NEW ORLEANS (AP)
The Police Department's decision to swap old guns for new ones may force
New Orleans to defend itself against lawsuits like the one it has filed
against the firearms industry, critics say. City Police have traded 7,200
confiscated weapons and old 9mm service pistols for about 1,700 new Glock
.40-caliber weapons. The public learned of the deal Wednesday as Mayor Marc
Morial and a Glock official discussed government suits against the industry on
NBC's "Today" show.
The trade contradicts the stated desire of Morial, city council members
and police to reduce gun violence. "To learn that the city has exported 7,000
guns seized from street criminals to other parts of the country is really mind
boggling and the height of the hypocrisy," a private watchdog group said.
"It's unfortunate, because law enforcement officers risked their lives to
take these guns away from criminals."
Last year, New Orleans and Chicago became the first major cities to sue
gun makers seeking to recover the costs of gun violence. Bridgeport, Conn.,
and Miami-Dade County in Florida this week pursued similar suits.
Under the deal approved last February, the used guns were not to be
resold in Louisiana. But, New Orleans could actually end up as defendant in
one of the lawsuits if one of the trade-in guns winds up being used in a
crime.
Paul Jannuzzo, Glock's vice president and general counsel, said city
officials were being hypocritical by simultaneously traking guns and suing gun
manufacturers. Morial accused Glock of creating "a bogus, false issue."
Linda Mcdonald, head of the New Orleans chapter of Parents of Murdered
Children, said authorities should track down the traded guns, buy them back
and destroy them.
"The people of the city were under the impression they were doing away
with these gun," McDonald said. "There's no assurance these guns will not come back here, and even
if they don't, they will be used to kill people in other areas.
Deputy Police Superintendent Duane Johnson said he expected the guns to
be sold through a federally licensed dealer to people who met legal standards,
but couldn't guarantee the guns would not wind up back in Louisiana. Many of
the guns will be used for parts and the remaining pieces destroyed, Johnson
said, although he could not say how many. Johnson said the department's
priority was to equip officers with weapons so they would be adequately armed
in street confrontations.
"We have an obligation to the people of New Orleans and our officers to
give them the most technologically advanced equipment possible," he said.
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.
The Police Department's decision to swap old guns for new ones may force
New Orleans to defend itself against lawsuits like the one it has filed
against the firearms industry, critics say. City Police have traded 7,200
confiscated weapons and old 9mm service pistols for about 1,700 new Glock
.40-caliber weapons. The public learned of the deal Wednesday as Mayor Marc
Morial and a Glock official discussed government suits against the industry on
NBC's "Today" show.
The trade contradicts the stated desire of Morial, city council members
and police to reduce gun violence. "To learn that the city has exported 7,000
guns seized from street criminals to other parts of the country is really mind
boggling and the height of the hypocrisy," a private watchdog group said.
"It's unfortunate, because law enforcement officers risked their lives to
take these guns away from criminals."
Last year, New Orleans and Chicago became the first major cities to sue
gun makers seeking to recover the costs of gun violence. Bridgeport, Conn.,
and Miami-Dade County in Florida this week pursued similar suits.
Under the deal approved last February, the used guns were not to be
resold in Louisiana. But, New Orleans could actually end up as defendant in
one of the lawsuits if one of the trade-in guns winds up being used in a
crime.
Paul Jannuzzo, Glock's vice president and general counsel, said city
officials were being hypocritical by simultaneously traking guns and suing gun
manufacturers. Morial accused Glock of creating "a bogus, false issue."
Linda Mcdonald, head of the New Orleans chapter of Parents of Murdered
Children, said authorities should track down the traded guns, buy them back
and destroy them.
"The people of the city were under the impression they were doing away
with these gun," McDonald said. "There's no assurance these guns will not come back here, and even
if they don't, they will be used to kill people in other areas.
Deputy Police Superintendent Duane Johnson said he expected the guns to
be sold through a federally licensed dealer to people who met legal standards,
but couldn't guarantee the guns would not wind up back in Louisiana. Many of
the guns will be used for parts and the remaining pieces destroyed, Johnson
said, although he could not say how many. Johnson said the department's
priority was to equip officers with weapons so they would be adequately armed
in street confrontations.
"We have an obligation to the people of New Orleans and our officers to
give them the most technologically advanced equipment possible," he said.
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.