Nearly 200 Guns Missing From Sheriff's Office, Philly Controller Says

PHILADELPHIA — With gun violence a major issue in Philadelphia, the city's controller officer says nearly 200 firearms are missing from the sheriff's office.

According to the Philadelphia Controller's Office, 185 firearms are unaccounted for from the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office.

Of those missing firearms are 76 service weapons, per the controller's office.

Among the missing service weapons are 71 handguns, four semi-automatic handguns, and one shotgun.

That is due to "insufficient documentation to confirm the previous statements," the controller's office said.

The investigation, which has been a three-year process, found that many of the missing guns were properly disposed of after the initial investigations.

"During the Fiscal Year 2024 budget hearing with City Council and in media releases on its website, the Sheriff’s Office stated that all but 20 of the original 101 missing service weapons had been found," the controller's office said. "To confirm those statements, the Acting Controller conducted a follow-up investigation. However, the Controller’s Office wasn’t provided with necessary documentation to support the claims, leaving the majority of the guns still considered missing."

The Sheriff’s Office reported that some of the guns found were given to retired officers and former employees with the department, including former Sheriff John Green.

The controller's office said Green should turn over the gun or guns assumed to be in his possession and that if employees cannot confirm possession or disposal, the guns should be placed in the National Crime Information Center as missing.

Patch reported on the initial report of missing guns in November 2020.

A follow-up review in August 2021 accounted for 16 of the original missing guns.

In addition, the controller’s initial report showed 109 weapons on the Protection From Abuse inventory list were considered missing.

"The Sheriff’s Office made no mention regarding the status of the missing PFA weapons, at either their budget hearing or in their press releases," the controller's office said. "No supportive documentation has been provided to date that would change the status of the City Controller’s initial finding that the weapons are missing."