A free M-4 ???

[BikerRN]

In a sense, this is the same as driving to a match and realizing you left your guns at home.

The difference is, the failure to properly secure his weapon and leaving it where it could have been stolen may cost the officer much more than we can imagine. Years ago a friend of mine went for a SWAT interview, trying to get on the team. He went to the bathroom and left his gun on the toilet.

Moments later a child went in and used the same bathroom. He saw the gun and told his Dad. Dad was in the Police Station to answer for a Warrant. Luckily he, Dad, told a LEO about the gun, instead of taking it and shooting up the place.

My friend, he got to buy us all coffee and donuts for a year.

Biker

maybe they should have a check list at least for weapons before they leave the scene.

They do.

The investigation will show that the officer involved failed to "follow established departmental polices and procedures." Trust me, the officer is in more trouble than you can imagine. Even if it doesn't look like he or she is in trouble, they are.

It took a friend of mine over twelve years to get promoted to the next grade for a similar mistake. The funny thing is, he was always in the top 5% when it came to the written test, but the memories of administrators can be very long.

Biker

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Hydrashok Glock]

Gosh some people are harsh. I mean i would most deff say that he really messed up and most deff needs discipline but everything did turn out well and we should put ourselves in his shoes. We all forget sometimes and imagine the stress level that he was just under and you guys are going to crucify him. He is a hero, a hero that made a mistake and yes deserves to be punished, but jail? i thought that only criminals were supposed to be there.

[Beans]

My wife worked at a very large radiology lab in Las Vegas. A metro cop came in for back xrays. She found his issued weapon in the changing room, right after he had left. They always checked the changing room for forgotten items before someone else was allowed to use it.

They would find wallets, watches, purses, articles of clothing ETC

About an hour later he came back highly embarrassed and his first question after getting his gun was "Did you notifity anyone at the PD that you had the weapon?

Her answer "NO! I knew you would be back for it."

AS being around guns most of her life . she just secured the weapon when she found it and waited for him to return.

BTW she got a business card from him with a "Call me if you need anything" He was in a position to make that promise good if she need it.

Fortunately she never had to call in the favor.

[Bumper]

or maybe just kick the gun onto the street and walk away??
either way I would call the mayor, the ATF and the local newspaper to emabarass that SWAT officer and try to get him in jail.

That's a bit harsh as you sit here having no first hand knowledge of the circumstances. And, I bet you would be all twisted up in your drawers if you weren't given a break for a minor traffic violation by one of these officers that you are so quick to throw under the bus....

[SIXTO]

Here is my take, being a former SWAT team member, and soon to be one again come Jan 1.,

Yeah, this guy screwed up. Who knows what he was thinking. Should he be fired? No, but he could be. He should be disciplined. You got to look at the entire circumstance before passing judgment on what the punishment should be... Was this guy a constant screw up? Has this happened before? Was there outside influences? We don't know, and probably will never know, and it doesn't matter to us.

Checklists? Yeah, there are (or at least should be) several. At least one before load up both ways.

Here is one little true story that illustrates what could happen;

Last year a few days before Christmas, we did a raid on a drug dealers home. Yes, it was an evil no knock. We made entry had a minor scuffle and a few shots were fired. No big deal, all team members were OK. But as you could imagine, the entry team was pumped up after that. As we were packing up, we get another urgent call to go across the county for another major incident. It was a hostage thing, so it was very urgent. They needed a team right now, and we were already out, so we went instead of calling out another team.
We get there, things already settled down and we not needed. We never did our checklist in the haste, and we left a few items behind on the first callout... No firearms, but expensive equipment. Luckily, the road patrol guys secured it for us and it was no big deal. But having been there and done that, I can certainly understand how something like this could happen.

[dukalmighty]

At first I thought the gun was found shortly after the LEO's left the scene ,but the gun was not found until the next morning when the homeowner went out to jog and saw it laying in her front yard.Apparently the swat guy had packed up and went home thinking his M4 was in the trunk and would not of noticed it missing til the next range day or deployment had a BG found it and kept it

[PatrioticRick]

Am I the only one that thinks..........finders keepers

My son was putting his guitar in his car, when someone needed a push to get their car started, so he set it down and went to help. Afterward he got in his car and drove off. He didn't notice until he got home and went to take it out of the trunk. Talk about a mad dash back to where he left it. Luckily someone saw it and turned it in to the place he was playing at. That would have been $1000 down the drain.

[HotGuns]

Am I the only one that thinks..........finders keepers

No.
It might have been hard to explain later on down the road though, if it ever made the lost or stolen list,which being a cop gun, I'm sure it would.

[dukalmighty]

Finders keepers is in regards to finding an item that there is no way anybody could prove was theirs,like a 20 dollar bill on the ground,Finders keepers on a select fire M4 will have you requesting soap on a rope from family members for those prison showers

[Duisburg]

That's a bit harsh as you sit here having no first hand knowledge of the circumstances. And, I bet you would be all twisted up in your drawers if you weren't given a break for a minor traffic violation by one of these officers that you are so quick to throw under the bus....

With all due respect, If a law abiding citizen who legally owned a machine gun just left it in a yard over night, things would be different entirely and I think unfairly. The cop gets in trouble where a civilian would get the ATF, FBI and the media breathing down their neck.

its bad enough all the loops and money it takes to own a machine gun

[SIXTO]

With all due respect, If a law abiding citizen who legally owned a machine gun just left it in a yard over night, things would be different entirely and I think unfairly. The cop gets in trouble where a civilian would get the ATF, FBI and the media breathing down their neck.

its bad enough all the loops and money it takes to own a machine gun

Well Duisburg, its like this... The media certainly is breathing down every bodies neck on this, more so than if you or I as private citizens did the same. Its simply a juicy story. Of course the ATF, FBI are not going to get involved... what investigation needs to be done? Its known where it came from, how it got there and where it is now. We already know "who done it". Its over.
Lastly, the cop was doing to bidding for his city or county, operating under their umbrella. If you or I simply left a M4 lying around, certainly a lot more questions would need to be answered, the biggest one being, what were we doing out there with it in the first place.

[Duisburg]

Well Duisburg, its like this... The media certainly is breathing down every bodies neck on this, more so than if you or I as private citizens did the same. Its simply a juicy story. Of course the ATF, FBI are not going to get involved... what investigation needs to be done? Its known where it came from, how it got there and where it is now. We already know "who done it". Its over.
Lastly, the cop was doing to bidding for his city or county, operating under their umbrella. If you or I simply left a M4 lying around, certainly a lot more questions would need to be answered, the biggest one being, what were we doing out there with it in the first place.
Further more

Agreed

[Sticks]

I am of the opinion that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Take that how you want.

[PLUMNUTZ]

What was that guys name, who only loaned a semi auto to someone, etc. Etc. Sheeeeee!!

[preachertim]

or maybe just kick the gun onto the street and walk away??
either way I would call the mayor, the ATF and the local newspaper to emabarass that SWAT officer and try to get him in jail.

That is a little Harsh! Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. Jail Time would be a little excessive for someone with so difficult a job, A mental lapse that could happen to any of us.