While cops battle the idea of guns "on the street", one Seattle Police Department officer left one mean gun--literally, on the street. Actually on the trunk of a cruiser. The SPD apologizes for a police-issued AR-15 semi-automatic rifle that was left unattended, atop the law enforcement patrol car.
An investigation's supposedly already been launched by the commander of the Seattle Police Department's West Precinct -- after one Nick Gonzales happened to snap a quick pic of the SPD car plus rifle.
That photo by Gonzalez was reportedly taken near 9 p.m. Perhaps someone got sidetracked by dinner.
Maybe the first question is what exactly a Seattle officer was doing with a semi-automatic assault rifle to begin with, before accidentally leaving it behind. That question remains unanswered for the time being -- as do others.
The marked Seattle police cruiser was at a standstill -- parked outside the Roosevelt Hotel, near Pine and 7th Avenue, with no one around. That absence of people would include the lack of presence of any police officer.
To make matters even more embarrassing for the Seattle Police Department, the officer apparently got back into the patrol car and allegedly drove away -- with the rifle still on hanging out on the trunk of the cruiser. An additional witness, a woman, also saw the rifle and tried to follow the police car to get the officer's attention.
Nick Gonzales reportedly told the media he'd flagged down two more Seattle PD officers on bikes to tell them about the loose rifle -- describing the additional cops' reaction as, "shocked as hell."
The director of the SPD Office of Professional Accountability issued statement: "It is unacceptable that a rifle was left unattended on a patrol car and people should expect more from their police department."
Um, yeah.
But the real kicker may actually be another statement reported to have come from the Seattle Police Department -- that some sort of discipline or change in policy is likely to come from the incident.
It doesn't appear to get much vaguer: Apparently, if officer discipline is somehow skipped, a lack of discipline will be made up for through a change in policy about loose or unattended AR-15 semi-automatic assualt rifles left out in public.
Maybe that policy change will specify that assault rifles, issued to cops, are only allowed to be left unattended on the hood of a police car and never the trunk -- because that could dangerous.
The Seattle Police Department hasn't had the best year or so, the department rocked by allegations of wrongdoing in scandal after scandal: In video evidence that spread across the nation, last October 2010 an SPD officer was accused of assault when seen punching a black woman in the face after she was allegedly jaywalking in Seattle.
That jaywalker punch in the face by a Seattle police officer was captured on cell phone video taken by a witness.
It seems the city's police force might be better off with a cell phone camera ban. Now those are a dangerous thing -- at least for one entity.
It was only a bit less than a year ago, in August 2010, that one of the department's officer did far more than punch a citizen: August 30 (2010) a Seattle Police Department cop fired 3 multiple shots caught on dashcam video, shooting and killing a Native-American man who had just crossed the street in a crosswalk and appeared to be minding his own business. That man had simply crossed the street when one of Seattle's finest exited his car and walked after him; seconds later, audio from dashcam footage reveals the officer saying, "hey, put the knife down" before fast and multiple shots are suddenly heard fired. A female witness on scene, screams "he didn't have anything," while the Seattle officer claims the man had a knife. Knife or no knife, it's hard to warrant three fast, consecutive shots. As it turned out, the man was a woodcarver by trade.
It seems crosswalks and Seattle officers are not a good combination either. In fact, it appears Seattle citizens and officers are not a good combination.