Harold Mayo
Member
Detroit Police Destroy 5,000 Guns
.c The Associated Press
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Thousands of guns taken from robbers, burglars, drug dealers and other criminals have been melted down into steel.
Detroit police took 5,037 guns that had jammed their property room to the Rouge Steel Co. plant in Dearborn on Thursday, where they were turned into recycled steel. Some of the guns dated back to the 1970s.
Workers at the plant, which produces steel products for the automotive industry, appeared happy to accommodate what the department said was its largest-ever gun burn.
``This is huge,'' said police Chief Jerry Oliver, standing near a mountain of AK47s, sawed-off shotguns, rifles, Uzis and machine guns. ``The fact that we're taking these guns out of our circulation means lives will be saved.
``And we will have cleared thousands of square feet of space in the property room.''
Two dump trucks carried the weaponry under guard from police headquarters. A crane with an electromagnet picked the guns up, about 50 at a time. Eventually, the guns went into a melting pot and molten steel at 2,600 degrees was poured over them.
Detroit Police want to bring the property room's inventory to a manageable level. Last year, nine people were indicted on charges of stealing more than 200 pounds of cocaine from the room. The case is pending.
Shame on Detroit and, especially, this police chief. I'd like to see a "mountain" of machine guns seized by Detroit police. No mention was made of cheap handguns at all and I would bet that 80% of the 5,000 guns were just that.
Machine guns my ***
.c The Associated Press
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Thousands of guns taken from robbers, burglars, drug dealers and other criminals have been melted down into steel.
Detroit police took 5,037 guns that had jammed their property room to the Rouge Steel Co. plant in Dearborn on Thursday, where they were turned into recycled steel. Some of the guns dated back to the 1970s.
Workers at the plant, which produces steel products for the automotive industry, appeared happy to accommodate what the department said was its largest-ever gun burn.
``This is huge,'' said police Chief Jerry Oliver, standing near a mountain of AK47s, sawed-off shotguns, rifles, Uzis and machine guns. ``The fact that we're taking these guns out of our circulation means lives will be saved.
``And we will have cleared thousands of square feet of space in the property room.''
Two dump trucks carried the weaponry under guard from police headquarters. A crane with an electromagnet picked the guns up, about 50 at a time. Eventually, the guns went into a melting pot and molten steel at 2,600 degrees was poured over them.
Detroit Police want to bring the property room's inventory to a manageable level. Last year, nine people were indicted on charges of stealing more than 200 pounds of cocaine from the room. The case is pending.
Shame on Detroit and, especially, this police chief. I'd like to see a "mountain" of machine guns seized by Detroit police. No mention was made of cheap handguns at all and I would bet that 80% of the 5,000 guns were just that.
Machine guns my ***