hands of criminals,'' said John Lacey, spokesman for the foundation.
``We don't believe that it's the number of guns out there. We believe that it's who's getting ahold of these weapons that's worrisome. And since this shop has a record of having a large number of crime guns traced back to them, we urge the police department to demand that extra precautions are taken.''
But he said the group saw no problem with a police department selling its old weapons.
Cops sell old, confiscated guns
Unable to afford new weapons, the Sweetwater Police Department is selling old and confiscated guns. Some critics call this a very dangerous practice.
BY SUSANNAH A. NESMITH AND JONNELLE MARTE
[email protected]
The cash-strapped police department in Sweetwater has found a way to get brand-new guns for all its 23 officers -- sell the old ones.
Police Chief Robert Fulgueira just received commission approval to sell 20 guns that were either confiscated or voluntarily turned in over the past decade -- weapons that most police agencies would destroy. The department is also trading in about 45 old service weapons that were issued to officers.
Fulgueira set up the deal with Lou's Police and Security Equipment. The Hialeah store ranks first among Florida gun shops in terms of the number of guns sold that were subsequently used in crimes, according to a national study. The ranking does not mean that Lou's has violated any law, though.
''We're a poor city and I don't have the budget to be spending $7,000 to $8,000 on weapons,'' Fulgueira said. ``Why should I pay money to destroy these guns when I can sell them, make some money and use it to equip my men?''
But critics worry Sweetwater might be indirectly putting guns back into the hands of criminals.
''We understand the budget pressures facing small police departments and we're very sympathetic,'' said Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign, a gun control advocacy group in Washington, D.C. 'We just don't think police departments should be in the business of selling guns, even to a licensed gun dealer, because licensed gun dealers are the beginning of the process of putting guns into criminals' hands.''
Many departments, from the Florida Highway Patrol to the city of Miami, trade in their old service weapons when they buy new ones. But most melt down or dump into the ocean weapons they have confiscated.
The Herald could only find one other department in Miami-Dade County that had sold confiscated weapons recently.
South Miami Police Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro was the one who gave Fulgueira the idea.
''There are always guns in circulation and there are laws that permit background checks,'' Martinez de Castro said. ``As long as it goes through the system the correct way, where's the breakage of the law?''
Martinez de Castro said his department destroyed the cheapest guns, like the .22-caliber Saturday Night Specials, because they are popular with criminals. Sweetwater is doing the same.
But by selling confiscated weapons and some old service weapons, he said he saved his department at least $10,000. And it was almost an emergency; when he took over the department last year, he discovered the officers were using a variety of guns in various stages of repair.
The two chiefs have an ally in the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a gun rights lobbying group in Washington, D.C.
Executive director Joe Waldorn said a lot of departments did the same thing in the 1980s and 1990s until what he called ``a wave of political correctness swept the country.''
'In 1990s, a lot of city and county councils decided, `Oh golly, we can't be in the gun business; we can't be putting guns out on the street,' '' he said.
In 1999, the International Association of Chiefs of Police passed a resolution urging all departments to destroy their old guns -- both the service weapons and the ones they confiscate or find.
But IACP firearms committee chairman Ronald Glidden said many small departments only destroy their confiscated guns. They trade in or sell their old service weapons.
''I know there are departments that do destroy them, but there are not many departments that can afford that,'' said Glidden, who is chief of the Lee, Mass., police department. ``I know I can't afford that.''
The Sweetwater City Commission approved the gun sale and trade-in last week, and the mayor said he thought it was a good idea.
``It's a way of using what the city has impounded and turning it into a positive," said Mayor Manuel Maroño. ``We're on a tight budget and it's getting the city more equipment."
Fulgueira says he will buy the officers new .40-caliber Glock pistols, because the 10-year-old Glocks they are using now have ``malfunctions.''
He's selling about 15 revolvers, four hunting rifles and three sporting shotguns that have been confiscated or turned in over the years.
Fulgueira said that Lou's is the largest gun dealer in the state, and though he wasn't aware of the store's ranking in terms of selling guns used in crimes, he felt the sheer volume of weapons sold there probably explained it.
A manager at Lou's who identified himself only as Steve declined to comment for this story.
The ranking, done by the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation, did not take into consideration the volume of sales of specific stores.
''I would urge the police department demand that this store take the relevant steps to ensure that these weapons do not fall back into the hands of criminals,'' said John Lacey, spokesman for the foundation.
``We don't believe that it's the number of guns out there. We believe that it's who's getting ahold of these weapons that's worrisome. And since this shop has a record of having a large number of crime guns traced back to them, we urge the police department to demand that extra precautions are taken.''
But he said the group saw no problem with a police department selling its old weapons.
