Groundskeeper fired for turning found gun over to police

[Tinpig]

The comments that "he should have called the police" seem to be a based on the assumption that everyone carries a cell phone.

Am I the last person in the US who doesn't own one and has no desire to?

If I found a loaded gun in an isolated area I would not be able to secure it without taking posession of it.

I think this guy is getting screwed.

Tinpig

 

[mgregg85]

He did the right thing by turning it in but he should have gotten on the phone and called the cops ASAP, just to CYA.

 

[the iron horse]

Common sense it seems, is no longer common.

Something has gone wrong in this country that a story like
this should even be in the news.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

While on the one hand I wanna say - maybe he learned his lesson and if the situation ever arose again, he'd keep it to himself and sell it to some drug addict.

But then there's this. What if he had gone on lunch break - whatever, somehow allowed it to be seen, had a cop called and then is faced with "oh, this (soon to be found to be stolen) pistol that I found - I was just holding it till I got the opportunity to pass it on responsibly". Yeah, that tack worked really well when we were all kids didn't it?

I feel bad for the guy as faar as getting fired but c'mon... Detroit, a hidden handgun and if he intended to hand it in as stated he still kept it on him till afterwork "Later that same evening"?

Not well thought out and could have ended much worse for him and as far as his employers were concerned he was armed the rest of the day after "finding" it - so there's that too.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Did he really "do the right thing"? What if he had just kept his mouth shut and not involved the police? Or what if he had made an anonymous call from a pay phone telling the police where it could be found?

He made the mistake of getting involved.

 

[191145fan]

A worker carries a gun to work. The establishment is antigun and will fire you if your are caught with a firearm. Worker gets caught with firearm. Claims he found it and is turning it to police. Establishment fires the worker.

Proving you actually found it is difficult.

 

[razorback2003]

The guy would have sadly done better by throwing the gun in a pond. Kind of sad that doing the right thing is criticized because a specific procedure is not followed.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Did he get caught with it BEFORE he turned it in to police?

 

[Agsalaska]

A worker carries a gun to work. The establishment is antigun and will fire you if your are caught with a firearm. Worker gets caught with firearm. Claims he found it and is turning it to police. Establishment fires the worker.

Proving you actually found it is difficult.

Proving you found it is meaningless. All that matters is that you took possession of it and, if you want to even try to give him the benefit of the doubt, did not immediately turn it in to the police. He should have never touched it and called the police immediately. The fact that he took possession of it and actually carried it at work as his personal possession is all that matters. I feel bad for him. But he got what he had coming. He gave his employers little if any choice int he matter.

This is assuming the facts are as they are being read. Most of you are reading them as fact so I will too.

 

[ScottieG59]

I think this guy was not the smartest. If i found a gun, I would definitely not move or touch it. The waiting and carrying the gun is not good. I expect the police will not care since he turned it in with a plausible story. Bringing it back to work was a bit dumb, but if it occurred as described, I would not have canned him.

Like many things that are sold to the press, this storey may have missing and inaccurate parts.

 

[usmarine0352_2005]

A worker carries a gun to work. The establishment is antigun and will fire you if your are caught with a firearm. Worker gets caught with firearm. Claims he found it and is turning it to police. Establishment fires the worker.

Proving you actually found it is difficult.

Why would he turn it in then?



Work never knew he had a gun. So he didn't get 'caught' with a gun at work.
.

 

[303tom]

Been me, I would have put in my pocket & not said a word to anyone...............

 

[Agsalaska]

Like many things that are sold to the press, this storey may have missing and inaccurate parts.

This.

 

[Kaeto]

For those of you that said he should have left it where he found it and called the police. The Detroit cops wouldn't have come since nobody was actively being attacked with the gun, and he would have been told to bring it to a precinct (during the hours they are open) to turn it in.

 

[kris7047th]

Why didn't he call the police, instead of waiting for them to drive by? Why would he take it home before taking it to the police instead of directly to the police on his way home? I think some of the facts may be missing here.

He would have been fired for stepping off the job to report it to the police. Anyways, you have to understand the situation with Detroit PD. They don't respond to 911 calls, and have publicly stated as such. I hope he gets his job back asap.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/new...en-after-fender-bender-in-detroit-20120514-ms

 

[22-rimfire]

I would have done exactly the same thing, but unloaded the handgun if I knew how. I thinik the Detroit man has grounds for a serious law suit which would probably yield full salary and benefits until retirement age and then full participation in whatever retirement system is in place. My advice is get a lawyer and begin the legal process.

 

[jdh]

For those of you that said he should have left it where he found it and called the police. The Detroit cops wouldn't have come since nobody was actively being attacked with the gun, and he would have been told to bring it to a precinct (during the hours they are open) to turn it in.

At least then he would have some proof that he did intend to turn the gun in. Carrying it around all day and then suddenly remembering to go turn it in well after the end of the work day (for both him and the property officers at the police station) raises questions as to his true intent, justified or not.

 

[Ye Olde Fool]

A city crew that does not have a radio or cell phone amongst them?

I hate to be the one to take the side of management BUT, once he took possession of the contraband firearm instead of securing in place and immediately notifying the chain of command or law enforcement he was in violation of the policy. The point could be argued that he had no intention of reporting, instead intended to keep the found property, and only later had a change of heart.

Had the gun had been used in recent crime, once he touched it evidence was destroyed.

The point could also be argued that not everyone is as astute as you are.
What is clearly the way to handle a situation to one person, may not be that obvious to another.

 

[Ye Olde Fool]

Do you wonder why our country is in trouble? This is another example of the imbeciles we have positions of authority whether elected, appointed, or employed.
What has happened to “Common Sense”?
My mistake “Common Sense” is not “Common” any more!

 

[drsfmd]

He would have been fired for stepping off the job to report it to the police. Anyways, you have to understand the situation with Detroit PD. They don't respond to 911 calls, and have publicly stated as such. I hope he gets his job back asap.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/new...en-after-fender-bender-in-detroit-20120514-ms

No employer, especially not a public one, would fire an employee for calling the police to handle a matter like this. It doesn't matter if they respond to 911 or not... they would have a record of his call.

 

[CZguy]

My mistake “Common Sense” is not “Common” any more!

In all fairness, "common sense" has never been "common".

 

[p35]

The way I heard it his union has already filed a grievance and will be fighting this thing out. I'm not always a fan of unions, but sometimes they force bureaucrats to exercise common sense. I'm guessing they're going to compromise on an unpaid suspension and call it good.

 

[Agsalaska]

I know I was defending management earlier, and I think they probably felt trapped into the decision. But I do hope they come up with some kind of amicable solution. I certainly dont think his actions showed very good judgement, but, if it was honest, maybe they can work something out.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

The way I heard it his union has already filed a grievance and will be fighting this thing out. I'm not always a fan of unions, but sometimes they force bureaucrats to exercise common sense. I'm guessing they're going to compromise on an unpaid suspension and call it good.

I hope the union comes through for him. I get the management reacting, just not this particular and Draconian reaction - go figure - retirement was looming.

 

[garymc]

Why would someone throw away a perfectly good gun? Maybe because it was stolen or stolen and then used in a crime? If you were the cop and the gun was determined to be stolen or used to shoot someone and the only fingerprints on it were those of our hero, would you be irate? Irate enough to complain to his agency? There's probably a lot here we don't know.