Cops hunt for gun lost by Plymouth captain in courthouse bathroom

The Boston Herald ^ | 29 Jan 2013 | Laurel Sweet

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Plymouth, state and Wareham police are continuing their search this morning for a veteran cop’s loaded service revolver that went missing from a courthouse bathroom yesterday after Plymouth Police Capt. John Rogers Jr. inadvertently left it behind during a rest stop.

Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri said the investigation includes a review of defendants who had cases before Wareham District Court yesterday, where Rogers, a 26-year veteran and head of his department’s operations division, went to testify.

[Fresh Wind]

Is this anything like having your gun go to the bottom in a tragic boating accident?

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I wonder what stand Plymouth Police Capt. John Rogers Jr. has on "gun control"?

Dunno, but it's an interesting question. I wonder if Plymouth is a "shall issue" town or a "not on your effing life proletariat, LEOs only" town. The decision is at the sole discretion of the police chief.

[SoldierDad]

Are you joking??? There is a gun out there on the loose, man. All kinds of chaos is bound to ensue.

[Cboldt]

It also raises an interesting question about the consequences to the police officer, should the firearm be used to perpetrate a crime. The officer was negligent, already, all that’s missing is damages.

[Sacajaweau]

Dropped his pants...and there it was....his big gun !!!!

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Here's the Klutzy Commode Commando:

And his official dossier:

Captain John W. Rogers Jr. is a 26 year veteran of the Plymouth Police Department. He joined the Plymouth Police department as an Intermittent Patrolman in May of 1985. In January of 1986 he was appointed a Permanent Patrolman assigned to the Patrol Division.

In February of 1993 he was assigned to the Detective Division handling Criminal Investigations. In 1996 he was then assigned to the Narcotics Unit until promoted to Sergeant in March of 1998. Once promoted to Sergeant, he worked in the Patrol Division as a Shift Commander and Patrol Supervisor.

Also as Sergeant, he was assigned to head the departments Training Division for three years. In June of 2005 he was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the Uniform Division as a Shift Commander. In October of 2005 he was assigned as the departments Detective Unit Commander where he supervised 10 Detectives in the general investigations and drug units until being promoted to Captain in December of 2008. Captain Rogers has been assigned to head the Operations Division.

Captain Rogers responsibilities include the Uniform Division, Detective Division, Prosecution Division, School Resource Officers (SRO”s), as well as Internal Affairs.Captain Rogers holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts in Boston and a Masters of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Western New England College. He is also a graduate of the 232nd session of the FBI’s prestigious National Academy in Quantico Virginia as well as the 55th session of the United States Drug Enforcement Administrations Drug Unit Commanders Academy.

Captain Rogers is also on staff as an instructor and Staff Instructor for the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee in Plymouth and has done so since 1996.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

With apologies to the famous bathroom wall poem:

Here I sit
Broken-hearted
Tried to sh*t
But only lost my gun and became a laughingstock the world over . . .

[Oztrich Boy]

That raises an interesting “what would you do” question

Wait for a gun buyback and turn it in then. Only way to ensure it is destroyed and doesn't find it's way back onto the street.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Ladies and gents, it gets even better.

A local paper is reporting that the lost gun wasn't the dude's service weapon at all, but an "off duty weapon":

Plymouth police Chief Michael E. Botieri confirmed that Rogers’ gun is missing and that it was taken after he put it down inside the Cranberry Highway courthouse Monday afternoon.

Most area police carry 9 mm semi-automatic pistols such as Glocks, which can hold from 13 to 17 rounds, but Botieri could not say what kind of gun Rogers lost.

Wareham Lt. Kevin Walsh said it was an off-duty weapon, a small handgun, but was not certain of the make. It is not clear how an on-duty weapon differs from an off-duty one, and whether both are issued by the department.

Read more

This story needs to go national.

[BitWielder1]

Question to freepers: What would you do if you found a gun?

They tell kids do not touch, tell an adult.
Assuming you *are* an adult, what would you do?
Call the cops?
Secure it yourself and then call the cops (don't want anyone else to get their hands on it)?
Bring it to a police station (and risk accusations of theft and wrath for 'carrying' unlicensed etc.)?
Unload it and turn it in anonymously somehow?
Take it and keep it?

[jiggyboy]

No good whatsoever can come from just calling the police station and arranging to bring it in, or even for them to come out and pick it up. I can well imagine that in many jurisdictions they could and would gin up any number of charges on you; “possession of stolen property” is pretty much a given.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I’d secure it myself, then bring it into the nearest police station. First, however, I’d photograph the hell out of where I found it, and even try to find a witness or two who’d swear up and down that my story was right.

[jiggyboy]

The big downside to the legal doctrine of finders-keepers in this case is what happens if you eventually do have to use it to protect yourself. The inevitable investigation would illustrate the principle of “compound interest” in a way that even the most math-phobic would immediately and completely understand.

[Fresh Wind]

And don’t touch it, pick it up with a cloth or paper towel so your fingerprints don’t get on it, or mess up prints that might already be there. That might be evidence that could put a scumbag in jail.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Was it his “duty” weapon?

[agere_contra]

Take the gun, load it with blanks and use it to shoot back at the next helicopter fake-strafing the freeway.

That should collapse the Media wave-function.

[fattigermaster]

It used to be not uncommon for police to carry a “throwaway”, a small firearm with a criminal history or with serial numbers removed, to plant on someone they might shoot by mistake.

Of course, police everywhere have reformed since those bad old days.

[V_TWIN]

apparently it was his “doodie” weapon.

[showme_the_Glory]

Firearms get left in rental cars regularly. Usually the owners call back frantically. I heard of one of the car preps trying to pocket one but the owner returned and claimed it. I have a close friend that works for one of the car rental services.

[Tammy8]

I would leave it in place, keep others away, and call LEO if at all possible to do it this way; it may not simply be a misplaced firearm but could be evidence in a crime.