I work at a 911 Center as a center floor supervisor and we dispatch for two of the local police departments.

The other night we had a domestic call where one party has a firearm in their vehicle. We pass on all the information to the responding officers, they get on scene and start figuring everything out.

Little bit later, their sergeant calls up there asking for a number to the ATF task force. Ask what’s up, and he says they have what he believes is an illegal firearm. We start talking, and he says it’s an AR but way way shorter than the one he has in his patrol car.

He starts giving me details and more and more starts sounding like a pistol. So I start asking him more questions, and he agrees to send me some pictures.

Turns out it was one of the Springfield Saint pistols in FDE that the guy had changed out the fixed pistol brace to a strike industries adjustable brace

Saved the guy a weapons charge, but he still caught another related to the domestic. Plus, helped educate someone who was less knowing and know wants to see about getting one for himself

Good on you for saving the weapons charge.  

Interesting that the officer was ready to bring in the ATF on a possible SBR.  I wonder if the perp was also saying "hey, that is a pistol, not a rifle!"

fify

Yeah, but he just needed a little education.

Freely admitted he didn’t know much about them, but was more than willing to learn for future incidents. Sent him a bunch of websites for learning purposes

When the AR-15 pistols started getting popular I showed mine to the Local Sheriff.  He’s a gun guy but to busy to keep up with what is trendy.   After seeing mine he was talking about buying an AR pistol for himself, he thought it was pretty cool.

A lot of people assume all LEO are "gun nuts" and know everything there is to know about guns.  Heck, I know instructors that have a very limited knowledge about guns!

@panthermark

He just saying he built it, never mentioned it was an AR pistol

Well done and thank you for going the extra mile.

False. If anything, police have demonstrated their lack of firearm knowledge and lack of knowledge of laws. Check out The Armed Fisherman's channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZk-1k_f2hjsBaNWq5mz9kQ/featured

If NFA items are legal in the state (such as SBRs) then the state/local police shouldn't be trying to interpret or enforce the NFA. It isn't their job.