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Gun Confiscation by local LE


JWS1989

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Okay ladies and gentlemen, this site was recommended to me in seeking advice for a recent series of events.
Recently, due to either a misunderstanding between my wife and I or between my wife and a 911 operator,

I was pulled over, long story short my firearms were confiscated from my vehicle and residence. All but three of my firearms

were secure in a safe. One unloaded in a backpack in my vehicle, two at my residence in gun cases. approximately

nine or so firearms from the safe in my residence. The reason being after an argument between my wife and I

and a series of misunderstandings between her and I, and her and the dispatcher on the 911 call I was deemed

suicidal. For the record I was cleared on the scene of my traffic stop by paramedics, and the officers present. However,

my firearms were still confiscated, with no receipt of the items taken, I was first told by my local PD that I could

-pick my firearms up the following day, then told that I could not pick them up until the following Friday.

However, when that Friday came, I received a phone call from the PD stating that I could not pick up my

firearms without a doctors note, and that it was for liability reasons. I was also told they were advised this by the

States Attorneys office. I've contacted no less than two attorneys, and for reasons unknown to me, neither have

continued to stay in contact with me. I have looked into the matter, neither the paramedics nor the officers on scene deemed

me to be a threat to myself or others. The officers with my local PD never saw me or spoke to me in person they spoke

to my wife. The following day they advised me I could pick my firearms up the that Friday (three days later) and to my knowledge

did not report me as a threat to myself or others. And According to my reading, they only have 24 hours to do so. It wasn't until the

day they initially said I could pick them up, that they called me informing me that I could not pick the firearms up, without

a doctors note. I'm stumped on what to do about this, I was not suicidal. My wife tells me she never said to the officers at the

house she feared that I was going to kill myself. I'm not sure why, four days after the incident, things are all of a sudden different.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I can share more details in private messages if required.

 

Thanks!

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Keep trying to find a good lawyer and sue the police. Your 5th amendment rights were violated.

4th actually. It would be easier to see if he could actually get them back with a note, first, and then sue for violation of his rights. As soon as a lawyer is in the picture, a quick return of his guns is out, too.

 

It is also entirely possible that if he goes there with the note, they will have yet another hoop for him to jump through. That would only add to his cause of action.

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Keep trying to find a good lawyer and sue the police. Your 5th amendment rights were violated.

4th actually. It would be easier to see if he could actually get them back with a note, first, and then sue for violation of his rights. As soon as a lawyer is in the picture, a quick return of his guns are, too.

It is also entirely possible that if he goes there with the note, they will have yet another hoop for him to jump through. That would only add to his cause of action.

 

This is exactly what I am afraid of, because remember at first I was told to come pick them up - then told I have to obtain a doctor's note. Once I have that, what else will they require? Furthermore,

it's the principle of the matter. There were no charges filed, I was not deemed a threat by those that evaluated me, yet they are still holding my firearms. Playing by their rules is simply enabling them,

lest we all forget, firearm ownership isn't a privilege, it's our right. Furthermore, I have it on good authority that the Illinois Rifle Association is currently attempting to pass legislation making this act Illegal.

Apparently the State Police are moving to confiscate first and ask questions later, and requiring a doctors note to release an individuals property to them, specifically their firearms. Subsequently, I don'y think

violated my 4th amendment rights, because my wife believes they asked upon arriving at my residence if they could "look around", which she agreed to let them do, she did not expect them to tear the house apart,

looking for firearms. Sorry, I forgot to mention that, it was late, and I was extremely tired when I wrote this. Also, to whomever asked - my wife does not have a FOID, however the majority of my

firearms were secure in the safe inside my residence. They took the keys from my vehicle the next town over, transported them back to my residence so the local PD could access my safe and take my firearms.

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Get the evaluation from your doctor, go through the steps. If they put more road blocks, then it might be time to get an attorney. Get your firearms back then reassess the situation. There should be a recording of the 911 call your wife made. If there was nothing in her call, or the report they took from her to make them suspect your mental state, you can decide from there if you want to sue them.

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You probably should take Molly's advice since she's the expert on this sort of thing. There are also a couple other people here who have gone through what you're going through with firearm confiscation, so maybe they can chime in.

 

Me personally? I wouldn't play their game and get a doctors note or jump through any other hoops they try to make you jump through. They confiscated your firearms illegally, and need to be sued for big damages. Based on what I've seen happen to others in these forums, it's unlikely getting a doctors note or anything else will get your firearms back and you could be in for a long fight. But I'm not a lawyer or an expert and tend to get angry when government steps on my rights, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

However, here is some advice which might be good. Always keep your guns in the safe and do NOT give the combo to anyone, including your wife. If the safe uses a key, hide it somewhere that only you know about. That way when the cops come to confiscate your guns and your wife agrees to let them into the house, you can put a stop to the process right then and there with a locked safe. They can threaten you all they want, but if you've committed no crime, there really shouldn't be anything they can legally do to you.

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my firearms were still confiscated, with no receipt of the items taken,

Did you ask for a receipt and they refused?
I wasn't home when they were there, nor did I know they were taking my firearms until after the incident. I appreciate the advice this far, but being former LE myself, I know it's not my responsibility to make sure they do their job correctly.
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^^^That is all fun and games until you get home and realize they decided to confiscate the safe too.

 

The only letter I'd have produced if I were in your shoes is one from a good 2A lawyer.

That's precisely what I've been attempting to do, but as of yet the only 2A attorney I've contacted has ceased all communication after supposedly agreeing to take the case.

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Wow. They took your car keys from another location and went to your house and opened your safe. Thats great. The 911 call and police report should tell you if someone mentioned suicide. They cant just pull that out of their butt and go intomyour safe

 

That's the piece of the puzzle I don't have. I don't know what she told them, but she swears to me she never said the word suicide or mentioned me killing myself. She said I left the house, I may have a gun and she didn't want me to hurt myself. So a debate in semantics, suppose.

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If anyone has any suggestions for a good 2A attorney I'm open to suggestions.

Keep searching. There is a good one out there that wants your case.

 

Didn't we used to have a list of lawyers on the site?

http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=40387&page=5

 

I suspect Molly B is going to be your goto resource here. Listen to her.

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I'll try that, I don't think you guys realize the tumultuous relationship I've had with this town already. It takes a lot to play ball with them. I even have deputies that were on scene telling me to lawyer up. I feel like I'm basically begging for my property back, but I suppose I'll try it. Thanks for the advice.
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Wow. They took your car keys from another location and went to your house and opened your safe. Thats great. The 911 call and police report should tell you if someone mentioned suicide. They cant just pull that out of their butt and go intomyour safe

That's the piece of the puzzle I don't have. I don't know what she told them, but she swears to me she never said the word suicide or mentioned me killing myself. She said I left the house, I may have a gun and she didn't want me to hurt myself. So a debate in semantics, suppose.

 

Sounds a lot like this could be taken as, "Possible Suicide", to me.

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So, LEO took the OP's car keys, went to his home, accessed his safe and removed the contents.

If it isn't under a red flag, then what circumstances gave them such authority? The wife?

 

He says his wife gave them permission to "look around" but not to tear up the place. What does that mean?

 

I'm thinking that most folk's personal doctors are not psychiatrists, and they, after hearing the story (and maybe not wanting involvement) might refer the OP to someone else.

 

I think he is going to learn a priceless lesson courtesy of the state of Illinois, and I hope others in the state will benefit from this as well.

It sounds, I said it sounds, like the police overstepped their bounds in whatever conflict the couple were having, however, such is the environment that has been created by the overseers.

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