“Xenia police and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office are searching for two SWAT team weapons with at least 60 rounds of ammunition that were kept in a large case stolen from a deputy’s residence,” daytondailynews.com reports. Seems we’ve got a theme here: cops who lose or misplace their weapons. I won’t belabor the point—much—but you’d kinda hope that the officers charged with protecting public safety would, you know, protect public safety. By properly storing their guns at home. Clearly, this was not the case. So to speak . . .
The four-foot, 50-pound, black Pelican case with the number 159 in white ink on each side and a Glock sticker was locked with at least one padlock. Inside the case was a Colt AR-15 rifle, a .223 caliber weapon and a Heckler and Koch MP-5, a .40-caliber weapon. Also inside was a scope, a silencer and two loaded magazines for the MP-5.
The fact that the MP-5 is a fully automatic weapon seems to have escaped the reporter’s attention. The Chief probably thanks his lucky stars on that score, while assuring his employers that the unnamed and only partly shamed (your welcome) Deputy will be held accountable for improperly securing (if at all) his guns and ammo.
Prindle said Xenia police is conducting the investigation of the theft while the Sheriff’s Office is handling an administrative review of the deputy’s actions.
“Guns get stolen in residential burglaries every day, but not these and not from us, not from law enforcement,” Prindle said. “We want to make sure that he took diligence in protecting that weapon.
“There are some questions we have. He’s got to answer to us and we have to answer to the community.”
As should we all, really.
Along those lines, here’s a question: does the Sheriff’s Office ask its Deputies about the storage provisions for weapons that its officers stash in their crib? That might be a good idea. And if taxpayers need to subsidize the installation of a gun safe to keep them safe, I’m all for it. Of course, some savvy safe maker might decide to donate the boxes to the Boyz in Blue and take a tax write off . . .
Meanwhile, a piece of advice. If you keep weapons in various sub-safes or secured areas around the house, make sure you centralize them in the main box when you leave your house for a weekend or vacation. (You DO have a main gun safe, yes?) And install a perimeter alarm. An alarm nips a lot of gun-related problems in the bud. Just ask the police. Well, certain police . . .
