Posted on 07/18/2002 1:03:07 AM PDT by weegee
Here's one for the Naked Gun -- From the Files of Police Squad!
Police officer tries to fix squad cars. Police force loses cars.
Until Wednesday, that is. After missing for nearly a month, the two Houston Police Department squad cars were found sitting at a car dealership where they had been sent for repairs.
The two marked police cars with lights and sirens were discovered missing June 21 during a routine inventory check. They turned up Wednesday morning at the dealership where they had been sent for warranty work -- with Police Department authorization.
Police spokesman Robert Hurst declined to say how HPD lost the cars for nearly a month, citing an ongoing internal affairs investigation. But a Houston Police Officers Union official said he understood an officer at HPD Central Patrol sent the cars for repairs and simply forgot to record the action in police records.
"The two patrol cars reported missing in late June are now back in our possession," Hurst said, as he showed the vehicles to reporters Wednesday afternoon. "It does not appear they have been used for any type of criminal activity."
HPD has a fleet of 1,500 vehicles and, just as with any large company that relies on a massive number of vehicles, mistakes can happen, union officials said.
"I find it probably a miracle we don't lose more," said Ronny Martin, union secretary.
G.D. Yorek, Central Patrol Division captain, was in a meeting all day Wednesday and was unavailable for comment.
After the cars were discovered missing, police were unsure if the mystery was due to an inventory glitch or theft from the HPD Central garage.
Hurst said the cars were found in a secured area at the mechanic's shop. He said the cars were never in criminals' hands and the public was never in danger.
The cruisers were still being inspected later Wednesday, but Hurst said it did not appear the cars had been tampered with or damaged.
"We are doing a thorough investigation into what happened to them, why they were not returned to us as quickly as they should have been . . . to determine where the breakdown occurred," Hurst said.
Hurst would not reveal who was behind the glitch or say whether that person had failed to adhere to department policy.
"The department always wants to keep track of its equipment, where it is and what's being done with it at all times," he said.
Governor orders thousands of state cars accounted for
Georgia has about 23,000 state vehicles, but don't ask where they all are. The state doesn't know.In fact, the government can't even say for sure how many vehicles the state owns. State workers authorized to take cars home are required to keep track of the miles they drive, but noncompliance is widespread....
Hurst would not reveal who was behind the glitch or say whether that person had failed to adhere to department policy.
The Cover Your Ass policy seems like it is being adhered to. As the tax paying public, we deserve an answer as to the cause of this mixup.
Note to self: Never take car to this dealer for repair work.
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.............After missing for nearly a month, the two Houston Police Department squad cars were found sitting at a car dealership where they had been sent for repairs.
The two marked police cars with lights and sirens were discovered missing June 21 during a routine inventory check. They turned up Wednesday morning at the dealership where they had been sent for warranty work -- with Police Department authorization.
Although this person is speaking honestly, it only reinforces the fact that the HPD and the rest of the L.P. Brown Administration in the City of Houston are incompetent, corrupt bozos that don't care if they are wasting taxpayer money and/or letting criminals run unchecked.
Of course the equally corrupt and lazy Houston Comical won't even editorialize on this screw up by their favorite "pet" mayor. Heck they'll probably give L.P. Brown credit for finding the "lost" cars.
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