Hendricks Co. prosecutor investigates knife sales

[possum_128]

Hendricks Co. prosecutor investigates knife sales

Updated:var wn_last_ed_date = getLEDate("May 2, 2008 7:14 PM EST"); document.write(wn_last_ed_date); May 2, 2008 07:14 PM EDTCat Andersen/Eyewitness News
Danville - The Hendricks County prosecutor is cracking down on retail stores that she says are openly selling illegal knives in her district.
A law banning automatic knives has been on the books for years, but the issue has just recently come to the attention of authorities. Danville Police say the knives are illegal in 36 other states in addition to Indiana.
"I can be sitting here talking to you and I'm ready that fast," said Danville Police Detective Bill Wright, demonstrating one of the knives. "That's a fraction of a second."
Many law enforcement agencies consider the knives to be illegal weapons in Indiana, but you can buy them at major sporting goods stores across the state, no questions asked.
"They're readily available at Wal-Mart, Dick's Sporting Goods sells them," Det. Wright said.
The billion-dollar business that detectives say has been slipping under the radar because retailers don't label the knives as switchblades or automatic knives. They call them "assisted opening", "speed assist" or "speed safe" knives instead.
"By definition, the color of the law, this is a spring-loaded device that opens that fast. That's clearly an automatic-opening knife, no ifs, ands or buts.
According to Indiana law, it is a "Class B Misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away or purchase an automatic knife."
This week, Hendricks County Prosecutor Patricia Baldwin contacted the Wal-Mart stores in her district, demanding they pull all automatic knives from their shelves. Eyewitness News tried to buy an automatic knife at a Wal-Mart in Plainfield and was turned down. The clerk said the knives aren't sold here, they're illegal. But later, the news crew was able to buy a knife at a Dick's Sporting Goods store in Hendricks County that police consider illegal.
"As you can see on the packaging, it clearly shows the blade is under tension, it's spring loaded," said Det. Wright. "The clerk himself referred to these as automatic-opening knives."
In Marion County, Eyewitness News was able to buy a knife at another Dick's Sporting Goods store and a "speed-safe Kershaw" at the Wal-Mart on Pendleton Pike.
"By definition and by statute, all of these clearly meet state statute for an automatic-opening knife," Det. Wright said.
In response, Dick's Sporting Goods' corporate office said in a statement, "This is the first time we've ever heard that what we're selling is illegal. We've never been contacted by any government authority telling us that. If they are illegal, they we will remove them immediately."
Indianapolis Metro Police looked at the knife and said it's hard to tell if it is automatic and illegal.
"There's no button I could push to make it fly out. There is a gray area with this one," said IMPD Lt. Jeff Duhamell. "Whether this is spring-loaded, or just has enough tension or torque on the end to cause it to flip, whether that's considered illegal, I don't know."
"These have been a gray area because of how they've been marketed, so now it's going to be up to the prosecutor's office in each county to notify their officers as to the findings and what they're willing to accept as far as charges," Det. Wright said.
Eyewitness News contacted the Marion County Prosecutor's Office about the issue, and they say they have since contacted IMPD to coordinate an investigation.
Wal-Mart has not returned Channel 13's calls asking for comment.

Great this all we need.

[Soundslikejosh]

Yeah I know that a spring assist kershaw is my murder weapon of choice because when I am about to stab a person to death I just cant muster the extra strength to open a typical lockback blade. If they outlaw these, my knife-murder days are over. I just don't know how I will be able to function. I mean, this technology must shave at least a half a second off my time! Thats huge! WONT SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!! We've got to get these knives off the street! This woman should be fired for being petty and wasting county resources.

[pierce195]

That's an old Indiana law on the books that needs to go. I carried a knife like that everyday for years at work. I just moved on to a larger blade non auto knife.

[possum_128]

IC 35-47-5-2
Knife with blade that opens automatically or may be propelled
Sec. 2. It is a Class B misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away, or purchase any knife with a blade that:
(1) opens automatically; or
(2) may be propelled;
by hand pressure applied to a button, device containing gas, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife.

[am94pm]

This law is stupid. I cannot carry a "automatic knive", however I can carry a firearm which can do more damage from a greater distance. Most knives with the stud on the blade can be deployed pretty quickly any way.

[Jay]

by hand pressure applied to a button, device containing gas, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife

There's the key....... the Kershaw knives have a protrusion on the back end of the BLADE not the HANDLE, that assists opening.

[WHITE_WOLFE]

Originally Posted by Jay

There's the key....... the Kershaw knives have a protrusion on the back end of the BLADE not the HANDLE, that assists opening.

Not my Kershaw. It has a spring. Its called spring assisted opening. Once you push the blade out a little the spring takes over.

Been carrying mine for a year or so. Think I will go pick another one up at Wal-Mart this evening.

[dblagent]

Nope, not a spring. A "torsion bar" and not a spring is in Kershaw knives.

The funny part is that it takes me longer to open my "assisted opening" knives due to the safety than it does to open my normal knives! I went to St. Louis Arch last year and purposely took my bigger 3.5" blade as my Kershaw assisted is too small to be a weapon. At the arch they had a sign up stating no weapons, and it specifically mentioned Kershaw knives being banned. Knives under 4" otherwise are OK. So my little knife with a 1 3/4 inch blade is more deadly than the big knife that they let me carry in no troubles?

Walked in and plunked down my big knife and went through the metal detectors with no problem, but all four guys looked over my knife carefully, then handed it back! Stupid, stupid laws.

[phylodog]

I agree that this law needs to go. Honestly, who really gives a crap?

I haven't seen anyone who could get an auto out and open before I can get my Emerson CQC7 into action. You couldn't get me to carry an auto now.

[Fenway]

Let's hope the prosecutor moves swiftly so that we do not loose more innocent lives to the sinister automatic knife!