Only police should have guns

[Vigilant]

I agree completely, but soon, there will be people calling for the officer to be fired, or beheaded.

Thieves are dirtbags. Stealing is wrong. The officer might have violated a department policy, or maybe not, doesn't really matter to me. Somebody knowingly and intentionally took something that didn't belong to them. That's a violation of the law, the Ten Commandments, and just plain old fashioned human decency. Let's see who gets in more trouble.

Well if he can’t keep an M16 safe, why should we trust him to walk around with a perfectly good head? Just think where he might leave it?

 

[drillsgt]

Cop did nothing wrong. Thief is to blame, not the officer.

I agree, were you this consistent in the thread about the Connecticut guy though?

 

[edporch]

The announcement from the Martinsville Police, says the car was "unsecured".
I take this to mean unlocked?

I would never leave a firearm in my car parked outside.

 

[cbhausen]

Same principle (language warning):

[video=youtube_share;5NP8y63Ms4o]http://youtu.be/5NP8y63Ms4o[/video]

Or, in Eazy-E lyrics “Leave your **** unlocked and I’m stealin’.”

 

[thompal]

No, I think he's right. Any time someone points out anything that could have been done to reduce the chances of being a crime victim, that is "victim blaming". Victim blaming is forbidden.

Yes. And No. If I leave a $10,000 stack of cash on the front seat of my car and don't lock the door, someone will steal it. The thief is certainly to blame, but I'd say I would share some of the blame. At the very least, I couldn't complain about someone calling me a dumb*ss for not taking reasonable precautions.

 

[IndyBeerman]

People can hate on me all they want, but this officer needs be disciplined severely if not fired.

Bad enough for a civilian to leave a firearm in the vehicle and it get stolen, but for a LEO to not remove any and all firearms out of his patrol vehicle while parked over night
outside is unprofessional and negligent.

 

[Binkster]

Unsecured is a key word here!

 

[Dead Duck]

At first I thought this was an officers long gun was taken from his car while he was on a call and stepped away. I know cops on duty that even when eating at a scarf-n-barf they will park their car where they can see it. Locked or not, smash and grabs are very quick.

Now I read this was from a car parked for the night. Like the cop was inside a house.... sleeping?
Hell No! There should be no firearms in that car or related mags or ammo. It's bad enough some guys leaving their first aid bags, armor/swat gear, flashlights, batons, etc... Guns should be inside with the cop.

I have long gun locks in my vehicles. My guns and gear goes with me inside. Yes it's a royal pain but I'm not stupid.

Now if I'm misunderstanding this, hit me but this sounds very preventable.
When I take my kids to the range with mutable guns, should I just leave it all in the car because it's just too much trouble to take in? No, I won't even stop to eat or do any other errands when I have guns with us. It's a mission. Go to range. Go home and unload. That's it.

Lazy..... Don't blame the victim? Really?

And regardless if it was locked or not. And regardless if it was in a rifle lock system. anything can be bypassed with enough time.
I have one vehicle with a hidden safe for handguns that is very secure. They would have to steel the car to get in after a whole day. But I still don't leave anything in there overnight.

 

[thunderchicken]

Not sure some of y'all really understand how much gear the average street cop carries in their car. Expecting them to remove all weapons, ammo, mag's, swat gear, misc equipment is just outrageous. When I sign out a pool car to an officer it often takes 30 minutes to an hour for them to get their eessentias out and loaded into another car. Many secure firearms in their trunk more often than inside the cabin of the car.
I don't have a problem with leaving a gun in a car so long as it is secured in a reasonable manner. If we want to crucify a cop for a criminal carrying out a theft we better be careful. Holding one responsible for a gun being stolen from a car vs a gun stolen from a home isn't a very big step. Don't blame the victim...blame the criminal

 

[Hawkeye]

What would make getting a rifle out of a CPD car any more difficult than any other police car? Do they have some fancier gun mount with some special swipe card access panel or something?
Back before the MCSD/IPD merger in 2007, we had inmate workers at the garage washing cars. Even they knew how to open the overhead shotgun racks. Both by bypassing the electric switch and using the key.

Maybe like in Watchmen - they have to call back to Dispatch to have them send an unlock code to the vehicle or holster?

 

[KJQ6945]

INGO never disappoints.

 

[Vigilant]

INGO never disappoints.

Have they taken his head yet? I won’t feel vindicated until they take his head.

 

[VUPDblue]

Not sure some of y'all really understand how much gear the average street cop carries in their car. Expecting them to remove all weapons, ammo, mag's, swat gear, misc equipment is just outrageous. When I sign out a pool car to an officer it often takes 30 minutes to an hour for them to get their eessentias out and loaded into another car. Many secure firearms in their trunk more often than inside the cabin of the car.
I don't have a problem with leaving a gun in a car so long as it is secured in a reasonable manner. If we want to crucify a cop for a criminal carrying out a theft we better be careful. Holding one responsible for a gun being stolen from a car vs a gun stolen from a home isn't a very big step. Don't blame the victim...blame the criminal

^^^This^^^

In my car I have rifle, 870 less lethal launcher, pepperball launcher, hard armor, laptop, tablet, two PBTs, EMS bag, WMD bag, “riot gear” bag, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. The listed items have value of above $500 each, and are easily worth more than the car itself. I’m not unique. It’s not reasonable to haul all that crap in and out every day, though some of it does get brought in at night.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Full disclosure: I have no idea how to get a patrol rifle out of a police car. The reports I read said there were gunshots that led to the calls to the police. Is the rifle locked in a manner you could shoot the lock and still have a serviceable rifle afterward?

 

[JollyMon]

Based on my limited knowledge, a majority of the newer locks in patrol cars have a electronic switch in addition to a manual key (sometimes even a handcuff key can be used, but we know how easy those are to pick). As long as you know where that switch is....

For example at 0:41 in this video... a hand motion can be seen towards the switch.. or at 1:15 they show the button itself

[video=youtube;5xLu5-3Ct8w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xLu5-3Ct8w[/video]

 

[KJQ6945]

People can hate on me all they want, but this officer needs be disciplined severely if not fired.

Bad enough for a civilian to leave a firearm in the vehicle and it get stolen, but for a LEO to not remove any and all firearms out of his patrol vehicle while parked over night
outside is unprofessional and negligent.

Beerman, no hate towards you at all, I just think you are wrong. Ever had any beer taken off your truck? Theft is theft.

 

[JettaKnight]

Guns get stolen from cars all the time, not just police cars. Besides, anti-cop stuff belongs on AR15.com.

FIFY.

 

[JettaKnight]

Based on my limited knowledge, a majority of the newer locks in patrol cars have a electronic switch in addition to a manual key (sometimes even a handcuff key can be used, but we know how easy those are to pick). As long as you know where that switch is....

[video=youtube;Xoev4iHLSYU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xoev4iHLSYU[/video]

 

[Hawkeye7br]

When I take my kids to the range with mutable guns, should I just leave it all in the car because it's just too much trouble to take in? No, I won't even stop to eat or do any other errands when I have guns with us. It's a mission. Go to range. Go home and unload. That's it.

But I still don't leave anything in there overnight.

Glad it works for you, but impractical for many others. I compete out of state, I can't be dragging a half dozen gun cases and a thousand rounds of ammo into every Cracker Barrel we stop at. Even at motels, it depends on their lighting and camera security. I built a rack in the minivan to travel with guns & ammo under the rack and luggage on top of it. We look like every minivan in America, and sometimes I'll leave guns in it overnight at certain motels we repeatedly frequent. When possible, I'll park with the van backed up to a light pole or concrete post to prevent opening the hatchback.

I also take multiple guns hunting. Depending on wind, weather, other hunters, I'll decide when I arrive on site as to which gun I want to hunt with. The other remains in my locked truck.

 

[edporch]

Not sure some of y'all really understand how much gear the average street cop carries in their car. Expecting them to remove all weapons, ammo, mag's, swat gear, misc equipment is just outrageous. When I sign out a pool car to an officer it often takes 30 minutes to an hour for them to get their eessentias out and loaded into another car. Many secure firearms in their trunk more often than inside the cabin of the car.
I don't have a problem with leaving a gun in a car so long as it is secured in a reasonable manner. If we want to crucify a cop for a criminal carrying out a theft we better be careful. Holding one responsible for a gun being stolen from a car vs a gun stolen from a home isn't a very big step. Don't blame the victim...blame the criminal

I'm certainly not saying they should remove all their gear from the car if they park it outside their house at night.
But for him to leave the car unlocked at night at his house with an M16 in the car is idiotic and incompetent.
At least lock the doors and bring in any firearms at night if it's gonna be parked outside.

If I as a civilian left an AR15 in my unlocked car outside at night and it was stolen, I'd catch a sh*t storm from that and rightfully so.
And very likely be open to a lawsuit if that AR15 was used in criminal activity.
Police should at least be held to the same standard if not a higher standard.