Firearms Confiscated by AA Police department....help

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  • bcbg

    Member
    Nov 21, 2012
    10
    Glen Burnie, MD
    Just looking for some advice, being fairly new to Maryland I'm not too familiar with the laws. Any constructive comments are welcome.

    My future wife suffers from depression and takes antidepressants. Most of the time she is ok, but a few days ago she had a particularly bad day and posted on facebook that she was going to kill herself. This resulted in the police looking for her, not being able to get a hold of her and breaking down our front door. When we got home they confiscated my 4 firearms and put her under a psych hold at a local hospital.

    I'm dealing with the psych hold, but does anyone have any advice on getting my firearms returned to me. The AA police are suggesting it could be longer than a month to go through the process. All were legally purchased, two in Florida before I moved to MD and two locally. They included a Savage Arms .22 Rifle, Glock 23, Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry II, and a Colt Carbine I had just picked up the night before the "raid".

    We were planning to go to Florida for the Holidays in a few weeks to get married, and the bachelor party was supposed to revolve around the gun range so this is a big disappointment. Any advice on how to expedite the process would be appreciated.
     

    trapture

    Surplus Rifle Lover
    Apr 27, 2007
    1,878
    Dundalk-Ish
    Been there done that, It can take up to a year to get your firearms back. Mine was because of a protective order (don't ask) and the wife went to the ward but wasn't committed etc. I really depends on the outcome with her and her stability, definitely get a lawyer.
     
    Dec 6, 2011
    326
    You don't need a lawyer. No one was charged with a crime and no protection order issued by a judge. Your situation is unusual to the average citizen. For a cop, it's three or four suicide attempts a day somewhere in their District. From the AA County Police Website -

    Three quarters of the way down. There is also a contact number for the property custodian who can answer your questions.

    http://www.aacounty.org/Police/faq.cfm?CATID=73220&DISPLAYMODE=SubPage#73225

    You do need a safe place to lock the firearms up until your wife is feeling better about life. Storing all or most of them off site at a relative/friend's house may be your best bet to avoid future problems in the short term.

    Re: your door, you can eat the expense or try to file a claim with AACO risk management. http://www.aacounty.org/centserv/index.cfm
    The police can break and enter in exigent circumstances. Just because we can do it, doesn't mean that the County isn't liable for the damage.
     

    fivepointstar

    Thank you MD-Goodbye
    Apr 28, 2008
    30,714
    3rd Rock from the Sun
    have you asked them if you can have your firearms back. tell them you have another place to store them (friend or family in a safe). I don't know why you can't get them back
     

    jvegas

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 15, 2009
    1,151
    GNLaFrance, it all depends on what she exactly said on Facebook and the amount of exigency the police beloved existed. Suicide isn't seen as "legal" and the police have the expectation to stop you from killing yourself. Most people are just crying for help.
     
    Oct 27, 2008
    8,444
    Dundalk, Hon!
    GNLaFrance, it all depends on what she exactly said on Facebook and the amount of exigency the police beloved existed. Suicide isn't seen as "legal" and the police have the expectation to stop you from killing yourself. Most people are just crying for help.

    I've been there - seriously considered just ending it all. Had guns the whole time too. This was a long time ago.

    Anybody can say any damn thing they want on FB. What worries me is the lack of checking first. I'd like to know if the police had any requirements for checking into the poster's background, see what they could find of her medical history, etc.

    How about someone - your pissed off teenage daughter, for instance - hacks your FB password (it happens) and posts lots of untrue crap about you, how you threaten your family with your guns, etc. - do the cops then have the power to break in and take your guns (and leave all the other lethal tools and materials in place - a nice axe, anyone?), based solely on something posted on a social site?

    I suspect it's not so much about public health and safety as it is about using any reason to disarm citizens.
     

    jvegas

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 15, 2009
    1,151
    I've been there - seriously considered just ending it all. Had guns the whole time too. This was a long time ago.

    Anybody can say any damn thing they want on FB. What worries me is the lack of checking first. I'd like to know if the police had any requirements for checking into the poster's background, see what they could find of her medical history, etc.

    How about someone - your pissed off teenage daughter, for instance - hacks your FB password (it happens) and posts lots of untrue crap about you, how you threaten your family with your guns, etc. - do the cops then have the power to break in and take your guns (and leave all the other lethal tools and materials in place - a nice axe, anyone?), based solely on something posted on a social site?

    I suspect it's not so much about public health and safety as it is about using any reason to disarm citizens.

    I doubt they knew the guns existed before going inside. There are certain criteria that needs to be met for forced entry. And there has to be certain criteria met for the Police to EP someone. Obviously the criteria was met. Police don't want to have to EP anyone.
     

    Johnthetoolguy

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 4, 2009
    3,345
    Pasadena
    How about someone - your pissed off teenage daughter, for instance - hacks your FB password (it happens) and posts lots of untrue crap about you, how you threaten your family with your guns, etc. - do the cops then have the power to break in and take your guns (and leave all the other lethal tools and materials in place - a nice axe, anyone?), based solely on something posted on a social site?

    I suspect it's not so much about public health and safety as it is about using any reason to disarm citizens.

    Absolutely correct.
    I know someone who's teenage daughter hacks her FB page on a regular basis.
     

    zoostation

    , ,
    Moderator
    Jan 28, 2007
    22,857
    Abingdon
    OP, AA County will work with you a lot better than most departments about getting the guns back. What they're probably going to want is reassurance that your future wife isn't going to use one of the guns on herself when they hand them back. Believe it or not the police really don't enjoy hours of paperwork involved in storing someone's guns. But when they sign off on the return of those guns to you they are going to own that decision forever in a liability sense. Even if you are the actual owner, she still will have possession of them too from the sounds of it. And, I have to say, when someone makes a statement to the world they are going to kill themselves, it is serious. Threats to kill one's self should always be taken seriously.

    Call the Firearms Control Officer at AA County Headquarters on Monday and see what he needs to return the guns. There is no covert agenda there to keep your guns from you. Normally I'm the first one to say get a lawyer but in this case I think you'd just be wasting money to be told the same things about what you need to do.
     

    zoostation

    , ,
    Moderator
    Jan 28, 2007
    22,857
    Abingdon
    Let's keep the thread on target for the OP's question please gentlemen. He has already stated in his original post that the lady did make the statement herself.

    If you want to discuss facebook hacking and the ramifications, etc. of that, that's fine. I ask you to start a new thread however. Let's try and keep this one relating to the OP's specific issue.
     

    Minuteman

    Member
    BANNED!!!
    First, prayers sent. Best wishes to you and yours; I have faith this will work out, don't worry more than you should.

    I don't have the degree of experience with the AACO PD that zoostation has, but I'm going to agree with him. They seem to me to be a very professional, competent and compassionate (reasonable) PD, I have lots of experience with many other PD's at all levels (local, state and federal). Over these many years I've interacted with several AACOPD officers (professionally) mostly through my homeowners association (I'm co-chair of our security committee) regarding crimes that have affected our community (theft, rape, murder, robbery). Honestly, I can't imagine how they could have done a better job; we've given them pics of perps, they've committed hundreds of hours of 'plain clothes' work and surveillance when we needed it.

    Realizing I may be a bit biased, I don't think you need a lawyer; at face value from what little you've posted so far. However if you already have an attorney or have the means to seek some counsel, you should. As long as your rights have not been violated, I just don't feel it is an imperative at this time. Work with the PD and get your guns back. When you do, consider leaving them with a relative or close friend for a while, but if you keep them at home secure them as much as possible. It's bad enough when someone considers suicide, and I recognize it's impossible to stop them, but if they do it with one of your firearms... even worse.

    Good luck to you, and please let us (me) know how this resolves.
    -Respectfully submitted.
     
    G

    George

    Guest
    My guess is, they originally took your guns because they kicked in the door and your firearms were not locked in a safe. They can not leave your firearms in a unsafe manner, so they confiscated them. Now you will have to prove that they will be kept in a safe manner where your future wife can not get to them. You will have to wait out out some time to get them back as they will have to enter them into the system. They will have to run them and make sure they are in fact yours and registered them.

    I hope your fiancée gets better. Prayers to you and your fiancée.
     

    tdt91

    I will miss you my friend
    Apr 24, 2009
    10,810
    Abingdon
    a lawyer and maybe a new women, unless you want years of pain.:sad20:
    Sorry to hear about your troubles. You know you have thought about what I said.
     

    BlackBart

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Mar 20, 2007
    31,609
    Conewago, York Co. Pa.
    Yeow, feel for you. You have a lot on your plate to consider and reconsider, this could be your future............ :sad20:

    One thing I probably wouldn't do is get married at this point, she obviously needs help.
     

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