Whoops! Police commander left gun and badge at Lakeline Target

[Mreed911]

Source: http://kxan.com/2015/12/29/police-commander-left-gun-and-badge-at-lakeline-target/

"Police were called to the Target at 10900 Lakeline Mall Dr. on the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 21 after a customer found a duffel bag with a badge and gun inside and turned it into the loss prevention office.
The badge belonged to Commander Stephen Deaton. When an officer arrived to the Target, Deaton was already back at the store. He told the officer that he was shopping at the Target and put his bag in the cart, which he normally wouldn’t do. Deaton told the officer that he realized it as soon as he got home and immediately went back to Target."

Lucky, lucky, lucky... but I have to wonder about carrying badge/gun in a bag, off-body. Perhaps he was trying on clothes and needed a place to secure them... but how do you forget the bag? Kids along? Phone call? Hot Starbucks on the way out the door?

I'm glad everything worked out all right.

 

[vmax]

I have fears about that if I have to take my gun off in the restroom.
I always do a mental check in order of importance. Gun, phone, knife, light..etc..


yeah, that guy got lucky some kid didn't find the gun first.

 

[Hoji]

I wonder why LEOs are never charged with making a firearm accessible to a child when they do this. I know for a fact that CHL and Security Officers are, albeit not every time, but quite frequently.

 

[Sam Colt]

I wonder if he will be suspended... again?

 

[Mreed911]

I wonder if he will be suspended... again?

Someone didn't read the article... if he did, he wouldn't have to wonder.

 

[benenglish]

I think I've told this story before.

I arrived at work and stopped at the snack bar to grab a Coke. As I'm filling the cup with ice, I notice a black fanny pack on top of the machine. There are only a couple of people in the place so I get everyone's attention and ask who it belongs to. No answer. I pick it up and it's seriously heavy. I immediately knew what it was.

I walked it outside to the Federal Protective Service guard station and handed it to one of them. "I want you to know that I haven't opened this and I have no idea what's in it. It was left behind in the snack bar." As soon as the officer took it from me, his eyes went wide. "Yeah, I know. We both know what it is. But I'm going to leave it to you to open it and figure out who screwed up."

The pack, with a SIG pistol, extra magazines, a badge, and a commission, was the property of the Chief of the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s (DS) Houston Field Office.

When I headed on to the elevators to go to work the DS Chief was exiting. He nearly bowled me over as he zoomed off to the snack bar. The FPS Officer with his pack saw him coming, stopped him, and gave him his fanny pack. Nothing ever came of it, afaik.

One thing that was drilled into us during our first phase of training was that if you ever lose your commission, you forfeit your next promotion; they'll find a reason to leave you behind everyone else in your class. But I guess if you're the chief of the whole office there's no one to enforce that on you, is there?