Ooof where do I start. About a month ago my cousin was arrested for domestic battery. One of those he said she said things and I wasn't there so I can't comment on the exact situation. But in the state of Florida for domestic violence cases the state becomes the victim. If reporting officers think he touched her unwanted or vice versa then they are bound by law to arrest the accused party. Even if one person says nothing happened the state or officers have final call. This is what happened to him. They were arguing and screaming at each other. She called his mom to cry for help and mom called police and asked them to go over and 'help'. Not the brightest but she was trying to help. Cops get there and cousins girlfriend said he didn't touch her same as he said but for some reason cops thought he did touch her and arrested him. Again wasnt there so I can't say yes or no on that. Day of the arrest due to the domestic violence aspect the cops asked him if he had any weapons or guns. He said yes I do in the safe. This is where it gets interesting. The lead officer looked in his safe and made a judgement call not to confiscate the guns that day but in turn just took key to the dial so cousin couldn't open it. At the time my cousin that it was only key and told them that. Thinking he could not gain access or open it they were content to leave them there at his home. Very nice, 99% would have thrown all in the trunk and confiscated them. Another week goes by and cousin has first court appearance. The judge asks him if he has any weapons and he says yes.
Again due to the fact it's a domestic violence case the judge told him to remove all weapons from house until case is over. So my cousin calls me in a state of panic and asks me to come collect them and keep them in my safe. Ok no problem. This morning I get a call from cousin saying lead officer on case is there and wants to check guns and serial numbers he left in safe. Whoops! Now cousin tells him he found another key and had me his cousin remove them. I speak to officer and he seems ok but says I need to bring guns over asap. Hmmmm? Ok? Cant really say no. I ask why. He says he cannot be in any possession of firearms until case is settled and he has to collect cousins guns. Crap! Ok, again I can't say no so I oblige him and go home collect them and drive over. I explain to cop that of the 14 I have only two are in cousins name because others I have sold to him and they are stil in my name. Guns are cased and in my trunk. I ask if we can go inside to avoid a public scene and he says no. So in cousins front yard we start going over the guns and he writes all serial numbers down. By this time three other cops show up to offer backup due to nature of what we are doing. As mentioned all guns but two came back to my name. Lead officer says 'ok I'm gonna take these two only'. This guy is working with us and is being very nice given the situation but other officers are burnt and want to confiscate them anyway. 'guns were in his possession at time of incident and that's all that matters, we need them all!' it didn't help situation much because one of the guns was an sks in 7.39x39. Same caliber as the ak47. Once they realized this they were even more wanting to take them. I told them they are my guns in my name and no your not taking them anywhere. After a quick call to my atty while same time they were talking to whoever it was I was again sure I was right in saying no. The lead officer who turns out recognized my from my range days said to them again he was only taking two pistols that came back in cousins name and I could go. Driving over there I thought I was getting arrested. Talking to them all there I was sure they were gonna take them all but I just wanted to say there are decent cops out there who do take the time to listen and make personal judgement calls. This one did. He went out of his way to help as much as he could and really surprised me by letting me go with all but two of the guns. Only thing that pissed me off was I asked them to please be careful. These are collector guns and not your normal street pieces. One is color case hardened Winchester 94 in .44 magnum. Very rare limited gun worth about $2000. After looking at it they set it down right on top of an 1187 shotgun and scratched the dang stock. Gun is thirty years old and still new. Now it's got a scratch on it! Crap. I guess all being told I can't really complain. So I spent the morning displaying a dozen guns to the cops in my cousins front yard and got them all back except for two. Surprised they worked with us and treated us fairly. Sorry he's going thru this but it is a lesson to all. You're risking more than just your freedom when it comes to domestic violence.
Again due to the fact it's a domestic violence case the judge told him to remove all weapons from house until case is over. So my cousin calls me in a state of panic and asks me to come collect them and keep them in my safe. Ok no problem. This morning I get a call from cousin saying lead officer on case is there and wants to check guns and serial numbers he left in safe. Whoops! Now cousin tells him he found another key and had me his cousin remove them. I speak to officer and he seems ok but says I need to bring guns over asap. Hmmmm? Ok? Cant really say no. I ask why. He says he cannot be in any possession of firearms until case is settled and he has to collect cousins guns. Crap! Ok, again I can't say no so I oblige him and go home collect them and drive over. I explain to cop that of the 14 I have only two are in cousins name because others I have sold to him and they are stil in my name. Guns are cased and in my trunk. I ask if we can go inside to avoid a public scene and he says no. So in cousins front yard we start going over the guns and he writes all serial numbers down. By this time three other cops show up to offer backup due to nature of what we are doing. As mentioned all guns but two came back to my name. Lead officer says 'ok I'm gonna take these two only'. This guy is working with us and is being very nice given the situation but other officers are burnt and want to confiscate them anyway. 'guns were in his possession at time of incident and that's all that matters, we need them all!' it didn't help situation much because one of the guns was an sks in 7.39x39. Same caliber as the ak47. Once they realized this they were even more wanting to take them. I told them they are my guns in my name and no your not taking them anywhere. After a quick call to my atty while same time they were talking to whoever it was I was again sure I was right in saying no. The lead officer who turns out recognized my from my range days said to them again he was only taking two pistols that came back in cousins name and I could go. Driving over there I thought I was getting arrested. Talking to them all there I was sure they were gonna take them all but I just wanted to say there are decent cops out there who do take the time to listen and make personal judgement calls. This one did. He went out of his way to help as much as he could and really surprised me by letting me go with all but two of the guns. Only thing that pissed me off was I asked them to please be careful. These are collector guns and not your normal street pieces. One is color case hardened Winchester 94 in .44 magnum. Very rare limited gun worth about $2000. After looking at it they set it down right on top of an 1187 shotgun and scratched the dang stock. Gun is thirty years old and still new. Now it's got a scratch on it! Crap. I guess all being told I can't really complain. So I spent the morning displaying a dozen guns to the cops in my cousins front yard and got them all back except for two. Surprised they worked with us and treated us fairly. Sorry he's going thru this but it is a lesson to all. You're risking more than just your freedom when it comes to domestic violence.
At least you kept most.
