10.52.050 Destruction and disposition of confiscated firearms.
A. Definitions:
1. “Firearm” means a weapon or device from which a projectile or projectiles may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder.
2. “Antique firearms” means a firearm or replica of a firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
3. “Machine gun” means any firearm known as a machine gun, machine rifle, submachine gun, or any other mechanism or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot and having a reservoir clip, drum, belt, or other separable mechanical device for storing, carrying, or supplying ammunition which can be loaded into the firearm, mechanism, or instrument, and fired therefrom at the rate of five or more shots per second.
4. “Rifle” means any firearm designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed and intended to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metal cartridge to fire a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.
5. “Short-barreled rifle” means a rifle with a barrel or barrels less than 16 inches in length or with an overall length of less than 26 inches.
6. “Shotgun” means a firearm designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed and intended to use the energy from the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
7. “Short-barreled shotgun” means a shotgun with a barrel or barrels less than 18 inches in length or with an overall length of less than 26 inches.
8. For purposes of this section only, “handguns of potential value” means any handgun:
a. Accepted as a duty weapon, or any type, make, model, and caliber used by law enforcement; and
b. Manufactured after 1945 which has a current version in production; and
c. Conditioned to operate legally and safely; and
d. Graded as “good” or better according to National Rifle Association grading scales; and
e. Manufactured by Smith and Wesson, Colt, Ruger, Beretta, Browning, Walther, Sig Sauer, Heckler and Koch, Glock, Dan Wesson, and Detonics.
9. Handguns manufactured by Charter Arms, Harrington and Richardson, Rohm/RG, Rossi, Taurus, Iver Johnson, High Standard and other similar lower value weapons, handguns considered as “assault” type handguns such as the Ingram/Cobray/RPB models M-10 or M-11, Intratec Tech 9, Wilkinson “Linda” or “Diane” and other similar rapid fire semiautomatic handguns normally manufactured and intended to use magazines with capacities in excess of 20 rounds, or handguns manufactured by another but sold under “house” names by department stores or discount stores, or all handguns caliber .25ACP or smaller with barrels less than four inches in length, and, which are not classified as curios, relics, or collectors’ arms per the list maintained by the United States Treasury Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, are presumed not to have potential value. The chief may determine on a case-by-case basis whether a handgun has potential value.
B. Inventory, Destruction and Disposition. The chief of police (“chief”) shall, by July 1, 1997, have prepared an inventory of every firearm that has been judicially forfeited, or that has been forfeited due to a failure to make a claim under RCW 63.32.010, 63.35.020, or 63.40.010, and that is no longer needed for evidence. This inventory shall be updated annually and shall include a report on the disposal of firearms included in the inventory.
The chief shall destroy every firearm in the inventory by rendering them permanently nonfunctional, except that:
1. The chief may retain legally forfeited firearms solely for agency use.
2. The chief may trade, auction, or arrange for the auction of rifles and shotguns to commercial sellers.
3. Antique firearms are exempt from destruction and shall be disposed of by auction or trade to commercial sellers.
4. Surplus weapons and weapons of potential value may be offered as trade-in to law enforcement equipment dealers for the sole purpose of acquiring police safety equipment for duty use by commissioned members of the Lynnwood police department. If not offered as trade-in, they shall be destroyed.
C. All proceeds of a sale, auction or trade shall be credited to the police department budget, Department 21, Fund 011, object item number 3501 (small equipment purchases). (Ord. 2136 § 1, 1997)