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Rookie Fairfax Officer Loses Handgun
A rookie Fairfax County police officer accidentally left his loaded handgun on top of his personal car and drove off Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. Police yesterday were offering a $1,000 reward for its return, they said.
Police said the officer worked in the West Springfield station, on Rolling Road near Old Keene Mill Road. About 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, after his shift ended, he was placing his belongings in his car and he placed his Sig Sauer P229 service weapon on the roof of the vehicle, Officer Shelley Broderick said. He left it there as he drove home, Broderick said.
The officer headed to the Fairfax County Parkway, and then west on the parkway to Braddock Road, Broderick said. The officer pulled over and contacted his supervisors when he realized his mistake, and police searched the route he had taken. But the black gun, in a black leather holster, was gone. Anyone with the gun, or information about the gun, may call Fairfax police.
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I think this cop should be fired. Seriously, what happens if the gun is never turned in and it is used in a crime? What if it is used to kill someone? I think this is a VERY serious mistake on the part of the officer.
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That is a big mistake, because again "what if" he really took the gun himself and reported it stolen, then he could commit a crime with a gun that was supposedly stolen.
But then again it could be a mistake, and even though they are the police, mistakes do happen and he isn't perfect. Of which I don't think the scenario I posted first is realistic because he is here to serve us and he was probably scared $hitless when he discovered what he did.
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Originally posted by Kokopellian:
I think this cop should be fired. Seriously, what happens if the gun is never turned in and it is used in a crime? What if it is used to kill someone? I think this is a VERY serious mistake on the part of the officer.
What happens if I leave my car keys lying around, and someone finds them, takes my car, and gets involved in a hit and run resulting in death? Should I be sentenced for losing my keys?
Serious mistake, yes, but not enough to fire the cop on a first offence. He should be repremanded and encouraged to take better care of his "tools". After all, his gun is just a tool he uses to do his job.
If someone wanted to commit a crime, they would do so regardless of whether or not they find a gun lying on the ground.
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Hey, if Chief Wiggum can leave his gun on the picnic table at Homers BBQ..... 
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Originally posted by delmar:
Originally posted by Kokopellian:
I think this cop should be fired. Seriously, what happens if the gun is never turned in and it is used in a crime? What if it is used to kill someone? I think this is a VERY serious mistake on the part of the officer.
What happens if I leave my car keys lying around, and someone finds them, takes my car, and gets involved in a hit and run resulting in death? Should I be sentenced for losing my keys?
Serious mistake, yes, but not enough to fire the cop on a first offence. He should be repremanded and encouraged to take better care of his "tools". After all, his gun is just a tool he uses to do his job.
If someone wanted to commit a crime, they would do so regardless of whether or not they find a gun lying on the ground.
Different situation. You vehicle can't be "found" by a child and afterwards they drive it somewhere to harm someone. However a child can find a LOADED gun, go home and shoot their siblings or take it to school to show off. Also, a stolen car is a different crime. Once someone has stolen your car, it's a crime in itself, but no one would steal the gun in this situation. It has been found after being lost. That is just a VERY bad item to lose and it should have been treated with more care that it was. If someone loses a life over the gun, the State will be sued for millions you can be sure of that.
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I agree it was a very dumb mistake, that he will probably never make again. A good cop shouldn't be ruined for a mistake. Seeing as he pulled over once he noticed the gun gone and called it in, I think he handled the situation well. I'm sure a few cops wouldn't have called it in and would have searched for it by themselves to save face.
-Andy
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I think we should all be taken out and shot gheshtapo style for every one of our mistakes we have ever made. or just mabey you KoKoPellian- Gimme a break!  
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Originally posted by Andy W.:
I agree it was a very dumb mistake, that he will probably never make again. A good cop shouldn't be ruined for a mistake. Seeing as he pulled over once he noticed the gun gone and called it in, I think he handled the situation well. I'm sure a few cops wouldn't have called it in and would have searched for it by themselves to save face.
-Andy
I agree. I bet he gets a pretty stern reprimand though.
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Originally posted by Horse:
I think we should all be taken out and shot gheshtapo style for every one of our mistakes we have ever made.
or just mabey you KoKoPellian-
Gimme a break!
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LMFAO! I love it when I get CYBER-THUGGED! Hahahaha! You must make A LOT of mistakes to feel the need to be so forgiving Horsey. 
I didn't say the cop should be killed. I said they should be relieved of their duties bottom line. If anyone makes that big an error on their job they should be fired. It doesn't just stop at cops. Say you work at a bank and you left the vault open overnight and someone steals $50,000. Would you derserve to keep your job? I don't think so. The cop lost their firearm through sheer carelessness. Who says that's a good cop? That is a MAJOR issue in my opinion. Some mistakes are terminable offenses and in my book that constitutes one of them.
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Though I'm not sure that the police officer should be fired since I don't see how a police officer who loses his gun necessarily means that he wouldn't be an effective cop in the future but Kokopellian raises a good point .. that if the gun was later shown to be used to kill somebody, Fairfax County might be liable. In light of this, it would be absolutely essential that Fairfax takes action to prevent something like this from happening again.
This is not the first time I have heard of law enforcement losing guns (though this is the first time I've heard of an officer losing a weapon whereas they are typically stolen). I wonder if officers are required to pay for the replacement cost of their firearms if they are stolen/lost? It would certainly encourage officers to take better care in storing their weapons.
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