Returning to his burglarized Los Angeles mansion from what I’m sure was an epic trip, Dan Bilzerian found that most of his firearms, magazines, and ammunition were missing. What you wouldn’t expect to find is that the burglars weren’t able to penetrate his steel-hardened gun closet, and left the house ballistically empty-handed. Wait, so then who forcibly broke into the closet and stole the guns? Why, the LAPD, of course. . .
According to a story in the Washington Times…
The responding officers confiscated nine firearms supposedly under the premise that they wanted to secure the home in case the burglars attempted a second break-in, Mr. Bilzerian said. But strangely, the officers left behind an arsenal of shotguns and a high-powered semiautomatic carbine rifle like the ones used by special operations troops.
Before you cry foul on the news media going full auto in their wayward descriptions of firearms, the cops left his “SCAR 17 with thermal optic” behind. So, okay, close enough.
Apparently breaking into this hardened room and confiscating most of the contents, while leaving — now unsecured, mind you — a SCAR 17 and some shotguns behind, is a net positive to public safety. Despite the fact that Bilzerian’s assistant and his security guard arrived on the scene while police were there — even shooting down the LAPD’s “request” to break into the closet — and could have kept it under guard until Bilzerian returned.
No warrant, by the way. I suppose once a criminal breaches the front door, the police are then a-okay to break into any secure area they please. But naturally, the story gets even worse!
Despite Bilzerian’s vast resources, close relationship with at least one politician (CA Congressman Rohrabacher, judging from various Instagram photos), and an attorney working the case, it took two months to get his firearms back. Without any of the magazines. Or ammo.
It sounds like the magazines have inexplicably disappeared. The ammunition, on the other hand, naturally just wouldn’t be safe to return with the firearms so it’s in some sort of indefinite purgatory. Conclusion from a handful of experts on these sorts of matters: it’s gone. Not “don’t hold your breath” gone, but more like “black hole” gone.
The Washington Times article has more details.
It’s amazing how they can just steal that stuff. The magazines..and not returning the ammo, isn’t there a custody record? Can’t it be looked at by anyone other than LAPD…no..probably not. Because they are thieves…unless proven otherwise. They basically just robbed the man and are saying FU.
If this is true, I am profoundly disgusted by their actions.
Has there ever been a time, since they invented the acronym SWAT in 1971, that LAPD has not been profoundly disgusting?
They even have that show I believe the name of it was life on the PL APV I watched it a couple of times and it was horrible how they treated people It was so obvious That they were just following procedure didn’t really care about the people that they were supposed to be serving Really bad PR!
That was supposed to say life on the beat LAPD. Horrible show horrible police force!
It’s f’ing always true, Tom.
I think it was N.W.A that made a song expressing just how I feel about police when I hear about this kind of stuff.
So you condemn all members of a group based on the actions of a guilty minority?
Congrats on being just like the anti-2A crowd.
let’s assume there are bad cops and not yet bad cops. which is the minority, and by what measure do you draw that conclusion?
let’s assume there are bad cops and bad cops. which is the minority?
bad cops and bad cops?
yes.
if not yet bad cops do nothing to purge the currently bad cops, then all cops are bad cops; bad cops and bad cops. is this not so? not yet bad cops should resign if the command structure (and the rest of the politicos) do not purge the bad cops. else, you are left with bad cops who abuse their position, and bad cops who just keep their mouths shut.
The police, aka law enforcement, I just merely, the government’s preferred gang of enforcers.
The police, aka law enforcement, is just merely, the government’s preferred gang of enforcers.
“So you condemn all members of a group based on the actions of a guilty minority?”
Or, perhaps he just condemns the existence of any group that can even conceivably get away with stealing other people’s stuff. Regardless of whether every single one of it’s members have yet done so? Da Police is an institution, just as much as it is an aggregate of individual officers.
George, you do know what the concepts of “jurisdiction” and “innocent until PROVEN guilty” are, right?
A cop from one state has no legal say in the actions of a cop in another state. A cop in the same state can’t initiate legal action against the other cop without proof of the first cop’s crimes. Silence does not equal compliance, otherwise there’d be at least a small number of rapists who shouldn’t be in prison.
Speaking of proof, there is no evidence that supports the assumption that all, or even a majority, of cops are bad. This is literally the same argument the anti-2A crowd uses. “If one person who has a gun kills all these people, that MUST mean that anyone who owns a gun is just as dangerous!”
nope.
every segment of police (dept., station, division, etc.) knows who the bad cops are. those segments are responsible for their people, and must be the ones to dismiss the bad actors. if there are structures in place to prevent such, then general refusal of “good” cops to deploy with bad actors should be the norm. failing that, resignation is the moral challenge. to resign from a force takes more courage than our military leaders have, so a cop who says “NO !” deserves our utmost respect.
potg quickly call-out those among us who misuse/abuse their gun rights. because we are not a formal organization, we cannot throw-out bad actors. but we can be loud and vocal that we do not support, tolerate or even like such people….and we do so often.
Disgusted. Not surprised.
LAPD is either totally incompetent or totally corrupt. No other options available.
or both, the two are not incompatible.
Duh! They’re part of the government.
Nice strawman argument.
Do you even know what a straw man argument is? I didn’t think so.
someone doesn’t understand “strawman” arguments. the person you responded to did not set up a fake proposition, then enter a bogus response to address it. the person you responded to mere drew a conclusion from the facts presented. drawing such conclusion may suffer a number of defects, but does not create a “strawman argument”.
They basically kept what they could that wasn’t serialized. If those mags are grandfathered that could be a huge amount of damages honestly.
Did the latest LA ban on standard-capacity magazines remove the grandfathering clause?
It is possible the magazines held more than 10 rounds. California state law restricts magazine size, and police wouldnt be allowed to give back contraband items. One more reason I don’t live in California.
Only in the city of LA… Not the county (from what I understand)….
This guy is a Fu**tard. Still, doesn’t deserve to be stolen from by the LAPD.
Aaaahhh, freedom. (To live in fear of the State, that is.) Keeping your property safe _within_ your property, no so available. This kind of crap makes a video in your house seem useful.
What good would a video do in this case? The LAPD isn’t denying they broke into the safe and took the guns. The mags and ammo presumably “went missing” (read: made their way to a few cops’ homes) at some point after they left his house.
“Feerdom”.
Doesn’t surprise me when you’re are group of jackoffs that basically get away with murder as long as the police especially LAPD you’ll think you can do whatever you want…… Assholes the cops will forever stay…….
That is so typical of the LAPD I’ve seen many of raids Where constitutional rights were just not even recognized to the so-called victim becomes a victim from the police as well ridiculous those cops should lose their jobs!
He must be special, because most folks can’t own that stuff there.
That is so typical of the LAPD I’ve seen many of raids Where constitutional rights were just not even recognized to the so-called victim becomes a victim from the police as well ridiculous those cops should lose their jobs!
All you have to do is watch any of the Hollywood TV or movies where the cops in LA or any large city routinely snicker as they devise methods of circumventing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. All those Hollywood Liberals apparently agree that the ends justify the means and if they disapprove of what you are doing they are fully justified in finding a way to violate your rights with plausible deniability.
How many times have you seen the movie cops without a warrant pause at the front door, cup their ear, and announce, “I think I hear someone calling for help inside!” before they break down the door and conduct an illegal search?
But…but…Chris Dorner way lying when he said that crimes were committed by LAPD employees!
That’s why we had to fire him for refusing to retract his statements!
Heres’ hoping he takes this to court and burns them to the ground for this… He certainly has the money to do it with.
If he has enough money to do that (and we all know that he does), why in the HELL is he still living in California?
Based on what I know about Bilzerian’s apparent lifestyle, I suspect the high concentration of dumb, desperate bimbos with fake knockers in the Los Angeles area is a big factor.
I remember the good old days when cops just stole apples. And maybe some drug money.
And “We the People,” who were supposed to keep government in check, let them get away with it. So they got ballsier……
It sucks that this guy stuff got taken away it also sucks hows he is apparently the only one that can own all that stuff. at first i though it was pre ban then i noticed the salvo 12g silencer… must find loop hole
From what I gather, he plays with most of his firearms stuff in Nevada.
Yeah his loophole is he’s filthy rich! It sickens me that only people of extreme wealth in California can actually own firearms Of any type or make. Due to the fact that they know people, leaving the little guy to fight for his life with whatever he’s able to scrounge up usually off the streets In California Beautiful country in California horrible laws horrible politicians horrible enforcement
I live in CA. I’m not extremely wealthy and yet I own safes(plural) full of all types of guns.
For those of you that have never been here. CA is not L.A. from the mexican border to the Oregon state line. Gangbangers, illegals and gay people are not the only ones that live here.
Living in CA I can play in the desert, mountains and beaches. All in the same day if I desire.
Does CA have its problems? Most assurdedly. But so does every other state and country I’ve visited and or lived in.
Except for trolls those of us that comment here are 2a supporters. Regardless of our zip codes.
All I’m saying is California infringes on your constitutional rights more than the state of Florida or Texas that’s all I’m saying It’s not like a state or a pissing contest.
Oh, California…
All I really needed to read was “LAPD.” The rest of the story was sort of a given.
So, when is Bilzerian planning on leaving the People’s Republic of California?”
I thought suppressors were *verboten* in California.
Or are those stock pictures?
another trial run. all these episodes are documented and analyzed, including the responses of the target, press and the rest of the country.
The more shit I read about bad cops, the more I think they deserve to get shot.
Any possibility of the sane people leaving
California. Shut the ports & divert cargo to WA, Houston & New Orleans. Let the nutjobs have it. I’ll take in a refugee family until they can find housing.
BTW I don’t know of any agency that would return the ammo. Actually best they did not, possession of ammo in a police station likely would have dropped a charge on him. The mags depending on the status of them (grandfathered) is another matter.
So it’s okay for the cops to steal from him?
Possession of a firearm in a police station is a charge too, but they managed to return (some of) his guns. Hey, all they have to do is walk it out of the lobby or out the back door and there is no crime. The reason they can’t return it is because it has all been shot up by the cops that took it for “safe keeping.”
Actually talked with one of the local judges in hunting blind yesterday. A few Agencies returned the ammo from seized weapons and it ended up used to commit suicide in 2 cases and a nut job loaded up in the station & opened fire in another. Due to lawsuits they destroy the ammo. I had a couple of pistols stolen in a move we made, they were recovered. I didn’t get ammo back either and was handed them in a sealed evidence box zip tied like a gun show. Even though I was on duty carrying a side arm policy was followed. Policy that came from lawyers, politicians and insurance companies not law enforcement. Stop BS litigation & reform insurance. Also no lawyers as politicians will go a long way.
Somehow I suspect the LAPD’s method of “destroying” ammo is one round at a time at the police firing range…
Bilzerian lives in Las Vegas as well and it’s almost certain that the weapons pictured here are from pictures taken in Nevada and not CA.
There are police reports, there is chain of custody, and there is personal responsibility.
Don’t ever let anyone show up at your house like they are citizen+, and you are just a citizen. Historybis replete with how that’s gone horribly wrong every time and requires extreme violence on a large scale to right it.
They’re cops — it’s what they do.
To all you cops out there who want to scream “There are good cops!”, I say, no, there aren’t — not until you fix this.
Umm, wha?
So all doctors are bad until we good doctors fix the bad ones? All plumbers, car mechanics etc are bad based on the same logic?
Cops are citizens, we say so often enough, the only people responsible to fix them is all of us!
just because doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. don’t properly purge bad actors does not give cops a pass. doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. don’t have authority or propensity to put you under threat of arrest or deadly force. doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. cannot force you at gunpoint to be face down on the dirt, with handcuffs binding your arms behind your back. doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. don’t have the ability to erroneously launch an armed raid on your home, in the middle of the night, point guns at you and shoot you 16 times for failure to comply with intentionally confusing and conflicting commands.
pretending that all professionals are equal in the amount of terror they can unleash on the public is facile, sophomoric, intellectually dishonest and silly. such people forfeit any credibility they think they possess.
Website seems to be having tech difficulties, so I’m responding late to this, if you ever see it. I’ve already forfeited any credibility I have anyway.. oh well.
rah rah rah.. hate on cops… etc etc rinse repeat.
ok now that that’s done.
Police are citizens, despite “the amount of terror they can unleash on the public”. it is our job, as citizenry, to police them, not only their own. So no, I don’t judge the others based on the bad apples… but wait! you’ve changed my mind!
yeah, been seeing a bunch of my comments hang in the ether somewhere, and then not arrive.
not hating on cops, just observing and judging from outcomes.
if police force members, command structure and political leaders do not publicly proclaim and demonstrate a policy of ridding themselves of bad cops, then at best those people are facilitators, and wear the same badge of dishonor. to borrow a phrase….”if you’re not against bad cops, you are for them.” lack of action speaks volumes, especially when accompanied by no words.
wordpress is having issues — I’m on several WP blogs, and they’re all having BIG editing and posting problems — this is the second day.
The big difference is, a “bad doctor” isn’t investigated (and virtually always cleared) by other doctors.
The “blue wall of silence” is a real thing, and as long as the so-called “good cops” keep circling the wagons around the bad ones, I’ll keep lumping them together.
Another bit of fallacious reasoning.
The difference between cops and every other occupation is that cops take an oath to uphold the law. It’s their JOB to eliminate bad cops from their ranks. If they aren’t doing that, then they, too, are bad cops.
I agree if you are a good cop law abiding And you witness A crime committed by other officers even if their rank and their Years on the department exceeds yours its your own and responsibility to take that directly to internal affairs so that they can get to the root of the problem and eliminate those bad apples if you do not do this you are just as guilty as the cops that are stealing the drugs and drug money or Firearms or what have you your gift is crooked End of story.
Doing nothing when faced with criminal acts is tantamount to being complicit, from which comes the term “accomplice”.
Is this the guy posting on TTAG running for president? Sorry I’m old and don’t keep up. If I had that kind of $ I sure as hell wouldn’t have my shite where 5-O could get at it. And I’m pretty freakin’ ambivalent about him…
Outrageous. Reminds me of the police confiscations during and after Katrina. What is your lawful authority?
“Go *obscenity* yourself, citizen! I am the law! I do what I want and you shut your pie-hole about it!”
To all you cops out there who want to scream “There are good cops!”, I say…
Over one billion Muslims in the world want to scream, “There are good Muslims!” and I say, when you are willing to confront the Muslims who commit atrocities in the name of Islam and purge this evil from the world, then you will be trusted in our communities again. I am not holding my breath, nor giving up my weapons, waiting for that to happen.
Who was it who asked the pertinent question, “Who will guard us from the guardians?”
I knew someone would go there. Sorry, Cliff, but the analogy with Muslims doesn’t quite make it: they haven’t entered into a contractual relationship to (as they claim) “serve and protect” us. The police are supposed to uphold our rights, not violate them, so as long as they don’t clean the slime out of their ranks they aren’t doing their jobs. Guardians who won’t police their own aren’t guardians at all.
The parallel argument for Muslims, BTW, would be that if they want us to treat them with respect, they at least need to eliminate the barbarians from their ranks. They have no obligation to do so as the police do, though.
Further proof of how socialist the democrats/California have become. Disregarding the Constitution and doing whay they damn will please. Remeber that when you go to the polls in Nov., if you want more Hilary Clinton is your candidate then.
For a guy who has some bucks, he sure isnt too bright…. what idiot builds a gun collection in LA and expects anything less?
Its a commonly known fact in CA that if your gun ever comes under the control of the police at any level higher than a routine traffic stop. They are gone.
If you need your gun for a self defense shoot, its gone. You are robbed and the weapons are recovered, they’re gone. You surrender you weapon for voluntarily, or involuntarily, its gone.
Hell, even a routine traffic stop in some areas of the golden state will end with a confiscation.
Its not fair, its not right, its not legal. But its California, and in California, those sorts of things, are also gone.
WE’RE THE POLICE. AND WE’RE HERE TO HELP.”
First off, haven’t there been major laws recently placed about Police RICO’ing goods?
Secondly, Don’t store all your goodies in one place. Have multiple boat accidents, despite it costing more.
Maybe it’s my WV roots but I’ve always tried to practice “stash” guns. Never put all your eggs in one basket.
This story does not surprise me a bit and I live in CA where it is common knowledge that once the police have any of your firearms consider them gone for good and I have heard this from others and read this for years as well.
Quick story when I was in HS back in 89’ I was at a party and the police came to shut it down. I drove a car with a hatch back at the time which had my Paintball gun in the back (I had played with my friends earlier in the day) Because I left the car unlocked they just opened the door and then the hatch in the back and took it. Forget about constitutional rights here they know you don’t you don’t know anything about that stuff so they do whatever they want. Keep mind I was not diving; it was not my house or smarted off to them. It was like an opportunity for them.
I ask the cop what are doing and told me something to the effect that “keep guns off the street”. Then I asked him “how do I get it back?” you will need to contact the San Bernardino Police Department about that. Luckily my father knew some people in the department at the time and was able to get it back. The only way I was able to get it back was show a valid ID and a receipt. Keep in mind this was a Paintball gun and I or it was now involved or charged with a crime.
I told a friend at time about this who’s Dad was a CHP back then and he told that take peoples stuff all the time. He had been involved in multiple enforcement stops that involved other agencies and would just routinely confiscate peoples stuff and keep it for themselves. Granted these people were probably doing something illegal but is was search and seizure. Although this was back in the 80’s you still read about it today were someone has too much cash on them and the Cops just take it. At the time I was naïve and did not really believe that Police would do this kind of thing.
Fast forward to 2004 the same city where I grew up the sheriff of San Bernardino Floyd Tidwell who was Sheriff from 1983 to 1991 was arrested on felony counts of concealing stolen property. During his time as Sheriff he took at least 523 guns from evidence rooms during his eight-year tenure. Tidwell stashed boxes of guns in his garage and would give them away to family and friends. He was also in possession of a non-register NFA item (Full Auto M-2 carbine) as well.
So I guess my friend was right all the time and the funny thing about Sheriff Floyd Tidwell the DA said “Incarceration was never an option,” said Assistant Dist. Atty. Michael Risley. “He’s 74. He did serve the people well in many respects for many years. We wanted him to acknowledge his wrongdoing and to seek his cooperation in correcting this matter.” So Under a plea agreement with the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office, Tidwell will pay a $10,000 fine and cooperate with investigators who are trying to recover the firearms. He will not serve any time in jail.
Here is the link to the full article http://articles.latimes.com/2004/may/11/local/me-sheriff11 it amazing it did not serve any jail time.
Truth be told if Cops see a Firearm in CA they will take it and keep it for themselves or just have it destroyed.
Where is Serpico when you need him?
serpico was/is a GOOD COP; exposed massive corruption, then resigned when it became obvious nypd would never be cleaned up (a bullet in the face is quite persuasive). doubt it ever was.
Any sentient being with a pulse and an IQ above room temperature knows this kind of flagrant lawless official jackbootery has occurred in the Peoples’ Republic for the last several decades. Anyone jealous of his or her civil liberties has vamoosed already. It’s difficult to muster much sympathy for those still sticking around, waiting to get jammed-up.
I’m not surprised. Have you ever read Daryl Gate’s book? Gates is largely responsible for the Police Militarization culture that we have today. Just ask him. The LAPD is a standing ARMY in the US second only to the NYPD and is awaiting orders to happily violate your rights.
I don’t care how nice the weather is in califorian, it can not be worth living with this.
90% of “this” applies to the rest of the country as well. Something which is not necessarily true about sunny days.
You are so right!
I’m confused, the 9 guns they took were in the safe? There’s like 200 guns in the safe. Why did they take those 9?
aww poor rich bastard
The magazines and ammo were stolen. The magazines most likely were taken by officers for their own service or personal pistols and the ammo was auctioned by LAPD and the money turned over to the department, as is their unadvertised policy.
This is theft, plain and simple, but LAPD gets away with it because no one in the city cares enough anymore to make an issue of this. Remember this is the same department that recklessly shot into unarmed women’s truck 127 times because they thought the two women were a hulking black male who was on a cop-killing spree. Despite the Police Commission recommending termination for the trigger-happy officers, Beck stepped in on his boys’ behalf and saved their jobs.
Dude seems like such a douche bag that I just don’t give two capitalized F’s.
We should move to california and force the communist laws to be removed. Hiding from injustice does not prevent it. If California is that bad then it is a duty to challenge the government and force the return of constitutional rights. All americans have the right to gun ownership and private property.
If you do not stand up to the police and politicians acting as waffen greifer then they have no reason to change. I do not think writing acrticles and politing critiquing their actions leads to sociatal change. The only solution is move to California and institute a policy of gun culture.
I want all those guns so I can feel like a first class citizen. The only reason he has all those guns are as a status symbol that his gun collection is bigger than yours. The police are jealous and want you to be poorer than them. That is the true meaning of public safety, stealing property and creating more poor and second class citizens.
It is dumb to use fuzzy logic to defend police. Being a cop is like admitting to wanting to frame and harrass innocent people just to ruin their lives. There are no good cops. Cop culture is evil. Period.