The Honolulu Police Department is facing criticism over the decision to destroy more than 2,000 firearms in order to make room for new ones.
After the 2,200-member police force traded in its Smith & Wesson 9 mms for Glock 17s, officials were faced with the challenge of what to do with the phased out handguns, according to Fox News.
While departments around the country often auction old firearms or donate them to another law enforcement agency, Honolulu police officials opted to melt them down two weeks ago.
"Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the Honolulu Police Department agreed that they would not allow the guns to be sold to the general public and end up on the streets of Honolulu," police department spokeswoman Michelle Yu told the news outlet. "The same goes for selling the individual gun parts that could have been used to assemble a gun."
Yu also added that it could not find a department that wanted the old guns.
Selling the guns could have netted the city approximately $575,000, according to reports, and several police officers expressed interest in buying old service weapons for personal use.
Although the department has previously sold phased-out weapons to members of its staff, this time it instead destroyed them.
