Mod: More info on the ATF raid of Pasadena PD officer Vasken Gourdikian's Sierra Madre residence has become available. While the state of the case against Gourdikian still remains a closely held secret, possible reasons for the raid are now emerging.
ATF’s focus on firearm sales by police may be tied to gun seizure at Pasadena officer’s home (Los Angeles Timeslink): A letter from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to law enforcement agencies across Southern California warning about an “emerging problem” of officers engaging in unlicensed firearms sales came just weeks after a Pasadena police officer’s home was searched and guns seized.
The March 31 letter from Eric Harden, special agent in charge at the ATF’s Los Angeles Field Division, said the agency has discovered officers buying and then reselling handguns without a federal firearms license. That violates federal gun laws.
The ATF letter, first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, came after a Feb. 16 search of the home of a high-ranking Pasadena police officer. News reports at the time said several large gun cases were removed from the officer’s Sierra Madre home and loaded into ATF vehicles.
No arrests were made, but the Pasadena Star-News reported that an officer was placed on administrative leave after the search.
A city spokesman said the ATF search did not have anything to do with the officer’s work with the department. Pasadena city offices were closed Friday. Authorities did not release the officer’s name, and a spokeswoman for the ATF declined to comment on ongoing investigations.
Harden’s letter said the agency recently has discovered officers who had purchased more than 100 “off-roster” guns. Those are guns that are not on a California list of approved handguns that can be purchased by the public. Some have been recovered at crime scenes.
The law, however, carves out a specific exemption that allows police officers to purchase such weapons.
The letter from Harden, which was distributed to sheriffs and police chiefs, talked about “the growing trend of law enforcement officials engaging in the business of unlicensed firearms dealings.”
Mod: The rest of this article is available at the link posted above.
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