Monday, January 4, 2010

Loses her gun and doesn't have to pay the price

An Indianola, IA police officer leaves her firearm in her squad car, and while on vacation, it's stolen.
A police-issue handgun was stolen from an Indianola police officer’s squad car last week while the officer was on vacation, said Police Chief Steve Bonnett.

Officer Mesha Wagner noticed at about 1 p.m. Sunday that someone had stolen her Glock 9mm pistol from the city squad car parked on the 900 block of South R Street in Indianola, Bonnett said.
Why is an officer allowed to leave their squad car parked on the street while on vacation for a week with a firearm stored inside? Because a policy states they have to.

This city doesn't think the officer should have any consequences for allowing a firearm to fall into the hands of a criminal.
Wagner, who has served in Indianola since 2003, will not face any disciplinary action.
Could she at least be required to reimburse the city for the lost pistol?

2 comments:

ASM826 said...

No, and no. She should not be in any trouble. The only criminal here is the one who stole a firearm after breaking into her vehicle.

Would she be in trouble if he stolen money, CDs, and cell phone? No. Find the criminal and punish him.

Then apply the same standard to all gun owners. If your firearms are stolen, it is the criminal's fault, no one else.

strandediniowa said...

The officer left an unsecured firearm in a vulnerable environment.

She certainly should be subject to some consequences by her employer.

If she is that dumb, she should be unemployed at the very least.