Officer's SMG Stolen While At Baseball Game

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/str?guid=20060615/4490db40_3ca6_1552620060615-1158688046

Sometimes I wonder how people—in general—think when they go to an event and leave (possibly) an unlocked firearm in their vehicle. In this instance, the person mentioned here is a police officer.

Hopefully they'll recover the SMG soon enough—

Heck, I remember a while ago someone stole a FBI or BATF Suburban from a motel parking lot. Laptops, guns, smoke grenades, etc. Your tax dollars at work.

Yes, I remember reading about that. Hmmm. . .

Thats all they took? What about the flashlights?

Sometimes it doesnt really matter if you lock your doors or not. Although its best to lock it. Recently a officers handgun was stolen from his car that was locked. Really though, something that serious should have been locked in the car and hidden.

I'm not a LEO but do most cops leave there guns with the magazines in them and the safety off?

NAW said:

I'm not a LEO but do most cops leave there guns with the magazines in them and the safety off?

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Depends on the gun. Handguns will have a round in the chamber and a full mag, and if it's a SIG or Glock then there is no manual safety. Rifles and SMG's usually have a full mag in them, no round chambered, safety typically on.

In the real world, you have to balance security with availability/useability. An unloaded weapon locked in the trunk makes as much sense as your Aunt Jane's window-breaker "escape tool" stored in the trunk.

It's a personal call. Am I socially irresponsible to leave my carry piece, cocked and locked, in the door pocket when I go into the retirement home to visit my mom (as state law requires)? Or am I failing to meet my personal responsibility to protect my wife and family by securing my weapon so that it's not available for immediate use?

As with most things, the truth's probably in the middle somewhere.

while attending an islanders game in nassau coliseum, a security guard was telling us a couple of kids found a pistol in the bathroom, they notified the guards who then picked it up. they suspect it was a cop, i think the cop was too embarrased claim it, or probably had no idea where he dropped it!:lolsign:

BIGIRON said:

Am I socially irresponsible to leave my carry piece, cocked and locked, in the door pocket when I go into the retirement home to visit my mom

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This definitely paints the wrong kind of picture of your mom.

But all kidding aside can't you take the gun without the loader with the bullets inside?

Kristofg,

In the US, the multiple laws regarding the legal carrying of a weapon/gun by a citizen vary by state to state.

And some of those variations include different places where even a legal CCW (concealed carry weapon) may not be carried legally. Some states may have the law allow a business to bar/ban a legal CCW from being carried into that business. Or the state law may not allow the CCW to be carried into certain types of places in general.

There are variations, and conditions, and requirements, and exemptions, and prohibitions, and all sorts of hoopla and rigamarole regarding legal CCW in the US.

Now as to the original topic, boy that stinks. Regarding officers losing their pistols in various places, it's the real world and some folks get careless or distracted. Personally, I think they are idiots to not realize they lost their pistol in the bathroom/wherever.

And embarassed to claim their pistol? Then they really are idiots. If the lost pistol is found by good guys, then they report it to the police, who would trace the serial number and find out just who owns the pistol. If the lost pistol is found by not-so-good guys, it gets used in a crime or crimes.

IIRC, there are all sorts of 'LEO lost pistol' stories about. Let's see, I remember the tale of the woman LEO who left her pistol in the bathroom in the 'secure' area of an airport. etc. etc, etc

MoonRise, I noticed in your post you talked about a lost pistol. In this incident it was a SMG. I think it could have been a MP5. But I'm not to sure what cops in other states carry these days.

Yeah, the original 'original' topic in this thread was about an SMG -stolen- from a locked(?) vehicle (Post #1).

A 'later' original topic in this thread was about lost weapons (see Post #7).

And my follow-up was to Post #8, which had a question/comment about Post #6.

AFAIK, most cops -carry- a pistol. Many would have more firepower available in their vehicle (shotgun, SMG, rifle, tear gas, etc, etc).

Actually, Kris, my mom taught me to shoot. I still have the single shot Winchester 22 rifle she used (she received it for her 14th birthday). We always had guns around -- they were tools for us farm folks. She kept a pistol for security all her life (until she moved into the retirement home).

You'll notice in my original post my disclaimer "(as required by state law)". A retirement home, nursing home, etc is off limits to firearms, even by CHL holders by Texas law.

The original news article is rather fllimsy -- who knows what their definition of "SMG" is. It could have been a Crossman bb gun, but "submachine gun" sell more advertising, dontcha know.

I find that when my SMG isn't handy, I reach for my e2d and crenelate the enemy!

Just kidding....

I've read about this elsewhere. The gun apparently was a Colt 9mm AR-15 SMG conversion.

Neat piece. Very, very dumb cop.

BIGIRON said:

The original news article is rather fllimsy -- who knows what their definition of "SMG" is. It could have been a Crossman bb gun, but "submachine gun" sell more advertising, dontcha know.

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Good one!

Blindspot said:

I find that when my SMG isn't handy, I reach for my e2d and crenelate the enemy!

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That was humorous—

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Whether the that news article is "truly" accurate thinking or so-so, it mentions that the person that lost the "SMG" is a "narcotics officer." I'm wondering if they go into "deep cover" from time-to-time? Now with regards to the SMG in question, I don't know what Oakland County's department's issued SMGs consist of.

Here in San Jose, SJPDs (someone can correct me) I've seen with Colt's Mfg. M16A#/M4A# series and H&Ks. Santa Clara PD I've seen the HKMP5. Campbell PD have the "black rifle" in their cruisers, besides the thermal imaging unit.

California's law regarding leaving an unlocked firearm that is accessable to children in the home—we've all read/heard of horror stories regarding this—there's severe penalties incurred. Some may wonder if similar as to "in home" could also be applied to those whose empolyment requires them to carry arms either on their person or vehicle and if they "misplace" them.