Arms Seizure OKd in Home Violence : Crime: City Council approves ordinance instructing police to take guns and other weapons in domestic violence cases.

The San Diego City Council approved an ordinance Monday directing police to seize guns and other deadly weapons in all domestic violence cases.

The amendment to the San Diego Municipal Code passed 8 to 1, despite opposition from Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer and the city attorney’s office.

Wolfsheimer and Assistant City Atty. Curtis Fitzpatrick said the measure might conflict with constitutional rights against unlawful search and seizure.

Wolfsheimer cast the dissenting vote. Councilman Ron Roberts was absent.

“I think we have state and federal constitutional problems here,” Wolfsheimer said after proposing that the city study a different course of action. “I think we should find one that holds water legally.”

If police are required by law to confiscate weapons during domestic violence investigations, the city might be sued if weapons left behind are later used to assault a spouse, Deputy City Atty. Joseph Battaglino said.

Police may now confiscate a weapon that is considered evidence in an investigation, is in plain sight or is found after residents allow their property to be searched, Battaglino said. Weapons not used in a crime are generally returned after 72 hours, said San Diego Police Capt. Gary Learn, head of the department’s Family Protection Unit.

Mayor Maureen O’Connor criticized opposition to the proposal.

“To sit here and do nothing is a cop-out, pardon the expression,” O’Connor said. “I think we should introduce the ordinance and let our legislators in Sacramento clean it up.”

As of Nov. 1, 1992, police responded to about 12,000 domestic violence calls. More than three-quarters of the calls resulted in criminal arrests. In about 18% of the cases, a gun, knife or other deadly weapon was used, Learn said.

Each month police impound about 50 guns and other weapons in domestic violence cases. The figure represents about half of all weapons confiscated by police, Learn said.

In an unrelated matter, the council met in closed session to discuss possible city liability for environmental damage caused by the rupture in a sewage outfall pipeline off Point Loma in February.

The council received a preliminary report last week on the cause of the rupture. Failure Analysis Associates, an independent team of forensic consultants, found that the rupture probably occurred when a high-pressure air pocket exploded in the pipeline.

City officials previously said heavy surf was responsible for the pipeline break. Maintenance workers disputed the city’s explanation, calling attention to the air explosion theory.