My Sheriff has bought new service weapons for all of his deputies. He now wants to let the deputies purchase their old weapons from the county. Does anyone know if he can do this? Thanks.

I'm certainly no expert, and there may be exceptions or loopholes for service pistols, but 263.152 would seem to mandate sale by auction.

The only authorization I can find which permits peace officers to purchase their old duty weapons is section 614.051 of the Government Code which, by its terms, applies to "state agencies." Thus, I concur with Mike. They can buy the guns, but they'll have to do it cash-and-carry at the county auction. Now, does a county auction at which guns are sold make the county responsible for conducting background checks under the Brady Act?

Thanks, Mike and Scott.