Westover to use unclaimed property auction revenue to add rolling stock

WESTOVER, W.Va. — The Westover Police Department has earned more than $6,500 in an unclaimed property firearms auction run by West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore.

The auction is held in Charleston and is only open to Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders.

“It’s an honor to conduct our annual unclaimed property firearms auction to raise money for the brave men and women across West Virginia who risk their lives to keep our communities safe,” Treasurer Moore said. “This year’s auction raised a record amount of funds that police departments can use to invest in new equipment, facilities, and training programs they need to protect and serve our citizens.”

Westover Police Chief Joe Adams said the exact amount raised was $6,615.

“They sell the guns for the law enforcement agencies, and they take 10% of the proceeds of the sale and give the agency 90%,” Adams said.

The guns in the auction accumulate over time from cases investigated by the department. Some of the owners elect not to take the guns back due to the circumstances, and other guns are found or confiscated through law enforcement action.

“Sometimes people find guns in parking lots, and other ones we took on a search warrant, maybe a drug search warrant,” Adams said.

The Ford Motor Company supplies nearly two-thirds of police cruisers nationwide, but those numbers decreased sharply in 2020 as the movement to defund the police grew. Adams said the two cruisers approved to be purchased by the council could not be purchased because orders were not being filled.

The car for Westover was purchased in Pennsylvania with some minor damage but will be repaired, configured, and pressed into service.

“We’ll use the money to equip that car with the lights, sirens, control panel, police radio, radar, and all of that,” Adams said.





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