SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, July 26, a San Francisco Police Department officer was arrested for allegedly manufacturing and possessing an AR-15 style assault rifle after a year long investigation that was done by the SFPD’s Internal Affairs Division. The officer was release from jail on Tuesday, but will still face charges related to the state’s ban on assault rifles.
Thomas Abrahamsen, 50, of Berkeley, CA turned himself in and was booked in the San Francisco County Jail on one felony count of manufacturing an assault weapon and one felony count of possession of an assault weapons.
The weapon is an AR-15 style assault rifle, which is legal in California under certain circumstances, as long as those weapons are used with magazines that only hold 10 rounds, and as long as they have a so-called bullet button that requires a tool like an ink pen to release the magazine. San Francisco District Attorney Office Spokesperson Alex Bastian spoke to ABC7 News who stated, “The gun was not a duty firearm and it had nothing to do with his employment at the San Francisco police department.”
“A lot of our critics say you don’t police yourselves. You don’t encourage people to come forward. That’s exactly what did not happen in this case,” said San Francisco Police Department Acting Chief Toney Chaplin.
According to Sgt. Andraychak, Abrahamsen, who is an 18-year veteran of the police department, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave. He is scheduled back on court on August 12.
By Donald Roberts and Shatai Melvin
