As of this afternoon, the Merrill Foto News is excited to introduce a new feature to our online presence!
In an effort to bolster interaction with our readers, we will present a weekly “Ask an Official” feature to be published online every Friday; consisting of reader submitted questions and answers as given by various government entities.
In an effort to bolster interaction with our readers, we will present a weekly “Ask an Official” feature to be published online every Friday; consisting of reader submitted questions and answers as given by various government entities.
Participating entities include the Merrill Police Department, Merrill Fire Department, Tomahawk Police Department, Lincoln County Administrative Coordinator Randy Scholz, Merrill City Administrator Dave Johnson and Merrill Area Housing Authority Director Paul Russell.
This week’s featured question was submitted for the Tomahawk Police Department.
The question reads:
“What happens to illegal things officers take away from people like guns and drugs and so on?”
Officer Anthony Klein
Answer as given by Tomahawk Police Officer Anthony Klein:
“Thanks for the question. Here’s my answer…”
“Generally, an item is seized because it may be used as a piece of evidence against the potential criminal. These items are usually documented, inventoried, and maintained in a secure storage location. Each item usually has a log of who had the item and when, in order to create a “chain of evidence”.
“Drugs are generally then forwarded to a crime lab or forensics unit for testing to positively identify exactly what the substance is. The drugs are generally then returned to the property unit, where they are kept pending case disposition. If the case goes to trial, the arresting officer may be requested by the prosecutor to bring the drugs to court. In this case, he or she will essentially check them out of the property room, bring them to court, and then take them back after the hearing or trial. Once the case is disposed of, the drugs are generally reclassified in the system as slated for destruction and disposed of properly.” Officer A. Klein
Tomahawk Police Dept.
“Thanks for the question. Here’s my answer…”
“Generally, an item is seized because it may be used as a piece of evidence against the potential criminal. These items are usually documented, inventoried, and maintained in a secure storage location. Each item usually has a log of who had the item and when, in order to create a “chain of evidence”.
“Drugs are generally then forwarded to a crime lab or forensics unit for testing to positively identify exactly what the substance is. The drugs are generally then returned to the property unit, where they are kept pending case disposition. If the case goes to trial, the arresting officer may be requested by the prosecutor to bring the drugs to court. In this case, he or she will essentially check them out of the property room, bring them to court, and then take them back after the hearing or trial. Once the case is disposed of, the drugs are generally reclassified in the system as slated for destruction and disposed of properly.” Officer A. Klein
Tomahawk Police Dept.
Have a question or concern you would like to address? Simply send your question or concern to jratliff@mmclocal.com along with an indication of which entity your question or concern pertains to. Current participants are the Merrill Police Department, Merrill Fire Department, Tomahawk Police Department, Lincoln County Administrative Coordinator Randy Scholz, Merrill City Administrator Dave Johnson and Merrill Area Housing Authority Director Paul Russell.Please note: Those who submit to the ‘Ask an Official’ feature remain anonymous. Only legitimate, sincere submissions will be forwarded on to respective entities. Questions/concerns regarding individual cases/instances will not be forwarded.