LOS ANGELES (KABC) — LAPD SWAT officers are being investigated, suspected of buying handguns and re-selling them with the LAPD “SWAT” insignia attached for a profit,.
It was reported Police Chief Charlie Beck faced the LAPD Police Commission Tuesday and was shocked to hear LAPD’s SWAT team had been accused of dealing in firearms. Board members along with taxpayers demanded answers and repercussions.
Beck said, “I hold them to the highest standards. I don’t expect them to do this kind of thing. They disappoint me the most.”
“Certainly this is something that we are going to guard against in the future. At the very least department guidelines will be restructured so this doesn’t happen again.”
After a 2010 inventory found guns missing, word of the gun dealings came to light. Between 51 – 324 Kimber handguns were allegedly resold by the SWAT team for profit, according to a LAPD internal report.
The Kimbers retail on line for $1,000.
The officers are accused of buying them with their department discount for $600, then reselling them for as much as $3,500 with LAPD’s insignia on them. And if buying and selling the handguns wasn’t bad enough; NOW the department is trying to figure out who purchased the guns.
Pete White, a L.A. resident said, “The idea that officers of our elite SWAT unit out of Metro are potentially reselling weapons or stockpiling weapons is cause for grave alarm.”
*Since there are no rules against re-selling guns it’s unclear if these officers will be disciplined for what they are accused of doing.
*This is not an accurate statement. If you purchase a firearm and are unhappy with it for some reason and you choose to sell the firearm, by law you are entitled to do so. However, if a person buys firearms for the sole purpose of resale; this is called a business and they were dealing in firearms without a license.
The SWAT team were engaging in the unlawful sale of weapons; the very thing you or I would be arrested for.
source: – ABC
