EDISON — The Edison Police Department will be selling their 240 currently issued firearms to licensed firearms dealers.
The move is an effort to offset the cost of new firearms. The Township Council voted at its Nov. 28 meeting in favor of the second reading of an amendment to the disposition of firearms ordinance to add that a firearm assigned to a member of the police department may be replaced by selling it to a licensed firearms dealer.
Police Sgt. Michael Cimmino said a gun is estimated at $300, and the net earnings from the potential firearms sales would range from $40,000 to $45,000.
No decision has been made on what type of handgun the department is going to purchase, Cimmino said.
“The cost of these handguns would be well over $100,000 to $120,000, which would include leather gear and additional magazines,” he said.
Police Chief Thomas Bryan has said the firearms currently in use are close to 10 years old. Although the sale of the handguns is not a priority as of right now, it is something that needs to be talked about due to the wear and tear that the firearms have undergone over the past decade, Cimmino said.
Under current law, a firearm that needs replacing must be melted, destroyed or donated to a legitimate museum for historical purposes (the firearm must be rendered inoperable in that case).
The ordinance states that a record shall be made and retained by the police of the make, model, serial number, year and manufacturer of the individual firearms in each batch of replaced firearms that is destroyed, sold or otherwise conveyed by the Edison Police Division as permitted.
Councilman Robert Diehl voted against the measure and Mayor Antonia Ricigliano said she was not in favor of selling the guns, either.
Resident Esther Nemitz said she is against the ordinance, citing concern over the gun violence across the nation. She said a firearm should not be put back on the street in any way.