Spent casing = "unregistered ammunition."  You WILL be arrested if they catch you with a spent casing. Ignorance of the law is NO excuse.  If you visit a D.C. museum, empyt your pockets at the metal-detector, and a forgotten shell casing falls  out, YOU GO TO JAIL.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1529045_Warning__D_C__cops_under_orders_to_arrest_tourists_with_empty_bullet_casings.html


Remember the Heller supreme court case that overturned parts of D.C. law?  THIS part of the law was left in place.  Meaning:  New York, California, or any other state could  pass the same law if they wanted to.  Think about it.

That's not true at all. A SPENT casing is not going to get you arrested in DC.

Please stop giving people bad advice.  

DC Code 7-2506.01 regulates the possession of "ammunition."
(a) No person shall possess ammunition in the District of Columbia unless:
(1) He is a licensed dealer pursuant to subchapter IV of this unit;
(2) He is an officer, agent, or employee of the District of Columbia or the United States of America, on duty and acting within the scope of his duties when possessing such ammunition;
(3) He is the holder of the valid registration certificate for a firearm of the same gauge or caliber as the ammunition he possesses; except, that no such person shall possess one or more restricted pistol bullets; or
(4) He holds an ammunition collector's certificate on September 24, 1976; or
(5) He temporarily possesses ammunition while participating in a firearms training and safety class conducted by a firearms instructor.

DC Code 7-2501.01 (2) defines "ammunition"
“Ammunition” means cartridge cases, shells, projectiles (including shot), primers, bullets (including restricted pistol bullets), propellant powder, or other devices or materials designed, redesigned, or intended for use in a firearm or destructive device

Spent or not, cases are specifically mentioned in the statute, and can land you in jail.

I am a cop in DC and and i know what im talking about. a spent casing is not getting anyone arrested. If you don't believe me then call any district station of the Metropolitan Police Department and ask an officer yourself.

so, MPDC is an advocate of not enforcing the law?  

or just selective enforcement (y'know, if that's all ya got on someone)

that's The Chief's fault ....

and sincerely, Thank You For Your Service.

MPDC - you assume he works for Metropolitan Police of D.C.  However, D.C. - which only has about 500,000 residents - is "policed" by many armed groups with arrest powers, including:

MPDC
Capitol Police (Federal)
Metro (subway system) Police

-among several others who actually patrol certain areas.  In addition, groups with armed agents who have arrest powers and who could be walking around D.C. at any time include:

FBI
DEA
DHS
ATF
Diplomatic Security
TSA
NCIS
CIA Police (moslty in Langly)
NSA Police (mostly in MD someplace)

Know what they all have in common?  ANY of them could have you charged with a violation of D.C.'s laws if they felt they had PC.  

All of them are free to interpret D.C.'s law as they see fit in having you charged.  

So, even if MPDC's policy is to ignore the law on "cases" (clearly spelled out in D.C. code), you are still chargeable in D.C. for having a spent shell casing.  And there are plenty of people able to arrest you.  It is amazing that D.C. has so much crime given how heavily policed it is (except Anacostia of course).

If you do get charged under this absurdly broad law, good luck in court (espeacially if you are not part of the media or are not Dianne Feinstein).  

Is this the same department that allows assault weapons into the district for political purposes?  AKA Diane Fineswine?

Politics drives that department, not the law.  

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/23/miller-dc-businessman-faces-two-years-jail-unregis/

30 officers in "tactical gear" executed a warrant searching guns, ammunition, holsters, cleaning kits, etc.





Yeah, Metro PD doesn't care about spent casings.  They even searched for cleaning kits and other lawful, unregulated items.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/23/miller-dc-businessman-faces-two-years-jail-unregis/


Someone beat me to posting this, but I just wanted to reiterate that possession of an spent .270 casing WILL get you arrested...

I accidentally clicked on the DC forum and couldn't help but read this thread.

There are a lot of people assuming that because the law says you could be arrested that automatically means you will be.  Police exercise discretion every day on all kinds of enforcement issues from traffic violations to assaults.
If you've ever gotten a warning for speeding then you've benefitted from this.  If you've ever seen a cop break up a bar fight and send the drunks on their separate ways then you've seen it happen.
Virginia even has a law against swearing, but it never gets enforced.  I can just imagine half the population of Richmond getting dragged away by the cops every time the Redskins try to play football.

Also, in the case of the search warrant, I would think it is highly likely that a much larger crime was being investigated.  The cops aren't likely to talk about it until it's time to file the big charges, but that doesn't mean the guy's lawyer can't tell the news papers any version of the story he pleases in the mean time.  That happens all the time in long-term investigations.

The OP warned (in all caps) that DC Police are under orders to arrest any tourist with a single spent shell casing.  He then went on to explain that the law would allow such an arrest, but didn't provide any evidence of an actual blanket order to do so.
I have never worked with a DC Police agency, but I have worked around law enforcement in many other places for many years.  I can tell you unequivocally that I can't imagine any department anywhere in the US issuing an order like that.  I can also say without a doubt that if a department did issue such an order the Officers themselves would be complaining about it more vigorously than anyone else.  Police Officers in the US prize their ability to use discretion during the course of their duties.  They don't relinquish it easily, especially when there is an apparent political motivation involved.
There are also some legal issues with the removal of discretion that could make a case difficult to prosecute anyway.  Even in places with laws that mandate arrests for certain domestic violence crimes the courts recognize that blanket requirements to arrest sometimes do result in miscarriages of justice.

I presume this is all based on the story in the Washington Examiner.
Even that story doesn't provide any example of a blanket order to arrest anyone.  It cites a roll-call legal update the cops got that explains the changes in the law after the Heller decision.  Considering that the law in this area is frequently challenged, it's probably good for a police agency  to make sure their cops know what is legal and what isn't.  That doesn't equal an order to arrest anyone.  The only actual example cited in the training document was actually a recommendation to not make an arrest in a certain circumstance, even though it would be legally permissible.  The author of the article also referenced a detention by security guards when a guy brought ammo into a secured VA office area.  If you read the Washington Times Story about that incident the guy even says that the DC Police Officer he spoke to was shocked at the arrest by Veteran's Affairs Police and said that they usually just take the ammo and send you on your way.  The story does say that there are arrests every year for unregistered ammunition, but that most of them are tacked onto a higher-level firearm charge, and the vast majority of the arrests involve DC residents, not tourists as the OP warned.

That being said, I would expect to be detained and questioned if I tried to bring ammo through a metal detector into a popular tourist area in D.C.  So yeah, it's probably smart to empty your pockets if you went to the range right before your trip to the Library of Congress.

(I don't visit this forum on a regular basis and I'm not planning on checking-in on this thread, so the tinfoil-hat crowd can feel free to flame away all you want.  It won't bother me any)

I clicked DC due to a mod telling me about the lack of traffic here . I see the city is in full retard mod . I could bring a 100 buses full of illegals to DC and not one arrest but if I brought a bus with a spent .22 round I could have an arrest made . Maybe I should hand out spent casings at the next immigration rally . self solving problems

Illegal shotgun shell.

Will a projectile cause any problems?  I have one with a hole drilled on it attached to my key chain.

Zach

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/26/miller-exclusive-shock-verdict-mark-witaschek-guil/

Looks like you were wrong. The final conviction was not even for ammunition - it was for a single lead bullet - which is NOT even made to fit a firearm!  (under BATFE's definition, a muzzle loader is not a "firearm").  The code section charged here, however, is a D.C. code - and it stands as I write this.

Besides, do you expect anyone to believe you are in any position to speak on behalf of every one of these agencies - all of whom have officers WITH full arrest powers - who are daily on the streets of D.C. and could bring a charge under this section??  Sorry, but you've lost all credibility on this one.  List:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection http://www.cbp.gov/

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement http://www.ice.gov/

U.S. Park Police http://www.nps.gov/uspp/

U.S. Marshals http://www.justice.gov/marshals/

Supreme Court Police - Sub agency of the U.S. Marshals

U.S. Secret Service http://www.secretservice.gov/

Smithsonian Police http://www.security.si.edu/

US National Zoological Park Police officers - Sub agency of the Smithsonian Police

U.S. Capitol Police http://www.uscapitolpolice.gov/

U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security http://www.state.gov/m/ds/

U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Services http://www.ncis.navy.mil/Pages/publicdefault.aspx

United States Army Criminal Investigative Command http://www.cid.army.mil/

U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg2/cgis/

Pentagon Police http://www.pfpa.mil/

U.S. Mint Police http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/mint_police/

Food and Drug Administration Criminal Inspection http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/FOrgsHistory/ORA/ucm084102.htm

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Law Enforcement http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/

U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police http://uspolice.com/bureau-of-engraving-and-printing-police

U.S. Postal Inspection Service https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/

Federal Bureau of Investigation http://www.fbi.gov/

Federal Protective Service http://www.dhs.gov/topic/federal-building-security

U.S. Government Printing Office Police http://www.gpo.gov/careers/police.htm

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives http://www.atf.gov/

Drug Enforcement Administration http://www.justice.gov/dea/index.shtml

United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police http://www.osp.va.gov/OSandLE_Overview.asp

Amtrak Police http://police.amtrak.com/

Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Enforcement http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/criminal-enforcement

U.S. Federal Reserve Police http://uspolice.com/united-states-federal-reserve-police

Homeland Security Investigations http://www.ice.gov/about/offices/homeland-security-investigations/

U.S. Military Police Corps http://www.wood.army.mil/usamps/

Defense Security Service http://www.dss.mil/

Metropolitan Police Department. http://mpdc.dc.gov/

Washington National Cathedral Police - Sub agency of the Metro Police Department.

D.C. Housing Authority http://www.dchousing.org/?docid=56

Metro Transit Police Department http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/transit_police/

D.C. Protective Services Police Department http://dgs.dc.gov/service/protective-services

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority http://www.metwashairports.com/Police.htm

Georgetown University Police http://police.georgetown.edu/

George Washington University Police http://police.gwu.edu/

American University Police http://www.american.edu/finance/publicsafety/patrolops.cfm

U.S. Department of Energy Police http://energy.gov/ig/about-us/careers

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation http://www.irs.gov/uac/Criminal-Enforcement-1

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Police http://www.wrnmmc.capmed.mil/PatientVisitors/SitePages/Security.aspx

National Institutes of Health Police http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dp/Pages/default.aspx

Administrative Office of the United States Courtshttp://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFederalCourts/AdministrativeOffice.aspx

U.S.Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/law_enforcement.html

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police http://www.osp.va.gov/Police_Services.asp

D.C. Department of Corrections http://doc.dc.gov/

Federal Bureau of Prisons http://www.ice.gov/about/offices/homeland-security-investigations/

Bureau of Industry and Security Police

Library of Congress Police

Federal Emergency Management Agency Police

National Institute of Standards & Technology Police

Bureau of Reclamation Police

The Link in Dave's previous post proves you're correct IMO CBR.

I clicked on accident also, I'd say full retard is a understatement. Seriously, with that much LEO coverage, I'd think there would be next to no crime? I'm also glad I don't even live close, the number of agency's is unbelievable, I would think there would be more emphasis on real crime, not spent casings, dud ammo or even a bullet, are tire weights ok? A bullet mold and a heat source and your breaking the law, or are bullet molds already illegal?

What kind of DC cop are you? In 2013 the Chief's office issued a roll call guidance to all MPD that does indicate only DC resident registered firearms owners should not be arrested for spent casings in the specific case of if found in their car or truck. meaning a) everyone else found with  a spent casing in their vehicle, and everyone--  including legal  DC firearms registrants  -- found with a spent casing on their person in public should be arrested. This arose after a stop where a legal DC registrant was found in DC with a spent ..22 casing on the rear seat floor and arrested.

IN DC any constituent part of ammunition is ammunition. It is normally a FELONY to possess a spent casing unless you can prove you are a DC registrant or have it secured and can prove FOPA. Proving FOPA occurs AFTER arrest, And DC has not only arrested, but it has  prosecuted persons for SINGLE spent casing -- with NO OTHER crime at the time, and no criminal history whatsoever associated with the  person or circumstance.

NO other jurisdiction in the USA has ever prosecuted anyone for spent casing alone. Only DC has. Massachusetts has three prosecutions for spent casings -- all add-ons associated with other felonies committed at the same time. (eg prior felon transporting illegal firearms).

I have to wonder how you signed up for one single post to claim something covered on the DC firearms test is wrong.

I check in here occasionally to see how things are going in the Fortress of Our Elite Masters. Thanks for the head's up. I visited D.C. as a naïve kid. I believed then in representative government, and the Constitution. I'll never go back, or bring my kids. D.C. is the center of the corrupt police state.

I agree that it's good to play it safe.  Metro may for the most part be reasonable because they have better things to do, but there are lots of agencies who really don't have anything better to do.  I say this having just found a 9mm casing in a jacket pocket that may or may not have been into DC on several occasions.