GRAND RAPIDS, MI – When officers cleaned out Kalamazoo County sheriff’s sergeant Matthew E. Emmert’s locker upon his retirement in early December, 2012, they found an unregistered machine gun in the back.
With the proper tax stamps and approvals, it is perfectly legal to own a fully functioning machine gun. Mr. Emmert, however did not possess the necessary tax stamps for the STEN submachine gun, which he allegedly acquired in exchange for a shotgun from another deputy in the late 1990s.
But instead of spending ten years in federal prison like us mere mortals, Mr. Emmert cut a deal with prosecutors and is only paying a $250 fine. To put in perspective just how lenient that punishment is, consider that the amount of money the federal government charges to simply transfer a machine gun is $200.
Mr. Emmert’s retirement comes after allegations that he recorded another deputy pumping breast milk in the office. The county wound up paying $200,000 to the deputy in the video.
