Elk Grove Police Make Commitment on Ammunition Purchases

July, 2015 protest at Wild Bill's Old West Trading Company in Elk Grove. | 

August 30, 2017 |  

Following a public records request, the Elk Grove Police Department has committed to defer purchases from an Elk Grove Business that in the past had flown the Confederate flag.  

The public records request made last week sought to identify what businesses the department has used to buy ammunition. Specifically, the request asked to see if the department had used Wild Bill's Old West Trading Company. The East Stockton Boulevard Store, which sells guns and ammunition, was embroiled in a controversy two years ago when it flew the Confederate flag outside its business.

According to the information compiled and released by the department, from 2011 through February. 2016, the time of the last purchase, there were six purchases totaling $2,438. The largest purchase was in June 2011 for weapon sights with a purchase price of $2,283. 

Since June of 2011, we have made a total of six purchases from the establishment," Elk Grove Police Chief Bryan Noblett said. "These purchases were generally last minute purchases of range supplies involving items that were needed quickly and for which we could not wait for delivery from another vendor." 

Long before the recent controversies over the display of Confederate flags and monuments in public spaces, Wild Bill's was targeted by Black Lives Matters members over its outdoor display of the flag. On July 3, 2015, a protest that attracted about two dozen participants was held at the business.

At that time Wild Bill's took down its outdoor display but continued to have the flag displayed inside. There have been no recent reports that the flag has been flown outdoors.

As for future purchases at the business, Noblett said "I do not anticipate that any additional department purchases will be made from the establishment."