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All property coming into the possession of the City shall be disposed of as follows and in accordance with the City code, rules and regulations, unless otherwise provided in this article:

(A) Abandoned and Unclaimed Vehicles. Abandoned and unclaimed vehicles shall be disposed of as provided in Arizona Revised Statutes Title 28, Chapter 11 (A.R.S. § 28-4831 et seq.).

(B) Contraband/Illegal/Hazardous Materials. Contraband, illegal or hazardous materials shall not be returned to any person, and instead shall be:

(1) Destroyed by or retained and utilized by the Police Department for law enforcement purposes; or

(2) Sold, loaned or transferred to any local, state or federal law enforcement agency for law enforcement purposes, to the extent allowed by law. Expenses for keeping and transferring such property are to be paid by the recipient.

(3) The handling and disposition of the contraband, illegal or hazardous materials shall be in accordance with federal, state and local law, order or policy.

(C) Evidence. Property seized for, or used as, evidence in any criminal proceeding shall be disposed of pursuant to Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 28.2, with the items that cannot be returned to a legal owner disposed of as provided in this article.

(D) Firearms. Firearms shall be:

(1) Sold, pursuant to court order, to any business that is authorized to receive and dispose of the firearm under federal and state law and that shall sell the firearm to the public according to federal and state law, unless the firearm is otherwise prohibited from being sold under federal or state law; or

(2) Traded to a federal firearms licensed business for ammunition, weapons, equipment or other materials to be exclusively used for law enforcement purposes.

(E) Forfeited Property. Property seized for forfeiture shall be disposed of as provided in Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13 (A.R.S. § 13-4301 et seq.).

(F) Found Property. Found property may be returned to the person who found the property if all of the following:

(1) The property is not contraband;

(2) It has remained unclaimed for 30 days after reasonable efforts have been made to locate and notify the owner; and

(3) The person who found the property is not a public employee of a federal, state or local government and the property was not found during the course of the duties of office or employment.

(G) Intangible Property. Intangible property shall be disposed of pursuant to the Unclaimed Property Act, Arizona Revised Statutes Title 44 (A.R.S. § 44-301 et seq.).

(H) Perishable Property. Perishable items not otherwise disposed of as provided herein, or reclaimed by the owner, may be destroyed within 24 hours of its acquisition by the City.

(I) Police Canine(s). Police canines may be:

(1) Transferred to a police canine handler or the equivalent, as approved by the Chief of Police and the Procurement Manager and by way of an agreement. Expenses for transferring the canine are to be paid by the recipient; or

(2) Sold, loaned or transferred to any local, state or federal law enforcement agency for law enforcement purposes, to the extent allowed by law. Expenses for transferring the canine are to be paid by the recipient; or

(3) Euthanized, if deemed appropriate.

(J) Safekeeping. Property which is held for safekeeping by the Police Department, or entrusted to the Police Department for safekeeping, shall be disposed of after the Department provides notice to the person entrusting the property or the property owner. The notice shall advise the owner to claim the property no later than 30 days following the date of the notice or else the property will be disposed of by the Department as provided in this article. (Ord. 10-1212, passed 4-26-10; Am. Ord. 13-1280, passed 1-14-2013)