AUGUST 2016 - IAPE Monthly Newsletter
Ask Joe...
 
Each month, IAPE's primary instructor, Joe Latta, answers one of your questions. Consider writing us if you have a question that needs an answer. We would love to hear from you.
 

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 _______________________________________________________________
 
QUESTION
 
Dear Joe,
 
I was asked to contact you for your advice or comments. We are getting ready for a gun destruction. Our final step of the court order is in the works. The last time we completed a gun destruction we hired a company to come on­site and dismantle the guns. They also cut out the serial numbers for us and gave us the serial numbers to keep. Do we need to keep the serial numbers? Can't we just copy them and then have the number plates melted? What are other agencies doing?

Thanks for your time,

Terri Burmeister 
Evidence Unit Murrieta Police Department
 
 
ANSWER

Dear Terri,
 
A number of companies are starting to provide firearm destruction services which have really been helpful for departments getting rid of / destroying guns. My advice for a long term record is to consider taking a digital photo of the gun frame with serial number and attached the digital photo to the record. Depending on how many you have, it may be a simple task. Some of the vendors now have the ability to take a photo for you during the destruction or disassembly of the gun. 

  Several great resources to consider for this service are: 


Regards,
Joe



Headline of the Month

In our monthly Newsletter I generally write about one specific case that has happened during the month, but in the last 60 days I noted an upsurge in headlines related to the theft of pain pills. In Florida, Ohio, and California there was a tenured officer, a deputy and a Sheriff that have been involved the theft of prescription medications from the drop­off disposal. In 2 of the three stories the pills are being pilfered from the DEA sponsored pill drop programs. Over the last 18 months there have been a dozen of these stories around the country. When are we going to tighten up or internal controls to thwart the problem? Law Enforcement Administrators need to address the issue before more careers are ruined and departments embarrassed. When it comes to the pill drop programs, departments need to insure that the drop bins are secured, keying is done with two keys and two people of which entry can only be made with two people. When the pills are secured in the property room, they are secured with the same types of controls - two people, two locks and two keys (different). 
 

Seminole County Sheriff's deputy was arrested Thursday on charges he stole prescription pain medication from a storage safe. 
Date: August 26, 2016

Seminole CountySheriff's deputy was arrested on charges he stole prescription pain medication from a storage safe.

Lt. Jason Bender, who is assigned to the Sheriff's Office City County
Investigative Bureau, had access to the safe inside the bureau's office, according to an arrest report. 

He is accused of entering it at least four times during the past month and taking oxycodone pills for personal use, the report states.

Investigators found out about the missing drugs on Wednesday when a deputy noticed some of the packages in the safe and their contents were disturbed. Investigators took an inventory and realized the drugs had disappeared. 




Ventura County Sheriff's deputy suspended on suspicion of stealing prescription drugs 
Date: July 5, 2016

A 22­year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office was suspended after he was suspected of taking prescription medication from the drop­off disposal bin at the agency's Thousand Oaks headquarters, officials said in a news release.

An investigation into Senior Deputy Matthew Volpe, 45, of Agoura Hills, began in early May when a sheriff's employee who regularly empties the bin noticed a disparity in the amount of medication compared to the day before, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said.
The employee notified sheriff's investigators of the incident. Investigators looked at surveillance footage from the East Valley station's lobby on Olsen Road, where the bin was located, and saw someone wearing a sheriff's office uniform use a key to unlock the bottom of the bin and remove items, authorities said. The person on camera was identified as Volpe, who was assigned to the Thousand Oaks police motor unit, officials said.

Investigators say Volpe allegedly accessed the bin early in the morning when staffing at the station was at a minimum and he allegedly  took the key from inside the desk of the employee assigned to empty the bin.



Ohio sheriff accused of stealing drugs, tampering with records
August 23, 2016 

Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer has been indicted on 43 counts involving drugs, theft and tampering with records following an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Ohio
        
A county grand jury returned the true bill Tuesday afternoon on charges that include 38 felony counts. County Prosecutor Thomas L. Stierwalt asked BCI to investigate Overmyer and BCI opened its case in September 2015.

Stierwalt asked for the investigation after local police chiefs in the county expressed concerns regarding alleged unusual behavior by Overmyer in prescription drug disposal drop box collections. The scope of the investigation quickly expanded into other allegations of wrongdoing. 
 
The charges also accuse him of deceiving physicians and pharmacists to obtain prescription pain medication. The theft charges accuse Overmyer of improperly taking medications from area prescription drug disposal drop boxes



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September 21-22, 2016
 
September 28 - 29 , 2016
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May 2- 3, 2017

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