I got questions.

**Nathan Hale** · May 17th, 2012, 10:30 PM

Lately i have been reading here about how some LEOs who are either ignorant or something else have been making life hard for citizens.

Lets take the example of gun confiscation because it didnt come up in the "registry"

1) Can you proceed legally against a LEO just because he ran your serial number for no reason?

2) Do you need to have a lawyer to get your gun back? Cant you do the whole process by yourself? like you do your taxes? some use an accountant and some do it themselves.

3) how liable is the LEO for taking away your firearm. Suppose the said firearm is your only firearm and the night it was confiscated you had a home invasion where you mother was murdered and you were tied up and beaten badly. Can you proceed against the LEO since to begin with he illegally confiscated your firearm using an illegal database; thereby depriving you of the most basic human right which is self defense?

4) are there any PA laws that protect LEOs by justifying illegal seizures which might lead to a deadly scenario mentioned in #3 above?

**Statkowski** · May 17th, 2012, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by Nathan Hale

1) Can you proceed legally against a LEO just because he ran your serial number for no reason?

Short answer? Yes, probably in both state and federal court.
Will it be inexpensive? It'll cost more than the value of the gun.
Will it accomplish anything? Probably not.

2) Do you need to have a lawyer to get your gun back? Can't you do the whole process by yourself?

That probably depends on what police agency seized the firearm.

3) how liable is the LEO for taking away your firearm. Suppose the said firearm is your only firearm and the night it was confiscated you had a home invasion where you mother was murdered and you were tied up and beaten badly. Can you proceed against the LEO since to begin with he illegally confiscated your firearm using an illegal database; thereby depriving you of the most basic human right which is self defense?

That might have to be answered in a court of law.

4) are there any PA laws that protect LEOs by justifying illegal seizures which might lead to a deadly scenario mentioned in #3 above?

I don't think there are any laws that shield LEOs from illegal acitivites, but a judge might interpret law in the LEOs favor.

**ROCK-IT3** · May 17th, 2012, 10:51 PM

Concerning Q#2, I believe Viper got a gun returned to him from the Philly PD without the help of a lawyer, but it took several months and many hours of phone calls and personal visits to the precinct.

**Nathan Hale** · May 17th, 2012, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by Statkowski

Short answer? Yes, probably in both state and federal court.
Will it be inexpensive? It'll cost more than the value of the gun.
Will it accomplish anything? Probably not.

That probably depends on what police agency seized the firearm.

That might have to be answered in a court of law.
4) are there any PA laws that protect LEOs by justifying illegal seizures which might lead to a deadly scenario mentioned in #3 above?

[/QUOTE]

thats sad, really sad.

**Nathan Hale** · May 17th, 2012, 11:33 PM

anybody want to reply???

**jerkin** · May 17th, 2012, 11:43 PM

The answer to #4 is yes, it's called "qualified immunity" and it needs to be eliminated.

**mrnyman** · May 18th, 2012, 12:49 AM

A police officer is a citiizen and a civilian like any other American and are subjected to civilian law like any other American unlike soldiers that falls under MJC, in the early 90's the US supreme court upheld that Police officers can be individually sued just like any body else, if a police officer steals your gun you sure can sue him for it.

**41800216** · May 21st, 2012, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by mrnyman

A police officer is a citiizen and a civilian like any other American and are subjected to civilian law like any other American unlike soldiers that falls under MJC, in the early 90's the US supreme court upheld that Police officers can be individually sued just like any body else, if a police officer steals your gun you sure can sue him for it.

While police officers are subjected to all the laws in the book just like anyone else, the chances of courts actually siding with the plaintiff are pretty slim, and the chances of anything remotely productive coming out of settlements are even more unlikely. It happens, but I'm sure we all know it's pretty rare.