Posted on 07/08/2008 3:19:12 PM PDT by trumandogz
A group of mothers and kindergarten students at a South Austin park found the loaded gun of an Austin police officer who did not know for hours that his weapon was missing, officials said today.
Austin police Lt. Donald Baker said supervisors are reviewing how Officer Daniel Eveleth's Glock handgun might have fallen from his holster while he was at Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park training a police dog at about 5 a.m. Monday.
Officials said they did not immediately know whether one of the children or a parent discovered the gun.
Officers responded to the park after one of the mothers called 911 and learned that the gun was registered to Eveleth, who has been an officer for about 11 years.
They returned the weapon to Eveleth's home and told him where it had been found, Baker said.
"He had no idea he was missing the weapon from his holster," Baker said. "It doesn't look like it was done in negligence."
Elizabeth Phillips, a mother who was at the park, said she arrived soon after officers showed up.
She said the gun appeared to have been on a slide, that officers were still standing around it and that about a dozen children were nearby.
"I was completely shocked," she said.
You know how light and insubstantial Glocks are! It just slipped out and he never noticed the monumental crash, or the fact that his pants were five pounds lighter...
Certainly is.
I propose that Officer Daniel Eveleth be required to keep a trigger lock on his firearms at all times, and that I be given the only key.
Thankfully, this is not a story about a dead kid, a kid that will walk around for the rest of his life knowing he accidently killed a friend and a Cop charged with murder.
Dummy Cords and or Lanyards !.....:o)
Whoops.
I can see how one might have a pistol fall out when working and horsing around with a dog. Not all holsters are as good at preventing such a thing as others. But it shouldn’t take very long to notice it missing. The change in weight alone is noticable.
Another law enforcement professional at work...
He went back to the police station and then went home and still did not know he dropped his piece in the park.
He needs to be fired.
Your right, great chance to educate a kid about guns. The earlier the better too.
Yah... that’s a bit much. I can see maybe getting back to the car and then realizing it’s gone, but back to the station? And nobody else there noticed either? You’d think some other cop would point and go “dude... where’s yer gun?”
I wonder if he may have noticed it missing, but assumed that he’d left it behind at home? Then he got home and looked for it, didn’t find it? That’s the only thing that makes any sense.
They then went to Eveleth's house and said:
"Hey Boy, you are in a world of $h1t, you left your gun in the park to be found by a kid in kindergarden, your name will be in the big city papers and Freepers from Sea to Shining Sea will be making fun of your dumb ass all night!"
If this happens to a "trained professional", imagine this and other things happening by the lowly masses.
This is a prime reason why all guns should be taken away from ordinary folk.
/sarcasm>
Yup. It’s better to gun-proof the kid than to rely on everybody kid-proofing their guns. And yes, the earlier the better.
Even really little kids can be taught, and the eddie eagle program is great for that. Kids that are older can even be taught how to properly handle, unload and clear most guns. I was about 9 or 10 when I got those lessons. Different kids are different.
You just never know. They could be over at a friend’s house, or anywhere... and some kid comes up with a gun and says “hey, look at this...”
Stop
Don’t touch
Get away
Tell an adult
If the other kids don’t listen: get away faster.
Many years ago my Mom had a good idea along those lines. She said if there was ever a situation where some little kid was waving a gun around, maybe going to pull the trigger, point at something like the TV (i.e. a safer direction) and tell them “shoot the TV”. Then rush the kid, grabbing their hands and keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction while you carefully take it away.
A cop and his gun. Wouldn’t that be about the equivalent of a race car driver and his car? Imagine Jeff Gordon at Daytona without his car.
DOHHHHH!!!!!!!!
...”but there’s no evidence of any negligence”. Uh....K...
No, more like Pedro Martinez going up to the mound to pitch without his right arm.
“trained professional”
Speaking of Glocks and trained professionals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am-Qdx6vky0
If he had dropped his donut bag, do ya think he would’ve noticed that missing?
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