Semi-automatic pistol seized by Sheriff’s deputies
Brian Giglio wants sheriff’s deputies to return his Glock-9 semi-automatic hand gun. Since they won’t do it voluntarily, he has taken them to small claims court.
Marina Del Rey-based sheriff’s deputies seized the gun when they responded to a call on Oct. 23, 2001, from a neighbor of Giglio’s who overheard him and his fiance passionately arguing.
“They took my gun when I had all the necessary permits,” he said at his small claims hearing Thursday. “I legally owned the gun, and they still took it away from me.”
When officers arrived, they detained Giglio as he was walking out of his apartment to his car, he said. They proceeded to search him and ask him if he was armed.
Giglio said he told the deputies he was unarmed, but he had a Glock-9 in the apartment. After searching his home, Giglio said the deputies took the gun and had him evaluated by the department’s Psychiatric Evaluation Team. A Glock-9 is a compact, semi-automatic.9 millimeter hand gun that is often used by military and law enforcement personnel.
“They said it was loaded,” he said. “But it wasn’t. There was no magazine and there was no bullet in the chamber.”
According to Giglio, after the incident he then spent some time in a hospital but he was never charged with a crime.
“There’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to get my gun back,” he said.
But Richard Barker, an official representing L.A. County Sheriff’s at the small claims hearing, said Giglio, who appeared in slacks and tie, had already unsuccessfully tried to retrieve his gun through a San Fernando court.
At the sheriff’s department’s urging, the judge in that case had Giglio evaluated by a court-appointed psychiatrist who believed the gun should be withheld from Giglio, Barker said. The judge agreed and ruled against him, Barker said.
“The whole thing is morally corrupt,” Giglio told the court Thursday. “I saw their psychiatrist for less than five minutes. He looked at my clothes and basically made up his mind.”
“The whole thing is morally corrupt. I saw their psychiatrist for less than five minutes. He looked at my clothes and basically made up his mind.” — — BRIAN GIGLIO Plaintiff
Barker said the gun — which Giglio said is worth more than a $1,000 — may have been destroyed after the San Fernando judge’s ruling.
“Not sure if the weapon has been destroyed or if it’s still being held safely,” he said.
Barker argued a previous court had already ruled on the case and therefore it couldn’t be retried in Santa Monica, and he said Giglio has filed a tort case in Los Angeles Superior Court for the return of the gun as well.
But Giglio said the Small Claims Advisory Board said he could seek recourse through a small claims proceeding. Commissioner Donna Groman said she was inclined to deny Giglio’s claim with prejudice, but she instead scheduled another hearing on Feb. 12.
She has asked Giglio to return with a legal citation showing her that Santa Monica Small Claims Court has jurisdiction over his case.
“If you have already filed a petition for the return of a firearm that has already been dismissed, I may not have the legal grounds to do what you are asking,” she said. “So before we continue, I need to see some kind of legal authority that I can hear this case.”
Giglio succeeded only in out-dressing the sheriff’s representative in Round One. While Barker showed up in sweater and jeans, Giglio donned slacks and a tie.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 10, 2003. Read the original PDF.