The setting wasn’t exactly Marshall Field’s. Merchandise was stacked on folding tables under fluorescent shoplights in a concrete warehouse. Customers were dressed casually, but some accessorized with Rolex watches and gold jewelry, which they proudly proclaimed had been purchased for a fraction of their original price.
“I’m surprised at what is able to be stolen,” said Deb Ruetter, attending her first general merchandise auction put on by the Minneapolis Police Department. Ruetter wasn’t referring to the predictably high numbers of camcorders and power tools for sale. It’s easy to imagine how these items came into thieves’ hands before cops confiscated them and put them up for auction. But other objects were more curious: a six-foot long baseboard heater; industrial arcwelding equipment; an old Schwinn exercise bike; couches; and a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher, complete with instruction manuals. The most ironic item available? A Safe and Sound wireless home security system. Never used.
Much of this property wasn’t carried off under dark of night, but rather, purchased in broad daylight directly from retailers, usually with stolen credit cards and checkbooks. When these items are no longer considered evidence, explained property and evidence supervisor Kerstin Hammarberg, they are generally unwanted. Stores won’t sell used merchandise, and they have already filed insurance claims. Insurers don’t want to unload the stuff. So the police department auctions it off to earn money for law enforcement and the city’s general fund.
Some things don’t show up for sale. Bidders at the August auction could buy holsters, scopes, and ammo belts, but no guns—they aren’t allowed. Many knives were available—from switchblades to kitchen sets—but none had a known notorious history. “We won’t put a knife that stabbed someone up for auction,” Hammarberg said.
Other items are off-limits for less obvious reasons. Evidence technician Dan Dick said police took grow-lights and triple-beam scales off the market after noticing frequent bids from “hippies in the back,” some of whom looked familiar from narcotics busts that yielded the merchandise in the first place.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of hot products to go around. During three-and-a-half hours of bidding, buyers snatched up weed whackers, sewing machines, boxer shorts, and a cookie jar in the shape of a pink Cadillac. The event drew more than 150 people and raked in $14,000.
Minneapolis police collect 300,000 pieces of property and evidence per year. Directly behind auction bidders—blocked off by yellow tape and a clear plastic sheet—were shelves of evidence currently being held for criminal investigations. These included items such as duffel bags, skateboards, a box of Saran Wrap, and a thick, two-foot diameter disc wrapped in brown paper and flagged with a biohazard warning sticker. A handwritten caution simply read “Bloody.”
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