(a) A law enforcement officer or a designated civilian employee of the Metropolitan Police Department who seizes property in the execution of a search warrant issued under § 7-2510.07a shall cause it to be safely kept until the property is returned to:
(1) The respondent, upon the expiration of the extreme risk protection order that the search warrant accompanied; or
(2) A lawful owner, other than the respondent, claiming title to the property pursuant to § 7-2510.07(d).
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall be construed to require the Metropolitan Police Department to release property seized pursuant to a warrant to a person who did not legally possess the property at the time it was taken.
(c) No property seized shall be released or destroyed except in accordance with law and upon order of a court or of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia or the Office of the Attorney General.
(Sept. 24, 1976, D.C. Law 1-85, title X, § 1007d; as added Apr. 27, 2021, D.C. Law 23-274, § 102(k), 68 DCR 001034.)
Emergency LegislationFor temporary (90 days) creation of this section, see § 4(n) of Omnibus Public Safety and Justice Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-25, Feb. 26, 2021, 68 DCR 002604).