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Committee backs bill to speed return of officers' weapons after investigations
Summary
Senate Bill 288, sponsored by Senator Logie, would set evidentiary guidelines and timelines for the return of law enforcement weapons after officer-involved shootings; committee recommended do pass and the record shows a 50-aye vote in the excerpted transcript.
Senate Bill 288, which would establish evidentiary guidelines for seizure of law enforcement weapons and require expedited return under certain conditions once an investigation is complete, was recommended for passage by the Montana Senate committee of the whole after sponsor remarks and questions from members.
Sponsor Senator Logie said the bill responds to concerns that officers’ personal or department-issued firearms in some counties have been held for long periods during investigations, in some instances more than two years, creating staffing and equipment costs for small counties.
"Some of these weapons have been held for over 2 years," Senator Logie said, describing Cascade County as an example where six weapons were taken for an investigation. He said the process can force officers or counties to replace weapons at significant cost.
Senator Logie said the bill is intended "to, once the investigation is done, to just try and, push to get those weapons back out to those officers a little bit sooner, to alleviate that problem and that extra expense for those counties." The transcript records a question from Senator Fuller: "Do law enforcement officers supply their own weapons in this state?" Senator Logie replied that in some counties officers do supply their own weapons and that county resources vary.
After debate closed, the committee voted on the motion to recommend the bill do pass. The transcript excerpt includes a roll call statement: "Senator Heyman's voting by proxy with 50 senators voting aye," recorded after the motion (the transcript does not list individual no votes in the excerpt). The committee then transmitted its recommendation for further Senate consideration.
The bill text referenced in the committee remarks includes two sections and would set procedures for how evidence firearms are handled during investigations and provide timelines for return once investigative steps conclude. No floor amendments are recorded in the provided excerpt.
