HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD1285ORDINANCE NO. 1285
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA, AMENDING THE APACHE JUNCTION
CITY CODE, VOLUME I, CHAPTER 3 ADMINISTRATION,BY ADDING
NEW ARTICLE 3-14,PROPERTY DISPOSITION;REPEALING ANY
CONFLICTING PROVISIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND
PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES.
WHEREAS, the City of Apache Junction Department of Public
Safety/Police Department maintains a central repository for the
purpose of receiving and retaining seized evidence, including but
not limited to firearms and other weapons; and
WHEREAS, the Chief of Police exercised his discretion undeT
current law and recently ordered the destruction of approximately
1200 firearms; and
WHEREAS,the Mayor and City Council subsequently received
objections to the current weapon disposal practice from concerned
citizens and business proprietors; and
WHEREAS,pursuant to A.R.S.§12-820.02,unless a public
employee acting within the scope of the public employee's
employment intended to cause injury or was grossly:negligent,
neither a public entity nor a publiC,emPloyee is liable for: 1) the
failure to prevent the sale .or transfer of a handgun that is
unlawful under a federal or state law;and 2)the failure to
prevent the sale or transfer of a handgun to a person who may not
lawfully receive or possess a handgun; and
WHEREAS, on October 16, 200'6, the Mayor and City Council held
a work session to discuss the general weapon disposal policy; and
WHEREAS,on November 7,2006,the Mayor and City Council
instructed City staff to establish a policy for the disposal of
firearms seized by the Department of Public Safety modeled after
the City of Mesa policy with various changes; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council find it to be in the best
interest of the City of Apache Junction tO establish such a policy
rather than have authority vested solely in the Police Chief.
ORDINANCE NO. 1285
PAGE 1 OF 4
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION I IN GENERAL
Apache Junction City Code, Volume I, Chapter 3 ADMINISTRATION,is
hereby amended by adding new Article 3-14,PROPERTY DISPOSITION,
as follows:
ARTICLE 3-14 PROPERTY DISPOSITION
A. DEFINITIONS
"Administrative Procedures" shall be those regulations which
the City creates relating to weapons disposition.
"Historic Significance" shall mean some special or important
past.
"Licensed Dealers" shall mean those persons, firms, or other
entities which hold current and valid governmental
authorization to trade, sell or barter weapons.
"Preservation Entity" shall mean any governmental or private
agency, association, or organization that displays to the
public for a fee or for free, weapons .in their original
condition or those that have been restored.
B. WEAPONS DISPOSITION
All seized or appropriated weapons that, are in the
possession of the Apache Junction Police Department shall
be:•
a)Returned to the lawful owner, if he or she is not a
prohibited possessor as defined under A.R.S. § 1-3101 or
otherwise has not been prohibited from possessing such
weapon(s) pursuant to a plea agreement or.court order.
b) Converted to use by members of the City of Apache
Junction Police Department in performance of their
duties, as determined by the Chief of Police.
c) Transferred to other lawenforcement agencies for
official law enforcement purposes, as determined by the
Chief of Police.
ORDINANCE NO. 1285
PAGE 2 OF 4
d) Transferred or sold to appropriate museums or other
preservation entities if such weapons have historical
significance, as determined by an expert in antiquities
and rare items employed by the State of Arizona or a
private museum.
e) Offered at auction to licensed weapon dealers; if the
weapon is a firearm and it is valued at One Hundred
Dollars ($100) or more, such valuation shall be confirmed
by the "Blue Book of Gun Values" by S.P. Fjestad, or
equivalent authority.Ho ver, the following firearms
shall be destroyed in a manner the Chief of Police
believes is commercially viable:
i)Firearms that. have been illegally modified or are
specifically illegal to possess under Arizona or
federal law.
ii)-Firearms'used in the commission of a crime,
including suicide.
iii)Tir-aarms whose serial numbers have been altered or
defaced, except for handguns which were
manufactured before 1938 and long rifles
manufactured before 1968, in which.case the Chief
of Police shall dispose. of through an auction after
having examined and valued by an expert as
identified in subsection (d) above.Such value
shall be the opening bid price at any auction.
C. Administrative procedures for the auction of firearms shall
be followed in accordance with Arizona law.
D. All weapons not otherwise disposed of by the preceding
methods shall be destroyed in a manner the Chief of Police
believes is commercially viable.
E. Any funds collected as a result of City -initiated weapon
auctions shall be placed in the City of Apache Junction
General Fund and be specifically allocated to the Police
Department budget.
ORDINANCE NO. 1235
PAGE 3 OF 4
SECTION II REPEALING ANY CONFLICTING ORDINANCES
All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the
provisions of this ordinance or any part of the codes adopted
herein by reference are hereby repealed.
SECTION III PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY
If any section, subsection, sentence," phrase, clause or portion of
this ordinance or any part of the codes or regulations adopted
herein by reference is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such -decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions thereof.
SECTION TV PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES
Any violation of any of the provisions adopted herein shall be
punishable as a Class 1 Misdemeanor consistent with Apache Junction
City Code, Chapter 1,GENERAL,Article 1-8 PENALTY.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OFTEK CITY OF
APACHE JUNCTION,ARIZONA THIS _2111E DAY OF FEBRUARY
2007.
SIGNED AND ATTESTED TO THIS 22ND___
ATTEST:
KATHLEEN CONNELLY
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
RICHARD J. STERN
City Attorney
ORDINANCE NO. 1285
PAGE 4, OF 4
DAY OF
DOUGLAS q
Mayor
FEBRUARY______,2007.
LEMAN