Author Topic: Officer! Wait up! (Read 1886 times)

subdjoe · « **on:** June 28, 2011, 07:07:31 PM »

Forgetful cop leaves rifle on trunk of car

Quote

SEATTLE — The Seattle Police Department is apologizing for an assault rifle left unattended on the back of a patrol car Monday night, and has launched an investigation into the matter.

First published by The Stranger, Nick Gonzales snapped a picture last night of the menacing-looking rifle on the trunk of a Seattle Police car. It was around 9 p.m. and the car was parked outside the Roosevelt Hotel, near Pine and 7th Avenue, with no police officers in sight, said Gonzales.

In addition, after an officer got back into the patrol car, it was driven away with the rifle still on the trunk. A woman also saw the rifle and followed the car to try to get the officer's attention.

Gonzales said he flagged down two more SPD officers on bicycles to tell them what he saw. As he described, they were "shocked as hell."

Two more witnesses alerted police to the situation.

What is it the antis keep saying? Oh, yeah, only military and LE are competent to handle firearms.

BUGEYE · « **Reply #1 on:** June 29, 2011, 01:52:58 AM »

well, maybe not all are competent. that's kinda funny but could have been tragic.

Ron 1 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 29, 2011, 04:59:35 AM »

i cannt help but wounder if it was loaded with bullets cuss it was not loaded in the car.

rw

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #3 on:** June 29, 2011, 05:09:18 AM »

Quote from: Ron 1 on June 29, 2011, 04:59:35 AM

i cannt help but wounder if it was loaded with bullets cuss it was not loaded in the car.
rw

I see a mag inserted in the well. My guess is that a police officer does not carry an EMPTY mag in the rifle.

subdjoe · « **Reply #4 on:** June 29, 2011, 05:24:43 AM »

Quote from: BUGEYE on June 29, 2011, 01:52:58 AM

well, maybe not all are competent. that's kinda funny but could have been tragic.

Here is a followup on it:

Quote

(CBS/AP) SEATTLE - It's one of the first rules of police work - know where your gun is at all times.

A Seattle police spokesman says the department is embarrassed after officers left a police rifle unattended on a patrol car outside a busy downtown area.

Spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb says the department has launched an investigation.

Whitcomb says two people spotted the rifle on the parked car.

One flagged down bicycle officers to alert them. The other followed the cruiser as it drove through downtown Seattle and tracked down the driver after the car parked.

The alternative weekly The Stranger first reported the incident.

Whitcomb says such rifles are assigned only to officers who have additional training. They're usually kept in the trunk or between the driver and passenger seats.

I'm sure that the "additional training" pretty much boils down to the mechanics of operating the weapon, its capability, and a quick qualification to make sure the officer can keep in within the lines. But with just the "additional training" comment we can speculate about scores of hours of intensive study and practice.

lakota · « **Reply #5 on:** June 29, 2011, 10:25:59 AM »

What made it necassary for that rifle to even be outside the vehicle?

subdjoe · « **Reply #6 on:** June 29, 2011, 03:02:19 PM »

Quote from: lakota on June 29, 2011, 10:25:59 AM

What made it necassary for that rifle to even be outside the vehicle?

Well, maybe shift change:

Everybody's done it.

You place an item on top of a car only to remember later — after you or someone else has driven off.

But when the forgetful individual is a Seattle police officer and the item is a semi-automatic rifle, it's more than a little embarrassing. It's also the focus of an internal investigation.

Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb conceded Tuesday it was "very embarrassing" that a semi-automatic rifle was left on the trunk lid of a police cruiser in downtown Seattle on Monday.

"The fact of the matter is that a police rifle was left on a car in public, and that is unacceptable," Whitcomb said. "It's very embarrassing, and it shouldn't have happened."

According to two sources with knowledge of the incident, it began when one officer was inside the secure parking garage at the West Precinct and unloaded his equipment from a police cruiser. The officer placed the rifle on the trunk of a nearby patrol car.

That officer, identified by sources as acting Sgt. Bill Collins, forgot about the rifle and walked off.

Another officer, identified as Lt. Deanna Nollette, then went into the garage and drove away in the patrol vehicle without realizing the rifle was on the trunk lid, the sources said.

How the heck do you forget a rifle?

BUGEYE · « **Reply #7 on:** June 29, 2011, 03:38:43 PM »

I can't get far from the truck anymore, but when I get back, I secure my rifle first thing.

hillbill · « **Reply #8 on:** June 29, 2011, 04:07:41 PM »

jeez ive dun stuff almost as dumb. i know it looks bad and is embarrassing as hell but id say its a honest mistake.LEO's are people just like us and do dumb stuff just like us.id say a day without pay and a ass eating by his commander and he wont forgit again. well unless he like me and is a chronic forgetter!

subdjoe · « **Reply #9 on:** June 29, 2011, 04:26:37 PM »

Quote from: hillbill on June 29, 2011, 04:07:41 PM

jeez ive dun stuff almost as dumb. i know it looks bad and is embarrassing as hell but id say its a honest mistake.LEO's are people just like us and do dumb stuff just like us.id say a day without pay and a ass eating by his commander and he wont forgit again. well unless he like me and is a chronic forgetter!

A coffee cup? Fine.

A brief case? Fine. Potentially could get some cases thrown out, but other than that, no big deal.

Hat? A minor expense for the officer, otherwise, no big deal.

But a rifle? And setting it on another car? It has a sling, why not use it?

nw_hunter · « **Reply #10 on:** June 29, 2011, 05:09:14 PM »

Quote from: hillbill on June 29, 2011, 04:07:41 PM

jeez ive dun stuff almost as dumb. i know it looks bad and is embarrassing as hell but id say its a honest mistake.LEO's are people just like us and do dumb stuff just like us.id say a day without pay and a ass eating by his commander and he wont forgit again. well unless he like me and is a chronic forgetter!

He will remember it for a long time I bet!
I did a no, no in the Army while stationed in Germany. We were training near the (then) Czechoslovakian border, when I received news of my father passing.

I reported to division headquarters and told by our Division Commander General Beck of my emergency.
He offered to fly me back to my home base in his personal helicopter, but the weather wouldn't permit flying, so I went by jeep, with a couple of MP's. It was an overnight trip with several stops along the way to warm up and eat at military facility's. When I got back to my home base, my M14 was missing.

It was never recovered to my knowledge, and I was re-issued a new one, when I returned from stateside. If it had happened under any other circumstances, my goose would have been cooked. "Fast forward a lot of years" I still do similar things but for a different reason........."CRS"

hillbill · « **Reply #11 on:** June 30, 2011, 03:01:56 PM »

Quote from: nw_hunter on June 29, 2011, 05:09:14 PM

Quote from: hillbill on June 29, 2011, 04:07:41 PM
jeez ive dun stuff almost as dumb. i know it looks bad and is embarrassing as hell but id say its a honest mistake.LEO's are people just like us and do dumb stuff just like us.id say a day without pay and a ass eating by his commander and he wont forgit again. well unless he like me and is a chronic forgetter!

He will remember it for a long time I bet!
I did a no, no in the Army while stationed in Germany. We were training near the (then) Czechoslovakian border, when I received news of my father passing.

I reported to division headquarters and told by our Division Commander General Beck of my emergency.
He offered to fly me back to my home base in his personal helicopter, but the weather wouldn't permit flying, so I went by jeep, with a couple of MP's. It was an overnight trip with several stops along the way to warm up and eat at military facility's. When I got back to my home base, my M14 was missing. It was never recovered to my knowledge, and I was re-issued a new one, when I returned from stateside. If it had happened under any other circumstances, my goose would have been cooked. "Fast forward a lot of years" I still do similar things but for a different reason........."CRS"

ahh yes CRS, i remember now there is a name for my condition.last dumb thing i did was leave a shop rag blocking the air intake on a turbo on a big deisel engine.and then installed the air intake plumbing.when we fired it up, it grunted and spewed out a cloud of red fibers,scared hell out of me at first but no harm done.

Bugflipper · « **Reply #12 on:** June 30, 2011, 09:52:21 PM »

I don't think there could be a plausible explanation he could give to keep his job and not be charged with reckless endangerment as well.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #13 on:** July 01, 2011, 02:55:57 AM »

The guy screwed up. There was no intent to endanger .

subdjoe · « **Reply #14 on:** July 01, 2011, 10:06:14 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on July 01, 2011, 02:55:57 AM

The guy screwed up. There was no intent to endanger .

And so? If a "civilian" did that and a cop saw it that "civilian" would be in all sorts of trouble. Including some sort of endangerment charge.

curteric · « **Reply #15 on:** July 01, 2011, 11:01:51 AM »

Years ago I was leaving the prison I worked at, when the guard at the front door asked me to chase down a deputy sheriff. He had delivered a prisoner and left his sidearm in the lock-box. I didn't catch up with him, and he didn't find out what he had done, until he got back to his home jurisdiction. It was a couple of hundred miles away on 2 lane roads. He came back the next day and got it. I'll be that was a long trip.

yellowtail3 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 01, 2011, 12:08:45 PM »

Quote from: subdjoe on July 01, 2011, 10:06:14 AM

Quote from: SHOOTALL on July 01, 2011, 02:55:57 AM
The guy screwed up. There was no intent to endanger .
And so? If a "civilian" did that and a cop saw it that "civilian" would be in all sorts of trouble. Including some sort of endangerment charge.

Almost certainly true, but Officer CRS could be reasonably confident that he'd be covered by the ol' Laws are for Thee, and not for Me! de facto LEO exemption...

Bugflipper · « **Reply #17 on:** July 04, 2011, 07:11:54 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on July 01, 2011, 02:55:57 AM

The guy screwed up. There was no intent to endanger .

Intent is not needed. Screwing up or not. He endangered the public he was supposed to be protecting. It is negligence.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #18 on:** July 05, 2011, 03:46:10 AM »

A couple weeks ago a gun was found in the middle of a 4 lane HWY here , the police were trying to find the owner to return it. Every so many years a hunter does the exact same thing and the gun is returned.
HE ENDANGERED THE PUBLIC. How ? Most if not all here go off when the gun control crowd says such about gun owners. Now some are doing the same here about a cop . Pot calling the kettle black.

nw_hunter · « **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2011, 05:08:31 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on July 01, 2011, 02:55:57 AM

The guy screwed up. There was no intent to endanger .
[/quote

I agree! He screwed up and I'm sure he was chewed out by his commander.People do stupid things from time to time.........Even cops!

Bugflipper · « **Reply #20 on:** July 05, 2011, 06:43:07 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on July 05, 2011, 03:46:10 AM

A couple weeks ago a gun was found in the middle of a 4 lane HWY here , the police were trying to find the owner to return it. Every so many years a hunter does the exact same thing and the gun is returned.
HE ENDANGERED THE PUBLIC. How ? Most if not all here go off when the gun control crowd says such about gun owners. Now some are doing the same here about a cop . Pot calling the kettle black.

Not really the pot calling the kettle black. I am a cop myself.
How did he endanger the public?

The paper actually got it right for once, it is an assault rifle, Seattle's issue rifles have a 3 position trigger group. It's not the driving down the road with it on the trunk part. That is a dumb mistake that would warrant a write up, probable suspension and possible termination. It's placing it on the trunk and leaving it unattended. The stakes are much different, hard to compare a hunter's gun to a full auto. Also the cop is held to a higher standard due to his training. I don't think the guy will make it through the review board. And being a blue state wouldn't be surprised if he is not charged as well. He left the department wide open for a lawsuit so the union wont be able to do anything for him imho.

Squib · « **Reply #21 on:** July 05, 2011, 08:27:21 PM »

it said the rifle was taken out to be unloaded and inspected at shift end if I read it right... so if no round was chambered and the gun didn't get dropped or ran over the guy needs thrashed till he pukes, maybe slapped around. that's how it is in the military, and it sets people straight (sweat equity, incentive training, hazing, etcetera). I think he is probably an idiot, and the driver of the car that took off with it is probably an idiot (obviouly never used the rear view mirror!!!), but maybe both were having a case of severe stupid..... like it or not it DOES happen to everyone. yeah, gun-guys don't tend to mess up on weapons stuff, but how many of you make mistakes driving, trip down stairs, choke on food, forget your keys....

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #22 on:** July 06, 2011, 05:23:37 AM »

I give the cops the benifit of the doubt. As for full auto vs hunters guns , I hunted all rifle season with an AR15 in 6.8 spc. Other than rate of fire ( and some one not experinced in full auto would be hard pressed to cash in on it potential ) There is little difference other than the 6.8 has more power .

Squib · « **Reply #23 on:** July 06, 2011, 10:09:00 AM »

maybe people think that a full auto or 3 shot burst capable RIFLE can keep going if it gets dropped... I mean dump a whole mag of ammo instead of just one pop. not the case. if it's an open bolt machinegun that's full of grime and grit and could possibly fire out of battery then maybe, still not likely though (I've seen a lot of dropped machine guns full of sand in iraq, never saw one go off BUT it can happen with a SAW).

OldSchoolRanger · « **Reply #24 on:** July 11, 2011, 06:41:21 PM »

Embarrassing as all heck!

Stupid as all heck!

Punishable by lost vacation days, absolutely!

But reckless endangerment?

Not likely! Just my 2 cents.

subdjoe · « **Reply #25 on:** July 11, 2011, 08:29:40 PM »

Quote from: OldSchoolRanger on July 11, 2011, 06:41:21 PM

Embarrassing as all heck! Stupid as all heck! Punishable by lost vacation days, absolutely!

But reckless endangerment? Not likely! Just my 2 cents.

If it had stayed in the garage, I could agree. If the LEO who drove off with it on the trunk had caught it when she parked on the street and had secured it then, I could agree.

But to walk off leaving it unsecured on top of the trunk...reckless.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #26 on:** July 12, 2011, 04:09:21 AM »

If someone picked it up and chambered a round it might be endangerment then. There are tales of Va. State Troopers placing their shotguns in the trunk rack loaded going around a curve fast and blowing a hole in the side of the car.
Its hard to accept but cops, preachers , school teachers , firemen etc. are still just humans like the rest of us. Maybe those involved will have a more realistic view of people now.
I don't need a pound of flesh in this case.

subdjoe · « **Reply #27 on:** July 12, 2011, 09:01:44 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on July 12, 2011, 04:09:21 AM

If someone picked it up and chambered a round it might be endangerment then. There are tales of Va. State Troopers placing their shotguns in the trunk rack loaded going around a curve fast and blowing a hole in the side of the car.
Its hard to accept but cops, preachers , school teachers , firemen etc. are still just humans like the rest of us. Maybe those involved will have a more realistic view of people now.
I don't need a pound of flesh in this case.

What would have happened to an ordinary citizen who left a select fire weapon out like that? I'm not expecting anything beyond that. But I'd like to see nothing less than that either.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #28 on:** July 12, 2011, 09:46:34 AM »

I don't know but nither do I know the stress or really what happened to the officers . Was the one who drove off going to a call ? A little time off or such may be in order but to lose ones job over such seems hard if it was a first offence. with regard to a citizen who shoots for fun I would consider a different situation.