Items from a disbanded police department in Pennsylvania will be sold at auction Saturday, June 15th

BREINIGSVILLE, Pa. - June 6, 2013 - PRLog -- (BREINIGSVILLE, Pa.) – A two-session auction featuring approximately 750 lots of items from the disbanded Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department will be held on Saturday, June 15, in the Independent Park Community Center at 150 Independent Road in Breinigsville, a small community in Upper Macungie Township, Pa.

   Session one, starting at 9 a.m., will be open to municipal entities, police departments and authorized bidders only. Sold will be 15 fully equipped police cruisers, fingerprinting equipment, lab test kits, stinger strips, mace, taser guns and cartridges, light bars, police bicycles and more.

   Session two, which will begin immediately following the conclusion of session one, will be open to the general public. Featured items will include five unmarked vehicles, an ambulance, firearms and ammunition, rifle cases, desk-top and lap-top computers, cameras, Motorola two-way radios, rechargeable flashlights, office equipment, GPS systems and night vision systems.

   Also offered in session two will be leather jackets, police gear, battery chargers, weapons belts, tactical squad and riot control equipment, mechanics’ tools, flares, traffic cones, emergency responder gear, handcuffs, target practice equipment, a 33-foot steel storage container and many other items required to operate a police department. Online bidding will be facilitated by Auctionzip.com (Auctioneer ID #1696). Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

   “This is a rare opportunity for the general public to bid on a wide variety of police merchandise at auction,” said Bill Howze, owner and principal auctioneer of The Renaissance Auction Group, the Reading, Pa.-based auction firm conducting the sale. “And it’s not just surplus merchandise. These items were in use up until Dec. 31 of last year. Every vehicle has been detailed.”

   The Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department was a multi-jurisdictional police force created in 2001 to provide law enforcement services to four incorporated municipalities in Berks and Lehigh Counties, in southeastern Pennsylvania. Maxatawny and Upper Macungie Townships along with the boroughs of Topton and Lyons formed the department.

   In April 2012, the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Commission voted to dissolve the police department by Dec. 31 after Upper Macungie Township decided to withdraw from the commission and form its own force. Its reasons for the withdrawal were complex and had to do with questions regarding officers’ benefits, pensions, seniority, sick time and other issues.

   For awhile it appeared that Maxatawny Township would sue Upper Macungie over the matter, but in March the township announced it would not pursue legal action. Maxatawny officials must now determine how to provide public safety for its citizens.

   All the posturing and legal wrangling necessitated an auction for the equipment and vehicles that once were the life blood of the police department. That created an unusual opportunity for municipalities, police departments and private individuals to bid on items rarely offered at public auction.

   The firearms (which will be offered in the second session) include over 30 Glock Model #22 and #27 pistols, a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum, three Colt AR-15 semi-automatic weapons, Winchester 12-gauge shotguns, Mossberg pump-action shotguns and examples by Marlin Glenfield and Savage Arms.

   All firearms sales will be subject to state and federal regulations. Online bidding will not be available for firearms and ammunition lots. A FFL licensed dealer will be on site to facilitate same-day transfer.

   The police cruisers are from model years 2003-2011. Only the unmarked cars will be sold to the public. The ambulance and a cargo trailer will also be part of session two. The computer equipment – which includes Panasonic Toughbooks – has been wiped clean of all police records prior to sale. PCs, printers and monitors will also be offered.

   Cameras are plentiful and will include a Nikon D60 model with 18-55mm lens, an Olympus FE-360 digital camera, a Sony Mavica digital camera with 2.0 megapixel resolution, a Canon Power Shot G2 digital camera and others. There is also a Polaroid photo ID picture-taker used when children visited the police station as well as a Detecto height-weight scale, also for kids.

   Items you aren’t likely to see at ordinary auctions include gas masks, a Shoei motorcycle helmet with built-in electronics communication system, M-2 tactical helmets, riot shields, emergency responder kits, Stinger road spike systems (strips laid across the road to induce tire blow-outs), emergency flares, handcuffs, leg irons and ASPs (tactical police batons).

   Also sold will be speed timing units for traffic control, marijuana and narcotics testing devices, tactical vests, 15 Taser 26 weapons (with hard plastic and leather cases), two prisoner retainer leather belts, fingerprint ID cards, evidence bags and envelopes, crime scene tape, approximately 20 Motorola two-way radios, Haenni weigh scales and police officer leather accessory belts (for holding mace, ASP retractable batons, handcuffs, radios and more).

   A 13 percent buyer’s premium will be applied to all purchases, with a 3 percent discount for cash or check. Session one requires payment by institutional check or credit card. Cash, personal check and personal credit cards will be accepted in session two.

   The Renaissance Auction Group is located in Reading, Pa. The firm serves clients in the liquidation of tangible property, including antiques, collectibles, business inventories and commercial equipment, as well as real property dispositions of residential, historic, commercial and agricultural real estate. Benefit auction consultation and production services are also provided.

   For images, descriptions and terms relating to the June 15 Berks-Lehigh Police Department liquidation auction, log on to www.auctionhowze.com. Content is updated frequently. For additional information, contact Bill Howze at (610) 370-2879; or e-mail bill@auctionhowze.com.

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