Ogden Police Department partners with pawnshop to sell seized guns

OGDEN, Utah — Ogden Police Department plans to help to save funds by selling guns they seized. 

Although law enforcement is hesitant to put the guns back on the market, Ogden City has set up a program with a local pawn shop. The shop will sell firearms confiscated by the police department and use the proceeds to help the Weber-Morgan Narcotic Strike Force. 

Eric Young, with the Ogden City Police Department, joined KSL At Night to discuss how they decide which guns to sell and broke down the protocol for reselling the firearms. 

The guns are sold through the pawnshop with a Federal Firearms License (FFL). The next step is performing a Brady Background Check to determine who has the right credentials to own a firearm and who should be precluded.

Previously, legislation was put on guns for the police department that made rules for how many guns there were allowed to destroy. 

“I’d like to destroy any many guns involved in crime as possible but there are certain conditions we have to follow from the legislator, ” said Young.

Guns that are not allowed to be sold include 

• Notorious or high crime cases.
• guns not allowed to be legally possessed. 
• dysfunction/broken or dangerous guns. 

“It is not that uncommon..new or groundbreaking,” said officer Young. “But we would like to see those proceeds come back to law enforcement efforts.”

The program is still awaiting approval from the city council. Leah Murray, with KSL At Night, asked Young if he thought the council would approve, he thinks it will be a positive response. 

Want to learn more? Check out our interview with KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas, where he breaks down how and why the Ogden Police Department is raising money like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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