http://www.modbee.com/metro/story/0,1113,179492,00.html
City reaching closure on gun sale
By JIM MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
More than four years after the fact, and after months of turmoil in the Modesto Police Department because of the mishandled 1996-97 gun sales, the City Council will be asked to ratify the sale.
Council members next week will consider declaring as surplus 92 city-owned guns sold to officers. The retroactive designation finally would put the episode in compliance with the city charter.
Without it, the city would have to buy back 47 guns officers still have or go to court to reclaim them.
The council also will discuss the Police Department's final report on the sale and its aftermath.
The report details some 5,000 hours of investigation into the sale and the department's weapons stocks, as well as procedural changes and training to prevent similar problems from happening.
In particular, the department has strengthened its property and evidence management system. It soon will be second to none in the state, officials said, and will virtually eliminate the chance of inventory problems that occurred during the gun sale.
Besides tracking down guns involved in the 1996-97 sale, detectives noted every gun in the department. Among the weapons that turned up were two Prohibition-era Thompson submachine guns acquired by a long-ago chief.
"We're not proud of what happened. We're ashamed and sorry," Capt. Dave Young said. "But we've become a model agency in property and evidence management."
Tuesday would bring the gun sale fiasco full circle and, officials hope, put it in the past. The sale began in early 1996 without council knowledge as an attempt by the department to defray the expense of new semiautomatic pistols, while letting officers buy their old revolvers as mementos.
Soon, though, it degenerated into a firearms bazaar that subsequent investigations found had violated city policy and state law. The last gun was sold in June 1997. The episode led to the prosecution, trial and acquittal of a deputy chief. The records manager, the department's top civilian employee, faced an embezzlement charge, later dropped. The sale contributed to the departure of the police chief and city manager. Four department employees received unspecified discipline, and 18 others received letters to educate them about gun laws.
Tuesday's discussion will come little more than two weeks before the arrival of the city's new police chief, Roy Wasden. He will permanently replace Paul Jefferson, who retired in August.
"We're at the point now where we feel everything we could do has been done," Interim Chief Donald Burnett said this week.
The police report was scheduled to be released in January. Officials delayed it because of issues related to the department's disciplinary actions, City Attorney Michael Milich said. He would not elaborate, citing personnel confidentiality rules.
Young said the council report follows an exhaustive investigation into the episode. More than 2,000 detective hours were spent tracking guns, officials said.
An additional 3,000 staff hours were spent introducing procedural and equipment changes to the department, they said. No one knows how much the police investigation cost.
Other gun sale information:
* Guns never again will be sold to officers.
* Of the 237 guns sold, 92 were owned by the city and 145 came from the department's downtown property and evidence facility. Of the 145: 105 have been destroyed, 30 have been returned to their owners, one is part of a pending court case, five are lost or missing, three have been reported stolen, and one is believed to be in Mexico. The search will continue for the nine missing guns.
* Of the 92 city-owned guns, 47 are owned by officers, 12 were returned by officers and destroyed, and 33 are in the department's possession. A vote to surplus would let the officers keep the 47 guns. Most of the 33 guns would be destroyed, with others kept for training.
* No officer has more than one gun from the sale. During the sale, some officers bought several guns.
* Evidence and property management procedures are much stronger, with greater oversight from department brass. The records manager is a sworn lieutenant, not a civilian.
There are new annual audits and inventories of evidence and property stores. There also are new limits on the number of guns (75) and drug cases (250) that can accumulate in the evidence room before the items must be destroyed.
* The department brought in financial experts to track the money from the gun sale. All but about $4,000 of the $26,000 in receipts was identified. Officials think the difference stems from sloppy bookkeeping during the gun sale rather than theft.
Burnett, a police consultant and former chief, said that, through it all, department employees kept a positive attitude during the gun sale aftermath.
"Many agencies," he said, "would have taken a dump and stayed there."
Bee staff writer Jim Miller can be reached at 578-2385 or jmiller@modbee.com.
By JIM MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
(Published: Saturday, July 22, 2000)
More than four years after the fact, and after months of turmoil in the Modesto Police Department because of the mishandled 1996-97 gun sales, the City Council will be asked to ratify the sale.
Council members next week will consider declaring as surplus 92 city-owned guns sold to officers. The retroactive designation finally would put the episode in compliance with the city charter.
Without it, the city would have to buy back 47 guns officers still have or go to court to reclaim them.
The council also will discuss the Police Department's final report on the sale and its aftermath.
The report details some 5,000 hours of investigation into the sale and the department's weapons stocks, as well as procedural changes and training to prevent similar problems from happening.
In particular, the department has strengthened its property and evidence management system. It soon will be second to none in the state, officials said, and will virtually eliminate the chance of inventory problems that occurred during the gun sale.
Besides tracking down guns involved in the 1996-97 sale, detectives noted every gun in the department. Among the weapons that turned up were two Prohibition-era Thompson submachine guns acquired by a long-ago chief.
"We're not proud of what happened. We're ashamed and sorry," Capt. Dave Young said. "But we've become a model agency in property and evidence management."
Tuesday would bring the gun sale fiasco full circle and, officials hope, put it in the past. The sale began in early 1996 without council knowledge as an attempt by the department to defray the expense of new semiautomatic pistols, while letting officers buy their old revolvers as mementos.
Soon, though, it degenerated into a firearms bazaar that subsequent investigations found had violated city policy and state law. The last gun was sold in June 1997. The episode led to the prosecution, trial and acquittal of a deputy chief. The records manager, the department's top civilian employee, faced an embezzlement charge, later dropped. The sale contributed to the departure of the police chief and city manager. Four department employees received unspecified discipline, and 18 others received letters to educate them about gun laws.
Tuesday's discussion will come little more than two weeks before the arrival of the city's new police chief, Roy Wasden. He will permanently replace Paul Jefferson, who retired in August.
"We're at the point now where we feel everything we could do has been done," Interim Chief Donald Burnett said this week.
The police report was scheduled to be released in January. Officials delayed it because of issues related to the department's disciplinary actions, City Attorney Michael Milich said. He would not elaborate, citing personnel confidentiality rules.
Young said the council report follows an exhaustive investigation into the episode. More than 2,000 detective hours were spent tracking guns, officials said.
An additional 3,000 staff hours were spent introducing procedural and equipment changes to the department, they said. No one knows how much the police investigation cost.
Other gun sale information:
* Guns never again will be sold to officers.
* Of the 237 guns sold, 92 were owned by the city and 145 came from the department's downtown property and evidence facility. Of the 145: 105 have been destroyed, 30 have been returned to their owners, one is part of a pending court case, five are lost or missing, three have been reported stolen, and one is believed to be in Mexico. The search will continue for the nine missing guns.
* Of the 92 city-owned guns, 47 are owned by officers, 12 were returned by officers and destroyed, and 33 are in the department's possession. A vote to surplus would let the officers keep the 47 guns. Most of the 33 guns would be destroyed, with others kept for training.
* No officer has more than one gun from the sale. During the sale, some officers bought several guns.
* Evidence and property management procedures are much stronger, with greater oversight from department brass. The records manager is a sworn lieutenant, not a civilian.
There are new annual audits and inventories of evidence and property stores. There also are new limits on the number of guns (75) and drug cases (250) that can accumulate in the evidence room before the items must be destroyed.
* The department brought in financial experts to track the money from the gun sale. All but about $4,000 of the $26,000 in receipts was identified. Officials think the difference stems from sloppy bookkeeping during the gun sale rather than theft.
Burnett, a police consultant and former chief, said that, through it all, department employees kept a positive attitude during the gun sale aftermath.
"Many agencies," he said, "would have taken a dump and stayed there."
The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in the basement chamber, Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.
Bee staff writer Jim Miller can be reached at 578-2385 or jmiller@modbee.com.
By JIM MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
(Published: Saturday, July 22, 2000)
More than four years after the fact, and after months of turmoil in the Modesto Police Department because of the mishandled 1996-97 gun sales, the City Council will be asked to ratify the sale.
Council members next week will consider declaring as surplus 92 city-owned guns sold to officers. The retroactive designation finally would put the episode in compliance with the city charter.
Without it, the city would have to buy back 47 guns officers still have or go to court to reclaim them.
The council also will discuss the Police Department's final report on the sale and its aftermath.
The report details some 5,000 hours of investigation into the sale and the department's weapons stocks, as well as procedural changes and training to prevent similar problems from happening.
In particular, the department has strengthened its property and evidence management system. It soon will be second to none in the state, officials said, and will virtually eliminate the chance of inventory problems that occurred during the gun sale.
Besides tracking down guns involved in the 1996-97 sale, detectives noted every gun in the department. Among the weapons that turned up were two Prohibition-era Thompson submachine guns acquired by a long-ago chief.
"We're not proud of what happened. We're ashamed and sorry," Capt. Dave Young said. "But we've become a model agency in property and evidence management."
Tuesday would bring the gun sale fiasco full circle and, officials hope, put it in the past. The sale began in early 1996 without council knowledge as an attempt by the department to defray the expense of new semiautomatic pistols, while letting officers buy their old revolvers as mementos.
Soon, though, it degenerated into a firearms bazaar that subsequent investigations found had violated city policy and state law. The last gun was sold in June 1997. The episode led to the prosecution, trial and acquittal of a deputy chief. The records manager, the department's top civilian employee, faced an embezzlement charge, later dropped. The sale contributed to the departure of the police chief and city manager. Four department employees received unspecified discipline, and 18 others received letters to educate them about gun laws.
Tuesday's discussion will come little more than two weeks before the arrival of the city's new police chief, Roy Wasden. He will permanently replace Paul Jefferson, who retired in August.
"We're at the point now where we feel everything we could do has been done," Interim Chief Donald Burnett said this week.
The police report was scheduled to be released in January. Officials delayed it because of issues related to the department's disciplinary actions, City Attorney Michael Milich said. He would not elaborate, citing personnel confidentiality rules.
Young said the council report follows an exhaustive investigation into the episode. More than 2,000 detective hours were spent tracking guns, officials said.
An additional 3,000 staff hours were spent introducing procedural and equipment changes to the department, they said. No one knows how much the police investigation cost.
Other gun sale information:
* Guns never again will be sold to officers.
* Of the 237 guns sold, 92 were owned by the city and 145 came from the department's downtown property and evidence facility. Of the 145: 105 have been destroyed, 30 have been returned to their owners, one is part of a pending court case, five are lost or missing, three have been reported stolen, and one is believed to be in Mexico. The search will continue for the nine missing guns.
* Of the 92 city-owned guns, 47 are owned by officers, 12 were returned by officers and destroyed, and 33 are in the department's possession. A vote to surplus would let the officers keep the 47 guns. Most of the 33 guns would be destroyed, with others kept for training.
* No officer has more than one gun from the sale. During the sale, some officers bought several guns.
* Evidence and property management procedures are much stronger, with greater oversight from department brass. The records manager is a sworn lieutenant, not a civilian.
There are new annual audits and inventories of evidence and property stores. There also are new limits on the number of guns (75) and drug cases (250) that can accumulate in the evidence room before the items must be destroyed.
* The department brought in financial experts to track the money from the gun sale. All but about $4,000 of the $26,000 in receipts was identified. Officials think the difference stems from sloppy bookkeeping during the gun sale rather than theft.
Burnett, a police consultant and former chief, said that, through it all, department employees kept a positive attitude during the gun sale aftermath.
"Many agencies," he said, "would have taken a dump and stayed there."
The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in the basement chamber, Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.
Bee staff writer Jim Miller can be reached at 578-2385 or jmiller@modbee.com.
City reaching closure on gun sale
By JIM MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
More than four years after the fact, and after months of turmoil in the Modesto Police Department because of the mishandled 1996-97 gun sales, the City Council will be asked to ratify the sale.
Council members next week will consider declaring as surplus 92 city-owned guns sold to officers. The retroactive designation finally would put the episode in compliance with the city charter.
Without it, the city would have to buy back 47 guns officers still have or go to court to reclaim them.
The council also will discuss the Police Department's final report on the sale and its aftermath.
The report details some 5,000 hours of investigation into the sale and the department's weapons stocks, as well as procedural changes and training to prevent similar problems from happening.
In particular, the department has strengthened its property and evidence management system. It soon will be second to none in the state, officials said, and will virtually eliminate the chance of inventory problems that occurred during the gun sale.
Besides tracking down guns involved in the 1996-97 sale, detectives noted every gun in the department. Among the weapons that turned up were two Prohibition-era Thompson submachine guns acquired by a long-ago chief.
"We're not proud of what happened. We're ashamed and sorry," Capt. Dave Young said. "But we've become a model agency in property and evidence management."
Tuesday would bring the gun sale fiasco full circle and, officials hope, put it in the past. The sale began in early 1996 without council knowledge as an attempt by the department to defray the expense of new semiautomatic pistols, while letting officers buy their old revolvers as mementos.
Soon, though, it degenerated into a firearms bazaar that subsequent investigations found had violated city policy and state law. The last gun was sold in June 1997. The episode led to the prosecution, trial and acquittal of a deputy chief. The records manager, the department's top civilian employee, faced an embezzlement charge, later dropped. The sale contributed to the departure of the police chief and city manager. Four department employees received unspecified discipline, and 18 others received letters to educate them about gun laws.
Tuesday's discussion will come little more than two weeks before the arrival of the city's new police chief, Roy Wasden. He will permanently replace Paul Jefferson, who retired in August.
"We're at the point now where we feel everything we could do has been done," Interim Chief Donald Burnett said this week.
The police report was scheduled to be released in January. Officials delayed it because of issues related to the department's disciplinary actions, City Attorney Michael Milich said. He would not elaborate, citing personnel confidentiality rules.
Young said the council report follows an exhaustive investigation into the episode. More than 2,000 detective hours were spent tracking guns, officials said.
An additional 3,000 staff hours were spent introducing procedural and equipment changes to the department, they said. No one knows how much the police investigation cost.
Other gun sale information:
* Guns never again will be sold to officers.
* Of the 237 guns sold, 92 were owned by the city and 145 came from the department's downtown property and evidence facility. Of the 145: 105 have been destroyed, 30 have been returned to their owners, one is part of a pending court case, five are lost or missing, three have been reported stolen, and one is believed to be in Mexico. The search will continue for the nine missing guns.
* Of the 92 city-owned guns, 47 are owned by officers, 12 were returned by officers and destroyed, and 33 are in the department's possession. A vote to surplus would let the officers keep the 47 guns. Most of the 33 guns would be destroyed, with others kept for training.
* No officer has more than one gun from the sale. During the sale, some officers bought several guns.
* Evidence and property management procedures are much stronger, with greater oversight from department brass. The records manager is a sworn lieutenant, not a civilian.
There are new annual audits and inventories of evidence and property stores. There also are new limits on the number of guns (75) and drug cases (250) that can accumulate in the evidence room before the items must be destroyed.
* The department brought in financial experts to track the money from the gun sale. All but about $4,000 of the $26,000 in receipts was identified. Officials think the difference stems from sloppy bookkeeping during the gun sale rather than theft.
Burnett, a police consultant and former chief, said that, through it all, department employees kept a positive attitude during the gun sale aftermath.
"Many agencies," he said, "would have taken a dump and stayed there."
Bee staff writer Jim Miller can be reached at 578-2385 or jmiller@modbee.com.
By JIM MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
(Published: Saturday, July 22, 2000)
More than four years after the fact, and after months of turmoil in the Modesto Police Department because of the mishandled 1996-97 gun sales, the City Council will be asked to ratify the sale.
Council members next week will consider declaring as surplus 92 city-owned guns sold to officers. The retroactive designation finally would put the episode in compliance with the city charter.
Without it, the city would have to buy back 47 guns officers still have or go to court to reclaim them.
The council also will discuss the Police Department's final report on the sale and its aftermath.
The report details some 5,000 hours of investigation into the sale and the department's weapons stocks, as well as procedural changes and training to prevent similar problems from happening.
In particular, the department has strengthened its property and evidence management system. It soon will be second to none in the state, officials said, and will virtually eliminate the chance of inventory problems that occurred during the gun sale.
Besides tracking down guns involved in the 1996-97 sale, detectives noted every gun in the department. Among the weapons that turned up were two Prohibition-era Thompson submachine guns acquired by a long-ago chief.
"We're not proud of what happened. We're ashamed and sorry," Capt. Dave Young said. "But we've become a model agency in property and evidence management."
Tuesday would bring the gun sale fiasco full circle and, officials hope, put it in the past. The sale began in early 1996 without council knowledge as an attempt by the department to defray the expense of new semiautomatic pistols, while letting officers buy their old revolvers as mementos.
Soon, though, it degenerated into a firearms bazaar that subsequent investigations found had violated city policy and state law. The last gun was sold in June 1997. The episode led to the prosecution, trial and acquittal of a deputy chief. The records manager, the department's top civilian employee, faced an embezzlement charge, later dropped. The sale contributed to the departure of the police chief and city manager. Four department employees received unspecified discipline, and 18 others received letters to educate them about gun laws.
Tuesday's discussion will come little more than two weeks before the arrival of the city's new police chief, Roy Wasden. He will permanently replace Paul Jefferson, who retired in August.
"We're at the point now where we feel everything we could do has been done," Interim Chief Donald Burnett said this week.
The police report was scheduled to be released in January. Officials delayed it because of issues related to the department's disciplinary actions, City Attorney Michael Milich said. He would not elaborate, citing personnel confidentiality rules.
Young said the council report follows an exhaustive investigation into the episode. More than 2,000 detective hours were spent tracking guns, officials said.
An additional 3,000 staff hours were spent introducing procedural and equipment changes to the department, they said. No one knows how much the police investigation cost.
Other gun sale information:
* Guns never again will be sold to officers.
* Of the 237 guns sold, 92 were owned by the city and 145 came from the department's downtown property and evidence facility. Of the 145: 105 have been destroyed, 30 have been returned to their owners, one is part of a pending court case, five are lost or missing, three have been reported stolen, and one is believed to be in Mexico. The search will continue for the nine missing guns.
* Of the 92 city-owned guns, 47 are owned by officers, 12 were returned by officers and destroyed, and 33 are in the department's possession. A vote to surplus would let the officers keep the 47 guns. Most of the 33 guns would be destroyed, with others kept for training.
* No officer has more than one gun from the sale. During the sale, some officers bought several guns.
* Evidence and property management procedures are much stronger, with greater oversight from department brass. The records manager is a sworn lieutenant, not a civilian.
There are new annual audits and inventories of evidence and property stores. There also are new limits on the number of guns (75) and drug cases (250) that can accumulate in the evidence room before the items must be destroyed.
* The department brought in financial experts to track the money from the gun sale. All but about $4,000 of the $26,000 in receipts was identified. Officials think the difference stems from sloppy bookkeeping during the gun sale rather than theft.
Burnett, a police consultant and former chief, said that, through it all, department employees kept a positive attitude during the gun sale aftermath.
"Many agencies," he said, "would have taken a dump and stayed there."
The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in the basement chamber, Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.
Bee staff writer Jim Miller can be reached at 578-2385 or jmiller@modbee.com.
By JIM MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
(Published: Saturday, July 22, 2000)
More than four years after the fact, and after months of turmoil in the Modesto Police Department because of the mishandled 1996-97 gun sales, the City Council will be asked to ratify the sale.
Council members next week will consider declaring as surplus 92 city-owned guns sold to officers. The retroactive designation finally would put the episode in compliance with the city charter.
Without it, the city would have to buy back 47 guns officers still have or go to court to reclaim them.
The council also will discuss the Police Department's final report on the sale and its aftermath.
The report details some 5,000 hours of investigation into the sale and the department's weapons stocks, as well as procedural changes and training to prevent similar problems from happening.
In particular, the department has strengthened its property and evidence management system. It soon will be second to none in the state, officials said, and will virtually eliminate the chance of inventory problems that occurred during the gun sale.
Besides tracking down guns involved in the 1996-97 sale, detectives noted every gun in the department. Among the weapons that turned up were two Prohibition-era Thompson submachine guns acquired by a long-ago chief.
"We're not proud of what happened. We're ashamed and sorry," Capt. Dave Young said. "But we've become a model agency in property and evidence management."
Tuesday would bring the gun sale fiasco full circle and, officials hope, put it in the past. The sale began in early 1996 without council knowledge as an attempt by the department to defray the expense of new semiautomatic pistols, while letting officers buy their old revolvers as mementos.
Soon, though, it degenerated into a firearms bazaar that subsequent investigations found had violated city policy and state law. The last gun was sold in June 1997. The episode led to the prosecution, trial and acquittal of a deputy chief. The records manager, the department's top civilian employee, faced an embezzlement charge, later dropped. The sale contributed to the departure of the police chief and city manager. Four department employees received unspecified discipline, and 18 others received letters to educate them about gun laws.
Tuesday's discussion will come little more than two weeks before the arrival of the city's new police chief, Roy Wasden. He will permanently replace Paul Jefferson, who retired in August.
"We're at the point now where we feel everything we could do has been done," Interim Chief Donald Burnett said this week.
The police report was scheduled to be released in January. Officials delayed it because of issues related to the department's disciplinary actions, City Attorney Michael Milich said. He would not elaborate, citing personnel confidentiality rules.
Young said the council report follows an exhaustive investigation into the episode. More than 2,000 detective hours were spent tracking guns, officials said.
An additional 3,000 staff hours were spent introducing procedural and equipment changes to the department, they said. No one knows how much the police investigation cost.
Other gun sale information:
* Guns never again will be sold to officers.
* Of the 237 guns sold, 92 were owned by the city and 145 came from the department's downtown property and evidence facility. Of the 145: 105 have been destroyed, 30 have been returned to their owners, one is part of a pending court case, five are lost or missing, three have been reported stolen, and one is believed to be in Mexico. The search will continue for the nine missing guns.
* Of the 92 city-owned guns, 47 are owned by officers, 12 were returned by officers and destroyed, and 33 are in the department's possession. A vote to surplus would let the officers keep the 47 guns. Most of the 33 guns would be destroyed, with others kept for training.
* No officer has more than one gun from the sale. During the sale, some officers bought several guns.
* Evidence and property management procedures are much stronger, with greater oversight from department brass. The records manager is a sworn lieutenant, not a civilian.
There are new annual audits and inventories of evidence and property stores. There also are new limits on the number of guns (75) and drug cases (250) that can accumulate in the evidence room before the items must be destroyed.
* The department brought in financial experts to track the money from the gun sale. All but about $4,000 of the $26,000 in receipts was identified. Officials think the difference stems from sloppy bookkeeping during the gun sale rather than theft.
Burnett, a police consultant and former chief, said that, through it all, department employees kept a positive attitude during the gun sale aftermath.
"Many agencies," he said, "would have taken a dump and stayed there."
The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in the basement chamber, Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.
Bee staff writer Jim Miller can be reached at 578-2385 or jmiller@modbee.com.