Burbank Police Department Deputy Chief Tom Angel assisted Sheriff Lee Baca with the 19th Annual “Project Isaiah” Destruction of Weapons for Tomorrow’s Future
On Thursday, July 12, 2012, Sheriff Lee Baca announced the destruction of over 8,000 weapons confiscated from criminals in Los Angeles County.
Annually, Gerdau Steel Mill, located in Rancho Cucamonga, generously donates its furnace, equipment and personnel to convert these weapons into steel rebar. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works also generously donates the trucks every year that transport the weapons.
“Project Isaiah” takes its name from the biblical passage in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 2:4) that calls for swords to be beaten into plowshares as a way of bringing peace. “Project Isaiah” has been enthusiastically embraced by Gerdau’s employees and incorporated into the company’s community outreach program.
These weapons will be melted into steel reinforcing bar (rebar) and ultimately transformed into elements of construction for upgrades in freeways and bridges in Arizona, California and Nevada.
Twenty law enforcement agencies have contributed confiscated weapons to this program. These agencies include Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Burbank, California Highway Patrol, Claremont, Culver City, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, La Verne, Long Beach, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, UCLA Police, Pasadena, Santa Monica, South Pasadena, Union Pacific Railroad Police, West Covina, and Whittier.
The collection of weapons can be attributed to the hard work of the law enforcement officers throughout Los Angeles County.
Sheriff Baca stated, “These weapons that you see here will never again be used to commit a crime or used to threaten or intimidate an innocent victim.”
