Kaplan, La. - This month, Kaplan Police Department will be auctioning off forty-four weapons that have been stored in its evidence room.
“We needed to clear up some space and get rid of the firearms,” Kaplan Police Chief Joshua Hardy said.
Chief Hardy says these firearms were once linked to crimes or could have been seized during a drug bust. Some of these firearms date back to the 1980s and 1990s. After years of storage, the weapons will be auctioned to licensed firearm dealers.
The police department will earn roughly hundreds to thousands of dollars from this auction. From the sale, the police department will get sixty percent of the selling price and the district attorney will get forty percent.
While this auction is open to the public, the department is only selling these weapons to licensed firearms dealers who have a federal firearms license.
Gun safety advocate Stacy Brown says given the thorough vetting process, community members should not be worried.
The auction will take place later this month at the Kaplan Police Department. If weapons are not purchased, they will be destroyed.
