Sacramento police collect 275 guns at buyback: ‘I just want to get it out of my house’
Otis Jenkins had two rifles stored in a closet, way back where it would be tough for anyone to find, in his Sacramento home. That’s what he thought.
One day, his 4-year-old granddaughter asked him about the rifles she found in the closet. The old rifles collecting dust in his closet weren’t loaded, and Jenkins’ granddaughter wasn’t injured. But he learned you can’t hide much from a child, including a gun.
“If you think you’re hiding something from them, you’re wrong,” Jenkins said. “They’ll find it.”
Jenkins was among hundreds of people who lined up in their vehicles Saturday at the Sacramento Police Department headquarters. They were there to turn in firearms at a gun buyback event in which police exchanged the weapons for gift cards — no questions asked.
“The purpose is to provide people with a safe and legal outlet to get rid of unwanted firearms,” said Officer Chad Lewis, a police spokesman. “And to remove firearms from situations where they could be potentially used for a crime.”
This is the second time this year the Police Department has hosted a buyback event to reduce gun violence. Officers collected 134 firearms and ran out of $50 gas gift cards at the May 21 event.
Amazon gift cards for guns
This time, the Police Department was ready for the high demand with 252 $50 Amazon gift cards available for people turning in a functioning gun. Officers collected 275 firearms at the event, including privately manufactured firearms also known as ghost guns.
“We did gas for guns last time, because that’s when gas prices had skyrocketed,” Tammy Hall, an administrative analyst for the department’s Community Advancement Unit. “Right now, people are getting ready for the holidays. So we thought gifts for guns would be good.”
Like the event in May, vehicles were already waiting in line outside police headquarters off of Freeport Boulevard an hour before the 10 a.m. start of the buyback.
Jared Gaynor drove from his Galt home to get rid of a single-shot 12-gauge shotgun, a .22 caliber long rifle and a 308 rifle. The guns were old, and he no longer had any use for them.
Gaynor said he’s had a gun stolen from his home in a burglary, and he didn’t want that to happen again. He wasn’t surprised to see so many other people getting rid of guns.
“With the rash of gun violence, people are being more proactive,” Gaynor said. “I just wish there was more funding for events like this. I mean, it’s obviously wanted.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a crime prevention plan that would include creating a statewide gun buyback program, working with local law enforcement to provide matching grants and safe-disposal opportunities.
Critics of gun buyback events say the efforts fail to produce any significant reduction in gun violence. People who have guns for the purpose of committing crimes are likely not going to be turning in their firearms at a police buyback event.
Sacramento-area volunteers
Patrick Mahan said taking a gun off the street that could potentially hurt a resident or a police officer is worth all the effort behind the event. He was among 10 volunteers assisting officers as they exchanged gift cards for guns.
“In the United States, there’s just too many guns per person,” Mahan said. “They’re used in crimes, (guns are) stolen in burglaries. They’re too accessible.”
Mahan and the other volunteers greeted participants after they parked their vehicles and the officers pulled the unloaded firearms from their trunks. Those were the safety rules for the event: participants have to remain in their vehicles as officers safely examined and cataloged the firearms.
The volunteers explained the exchange process as they waited for the gift card and handed each of the participants a small bag with gun safety information and a free gun lock. Mahan and other volunteers were from a Sacramento-area interfaith group called North State Ecumenical Conference, which wants to organize its own gun exchange event with help from the Police Department.
“Most of them have been willed or gifted these (guns) from their grandfather, and they never use them,” Mahan said. “And they go, ‘Why do I have this in my house?’ And they just want to get it out of the house.”
Angelo Davila waited Saturday in a line that stretched about four blocks outside the police parking lot just to get rid of a 10-year-old .357 revolver. He said the revolver’s panel is broken, but he didn’t want to risk someone stealing it from his Sacramento home.
“It’s just there not doing me any good,” Davila said. “So, I wanted to turn it in. It’s the responsible thing to do.”
Pat Caudle of Rancho Cordova was among the last participants waiting to turn in their guns about 30 minutes after the two-hour event was scheduled to end. She was getting rid of a handgun her father gave to her husband long ago. Her father and her husband has since died, and the unloaded gun remained at her home on the top of a cabinet only 6-foot-4 husband could reach.
“I have no use for the gun,” Caudle said. “I just want to get it out of my house.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 1:09 PM.
