RCMP constables acted on their own in seizing firearms from High River homes following last year’s flood, a district commanding officer said Tuesday.

Officers were never ordered by their superiors to grab insecure guns from evacuated homes, during either the initial searches in June and those that followed into July, said Chief Supt. Kevin Harrison.

“Nobody” ordered them, said Harrison, who added officers simply correctly acted on their own volition when they encountered unsecured weapons.

“It’s like an officer on highway patrol — you come across an impaired driver and no officer specifically issues an order to arrest that driver.

“We didn’t even anticipate we’d come across (guns).”

The seizure of 539 firearms has drawn the ire of critics concerned the actions violated gun owners’ civil liberties.

Harrison confirmed that High River’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) ordered Mounties to enter homes to search for stranded people and pets and to later escort building inspectors.

No directive was ever issued to step up any search for guns after the initial discoveries, he said, adding suspicions that a copy of the now-abolished long gun registry was used to target weapons is ridiculous.

“There was no long gun registry,” he said.

Firearms not in plain view that were seized were often found squirrelled away in an unsafe manner in places discovered when Mounties were accompanying building inspectors.

As for legally-secured firearms seized by Mounties, “I’m only aware of one case — a shotgun and .22-cal. rifle from the same house and they were just inside the doorway,” said Harrison.

Other gun owners have alleged their safely-stored weapons were taken by RCMP, though all weapons seized have been returned to their owners.

Harrison couldn’t say what percentage of guns seized weren’t in clear view of officers.

In a letter obtained by Sun Media dated June 27, 2013, provincial Justice Minister Jonathan Denis — who denies issuing any seizure order — tells the RCMP’s commanding officer “some residents in High River have asked why firearms were collected from numerous private dwellings.”

In a responding letter the next day, Deputy Commissioner Dale McGowan states it was done to ensure public safety in an evacuated area.

Harrison said Mounties would do some things differently in a similar situation but cited none of the actions that have sparked anger.

“There’s always ways to improve — it was a vast undertaking and our response was exceptional,” he said.

Findings on the matter from the Commission for Public Complaints against RCMP are due in August.

bill.kaufmann@sunmedia.ca

on Twitter: @SUNBillKaufmann