A. Complete Record Required:
1. All personal property which comes into the possession of any police officer, which has been found or stolen or taken off the person or out of the possession of any prisoner or person suspected of, or charged with, being a criminal, and which is not known to belong to some person laying claim thereto, shall be, by the officer securing possession thereof, delivered into the charge of the chief of police.
2. The chief shall, in a permanent record book kept for that purpose, make a record sufficient to identify the property, with the date and circumstances of the receipt thereof, the name of the person from whom it was taken and the place where it was found; and the record shall also disclose the subsequent disposal thereof, giving the date of sale, name and address of the purchaser, and the amount for which it was sold. (1985 Code § 13-601)
B. Disposition Of Unclaimed Property:
1. Any unclaimed personal property, other than animals, which remains in the possession of the chief of police, unclaimed, or the ownership of which is not to him satisfactorily established, for a period of thirty (30) days, shall be sold, and the proceeds of the sale shall be paid over to the city clerk, who shall issue his receipt therefor, and deposit the same to the credit of the general fund of the city, except such personal property as in the opinion of the city manager can be more advantageously used by some department or office of the city manager.
2. Ten (10) days before a sale of such unclaimed property, the chief of police shall sign and have posted in a conspicuous place in the city clerk's office, where it will be plainly visible to persons who visit that office, notice of the time, place, and manner of such sale, and a general description of the property to be sold. However, if, in the opinion of the city manager, all or any portion of the personal property may be more advantageously used in any city department or office, he shall so instruct the chief of police in writing, and the chief shall thereupon deliver the personal property designated to that department or office of the city manager and make a permanent record of its disposition. (1985 Code § 13-602)
C. Property Found By Private Person:
1. Any personal property found by a person other than a public official or employee which is delivered to any police officer for identification, if not claimed or identified within thirty (30) days, shall, within ten (10) additional days thereafter, if requested by the finder, be returned to him and a record of such disposal made thereof.
2. If the finder does not request return of the property to him within such additional ten (10) days, then the chief of police shall sell the property as if it had been found by a public official or employee, or, on instruction by the city manager, deliver it to some department or office of the city government for its use. (1985 Code § 13-603)
D. Recovery By Owner: If any property is sold as herein provided, and the owner thereof takes and recovers possession of same from the purchaser, the amount paid therefor shall be returned to the purchaser, upon verified claim being submitted and approved by the city council. (1985 Code § 13-604)