Culver City Police Captain Takes Part in L.A. County Gun Meltdown

L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca oversaw the destruction of of 5,495 weapons Tuesday, confiscated from criminals in Los Angeles County and collected through the “Gifts for Guns” exchange program.

Culver City Police Captain Ron Iizuka also took part in the ceremony at Gerdau Steel Mill in Rancho Cucamonga.

According to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, the weapons will be melted into steel reinforcing bar (rebar) and ultimately transformed into elements of construction for upgrades in freeways and bridges in Arizona, California and Nevada.

“Our partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department allows us the opportunity to make an impact in our community,” said Jim Crompton, vice president and general manager of Gerdau Steel Mill. “We are taking weapons that could destroy our community and repurposing them into steel that will literally help build our community.”

Twelve law enforcement agencies have contributed confiscated weapons to the program, including the Culver City Police Department. 

“These weapons that you see here will never again be used to commit a crime or used to threaten or intimidate an innocent victim,” Baca said at the ceremony.