Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

I was stopped by police for suspicion of solicitation. They took Menander my passenger out of the car and asked to search the car. I said yes. They searched the car. I told them I was a confirms weapons permit holder and informed them that I had a handgun in the car.

The police took my handgun and did not arrest either myself or my passenger. They told me I was lucky and that they might issue a warrant for my arrest.

I did not realize that they had taken my gun until I got home.

I did not get the names of the 2 officers.

Can they legally take my legally possessed firearm like that?


Asked on 2/25/12, 6:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
M. Elizabeth Foley The Law Office of M. Elizabeth Foley

They can remove it from your possession while all that is going on, for obvious reasons, but no, if you wrren't charged with some orher crime, they cannot legally seize it and refuse to return it (assuming it didn't come back stolen or something). You'll need to go to whatever police department they work for, tell them what happened, and ask for the weapon to be returned. If they won't do that, or refuse to admit they have it, you'll need to hire an attorney. There should be an audio and video recording of what happened slightly before and during the traffic stop, but your attorney will need to request it quickly, because if not needed for a criminal case, the recordings are not kept very long.

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Answered on 2/25/12, 6:21 pm


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