Did you know that there was an exemption in state law that lets police officers buy weapons that are illegal for civilians to own? This is not like a cop talking on the phone while driving or like a cop speeding even if there is no emergency. We’re talking weapons here.
Two Sacramento officers were indicted in Federal Court this week for purchasing the restricted handguns and then selling them to unqualified buyers through a licensed dealer who also faces federal charges.
Assault weapons and they were being sold to people who clearly should not have these weapons. No one should have assault weapons in my opinion but that’s a whole other subject. Police found some of these weapons with one couple who were barricaded inside a home with as many as 20 guns, including 12 illegal assault weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Officers have been charged in the past with assisting prison inmates in smuggling cell phones and drugs into prisons but selling assault weapons? That’s another thing entirely.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/01/2827682/apnewsbreak-calif-deputies-face.html#storylink=cpy
U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner said the pair made thousands of dollars by selling dozens of weapons over four years. Court documents say the men sold exotic weapons including .50 caliber handguns, semi-automatic versions of Uzi-style submachine guns, and pistols that shoot high-velocity ammunition used by the U.S. military. Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully said Camilleri had altered the two pistols he bought from McGowan into illegal assault weapons.
The DA said another gun sold by McGowan wound up in the possession of a convicted drug dealer.
You can bet many more of these guns were sold to people who should not have them. Again, I don’t think anyone should have them! These officers endangered the safety of the community that they were hired to protect and they did it for profit.
One of the officers is also charged with selling high-capacity ammunition magazines that are illegal for civilians to own in California, and with possessing two illegal assault weapons at his home. His defense attorney said his client is a gun collector, not a dealer, who may have been confused by state firearms laws that he said are “complex, contradictory and full of silly loopholes.” “They are so complicated that you can easily break the law without realizing you’ve done that,” he said. “Even a trained law enforcement official can do it wrong, whether he intends to or not.” Seriously? Come on!
I’m sorry. I am a defense attorney but these are the men who accuse my clients of committing crimes. These are the men who think my colleagues and I are scum because we defend “criminals”. Well guess what? They are not above the law!
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