Harris County Sheriff's Office has such a policy. I had to help a man get his pistol back after a post-accident trip to the hospital in an ambulance. The SO said it had to be tested and since it wasn't involved in a crime, it was a low priority item that wouldn't be returned for 6 to 9 months! A few calls took care of it, but I was more than a little surprised.srothstein wrote:I have to agree with Stevie. The department probably has a written policy that all impounded firearms will be tested. This is going to be based on the policy that allows an inventory search of all cars that are impounded. But the logic is flawed and the first time someone fights the test in court they will lose.
The policy for inventorying cars is to protect from false claims of lost valuables. It just won't hold up for the test firing, IMO.
And on the calls where I have had to take a weapon from someone (accidents and the like), we just put it in the property room as personal property. The person comes by with ID to prove it is the person we took it from, and we release it back to him. I don't remember ever even running the serial number on any of them or any paperwork proving it was legally owned.
Chas.