Dan Bilzerian: Police Took His Guns to “Protect Them from Burglars”
OutdoorHub Reporters 11.16.15
In September, professional poker player and actor Dan Bilzerian reported that burglars broke into his Los Angeles home and attempted to steal a number of guns from a locked vault.
In addition to his other pursuits, Bilzerian has a made a reputation for himself on social media by consistently showcasing a large number of firearms—often held by scantily-clad models—and uploading pictures of the interior of his well-stocked gun vault. It seems that those pictures not only cemented Bilzerian’s image as a gun-loving socialite, but also drew interest from the criminals.
Police said in September that the thieves appeared to be focused primarily on breaching Bilzerian’s steel-reinforced vault, but were ultimately thwarted. However, nine guns did leave Bilzerian’s mansion that night, and the millionaire said they were all confiscated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
My office is a bit of a mess
Posted by Dan Bilzerian on Thursday, July 2, 2015
“The officers told my assistant that they took the handguns because they didn’t want the suspects to come back and get them on a second break-in even though they were unsuccessful at opening the steel reinforced door the first time,” Bilzerian told The Washington Times. “Essentially they were ‘trying to protect my property and people’s safety.’ This is hard to grasp, when they left my $21,000 FN SCAR17 with thermal optic and shotguns unsecured in that same room.”
Bilzerian claimed that officers arrived at his house on September 5 after the burglary had occurred to speak with his aides. Bilzerian himself was out of town at the time, but said his aides informed him that police went into one of his gun closets and removed nine firearms. The other firearms in the house, including an assortment of shotguns, carbines, rifles, and pistols, were left behind.
“Sucks when cops steal your guns,” the self-proclaimed “Playboy King” posted on Twitter.
#HK416 or #FNP90?
Posted by Dan Bilzerian on Sunday, June 29, 2014
Bilzerian said it took more than two months for police to return the firearms. He stated that magazines and ammunition that were confiscated along with the guns proper were not returned.
“If they are gonna take the guns and make me wait for three hours at the police station, they should at the very least return what came with them,” he told the Times.
Bilzerian said that the ordeal has made him dissatisfied with the state of gun control in California even further. As a staunch Second Amendment supporter, Bilzerian has criticized California’s tough gun laws before and has often drawn controversy with his statements on social media.
The LAPD has yet to comment on the issue.
You can see Bilzerian show off a part of his collection with FPSRussia below. The video does include some language and vulgar humor.
