When Powell Police Chief Jim Rhea recently went through the department’s inventory, he learned the agency had accumulated “a lot” of civilian firearms over the years.

Some were found abandoned, some were seized as evidence and others were simply turned over to the department. Rhea said there were instances where widows didn’t know what else to do with a deceased spouse’s weapons; there were even cases where people didn’t feel like certain guns should be on the street, so they bought them and gave them to police.

The department’s historical practice was basically to accept any unwanted firearms, he said, but that policy has since changed.

Now, “that’s not something we have an interest in doing unless there is a public safety issue associated with the possession of the guns,” said Rhea, who took over as chief in 2024. If there is a concern of safety, “then obviously we still fill that void,” he said.

As part of the cleanup of the modest firearms cache, the department is selling 11 of them: four revolvers, three pistols, two shotguns and two rifles. Police are also selling a dart gun and 19 Witt M&T suppressors that Rhea described as “unneeded.”

They’re among 2,300 lots up for grabs in Swenson’s Auctions’ ongoing Fall Barn Auction.

The Powell City Council authorized the sale of the guns back in March 2025 and this past May, declaring them and several larger items to be surplus property.

The other no-longer-needed equipment included a rear-loading 2005 Freightliner sanitation truck, a 2004 utility trailer, a small John Deere 5205 tractor, three former squad cars — a pair of 2009 Chevy Impalas and a 2007 Ford Expedition — plus a 3.9 liter engine and transmission that was removed from another police vehicle. Those items collectively fetched $23,932.75 at an auction that closed in July, said City Finance Director Kaela Nelson.

As for how much the guns will fetch, that will be up to the bidders in Swenson’s auction.

As of midday Monday, the highest bids on the city’s firearms were a pair of $210 offers for a D-32 Derringer handgun and a Ruger PC Carbine. They were followed by a Colt Detective Special revolver at $190 and a Ruger PC Charger at $160.

The auction — which can be viewed at tinyurl.com/46yru7z9 — ends at roughly noon on Wednesday.

(Editor's note: This version has been updated to note the sale of additional weapons that were declared as surplus property last year.)