Washington State Police Set Off Firestorm With Gun Dealers

[tombogan03884]

Based on BATF's response I gather that this is not information that local law enforcement should be able to freely access.  What the officer should have done is addressed the FFLs with a request for information on a specific gun or guns of specific serial number(s).  The next step would be to obtain a warrant to follow up on positive hits or refusals.  Where BATF would fall in on these two areas I don't know.

Bottom line is that while I do agree with cooperation there is a way it needs to be done to remain legal and not to get yourself in trouble. Like I said before, if a law enforcement officer showed up at my door demanding to see my guns I would be on the phone to an attorney before they gained access unless they produced a warrant - at which point I would be on the phone to my attorney!

FTA:
         " According to Cheryl Bishop, a spokesperson for the Seattle office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the WSP did not consult her office before mailing the letters, which were dated March 9, and signed by a captain in the WSP’s Criminal Investigations Division.....
 “The long and the short of this is that they sent this letter without having an understanding of the firearms industry,” Bishop said.

   She also told the detective that WSP better be prepared for the kinds of reactions the agency is now receiving.

   “They didn’t come to us first, they didn’t consult us,” Bishop said. “We didn’t know about the letter until yesterday when we started getting these phone calls.”

Pretty bad when even ATF says your an idiot.