Buyback Goes Great Guns On Its First Day

Scores of San Diegans sold their firearms Tuesday, on the first day of the San Diego Police Department’s gun buyback program.

With a backdrop of constant popping at the police pistol range east of downtown, police officials logged each transfer of a weapon, then immediately issued department checks for $25 or $50 for each gun.

Citizens lined up, 10 deep at times, at a mobile office from which police quickly took down driver’s license information, checked weapons for ammunition, then jammed the barrels with folded construction paper.

Designed to reduce violent crime and accidental shootings, the program ran from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

By the end of the day, 105 pistols, rifles and shotguns were exchanged for $25 apiece, said police spokesman Dave Cohen. Automatic and semiautomatic weapons were good for $50 apiece; one person turned in an M11 Cobra semiautomatic pistol, said department property manager Mona Vallon.

Tuesday’s response surpassed police expectations, despite competition from retail gun shops, Vallon said. Shop advertisements this week encouraged owners to have their weapons appraised before participating in the buyback, she said.

But for most who turned out Tuesday, payment was incidental. When Josie Rhodes of Kensington heard about the buy-back program on a radio news broadcast Tuesday morning, she decided to cash in her gun.

“I’m glad to get rid of it,” Rhodes said, as she picked up her check. “I’ve been terrified for years.”

The 50-year-old teacher at Mt. Carmel High School said she bought the petite, pearl-handled, .22-caliber pistol in 1972, after she was mugged in her home.

“It was a knee-jerk reaction. I really didn’t think it through at all,” she said. “As soon as I bought it, I realized it scared me more than I needed it.”

Over the years, the loaded gun shifted from hiding place to hiding place: under the bed, in a night stand drawer, on a shelf in a entryway closet, Rhodes said.

“If I went into the closet to get something, I would worry it was going to go off,” she said.

Rhodes was among the first wave of

citizens to turn out Tuesday. After completing the three-minute processing to get her check, Rhodes said the police program solved a dilemma that had nagged her for years.

“It’s been sitting there, making me nervous for so long. I really didn’t know how I was going to get rid of it,” Rhodes said.

Farther down the line came Harold Savage, 68, of San Diego, who deposited five handguns and six blanket-wrapped rifles at the processing station. His check for $275 topped all comers, Vallon said.

Chuck Baggett, 35, of San Diego, brought a 19th-Century Spanish Mauser rifle. His 8-year-old daughter Michelle toted the detached bolt.

Baggett said the rifle was still operable, and had been kicking around his closet for about a dozen years.

“My daughter’s just got to the age when she will notice something, and start asking questions about it,” Baggett said. “That’s when I have to start looking out for things like this.”

Michelle concurred: “I know it’s dangerous, so it’s good to get rid of it.”

Although some of the weapons were worth well beyond the buying price--a new Cobra assault pistol was valued at $450--police said they hoped the principle behind the program compensated for any monetary loss.

“These guns will never be used to commit a crime or an accidental shooting,” Cohen said. “If you sell to a shop, there is a good chance that somewhere down the road, the gun may fall into irresponsible hands.” The weapons will be kept in police storage, then later destroyed by metal shredders.

Cohen said the program is designed to reduce the number of public firearms, and will probably have no direct effect on the weapons used by criminals.

“We know we are not going to eliminate crime with this program,” he said. “And we don’t expect the bad guys to come in.”

The department used $25,000 from the department’s asset seizure fund, which draws revenue from money and property confiscated from criminals. Another $1,000 was donated this week by a local cable television company.

The program is run from the police pistol range at 4008 Federal Blvd., near Home Avenue, through April 25. For schedule information, call 531-2196.