SB 719 Text

Senate Bill No. 719
(By Senators Kessler, Williams, Unger, Laird and Deem)
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[Introduced March 23, 2009; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §8-14-24 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing a police officer meeting certain requirements to keep, without charge, his or her service weapon upon retirement.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-14-24 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. LAW AND ORDER; POLICE FORCE OR DEPARTMENTS; POWERS, AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AND POLICEMEN; POLICE MATRONS; SPECIAL SCHOOL ZONE AND PARKING LOT OR PARKING BUILDING POLICE OFFICERS; CIVIL SERVICE FOR CERTAIN POLICE DEPARTMENTS.

§8-14-24. Right to receive complete standard uniform; right to acquire badge; and right to keep service weapon.

(a) A police officer, upon honorable retirement, is authorized to maintain at his or her own cost a complete standard uniform from the law-enforcement agency of which he or she was a member and shall be issued an identification card indicating his or her honorable retirement from the law-enforcement agency. The uniform may be worn by the officer in retirement only on the following occasions: Police Officer's Memorial Day, Law-Enforcement Appreciation Day, at the funeral of a law-enforcement officer or during any other police ceremony. The honorably retired officer is authorized to acquire a badge of the law-enforcement agency from which he or she is retired with the word "retired" placed on it.
(b) Upon retirement, a police officer is entitled to keep, without charge, his or her service ~~revolver~~ weapon after a determination by the chief of police:
(1) That the police officer is retiring honorably with at least twenty years of recognized law-enforcement service; or
(2) That the police officer is retiring with less than twenty years of service and that he or she is totally physically disabled as a result of service as a police officer.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the chief of police may not award a service ~~revolver~~ weapon to any police officer who has been declared mentally incompetent by a licensed physician or a court of law, or who, in the opinion of the chief of police, constitutes a danger to any person or the community.

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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow a police officer meeting certain requirements to keep, without charge, his or her service weapon upon retirement. The bill changes "service revolver" to "service weapon".

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)

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