Agency allows the public to turn in items year-round
The Sarasota Police Department collected 30 firearms, including rifles, handguns and shotguns — plus various types of ammunition — during its second Done with a Gun turn-in event, which was held on Saturday, May 13, the department has announced.
During the first event, held in January 2022, 31 firearms were turned in, a news release notes.
On May 13, the department provided two drop-off locations — the Police Department Headquarters on Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota and the Sarasota Police Substation in Newtown, the release notes.
“We consider Saturday’s Done with the Gun turn-in event a success,” said Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche in the release. “Thirty firearms will be disposed of properly and stay out of the hands of children and possible criminals,” he added in the release. “Our community came forward to dispose of firearms and ammunition responsibly, eliminating the risk of theft, misuse, or accidental discharge. This is another way we’re committed to keeping the City of Sarasota a safe place to live, work, and play,” Troche added in the release.
“The firearms collected will be taken to an incinerator in Lee County to be destroyed,” the release says, while the Police Department’s Explosive Materials Unit (EMU) will destroy the ammunition that was collected, the release points out.
“All firearms collected were run through a law enforcement database to ensure they had not been reported stolen or used in a crime,” the release explains. None of the firearms turned in on Saturday had been reported stolen or discovered to have been used in a crime, the release adds.
If residents could not attend Saturday’s Done with the Gun turn-in event, the release points out, the Sarasota Police Department wants the public to know that it accepts unwanted firearms year-round. Residents with unwanted firearms and/or ammunition may call the Police Department Property Unit at 941-263-6040 to learn the criteria for how to bring the items to the department for proper disposal, the release says.