(TX) Moms, kids find officer's loaded gun in South Austin park

[Drizzt]

Moms, kids find officer's loaded gun in South Austin park
Police reviewing the incident, officials say.
By Tony Plohetski

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Tuesday, July 08, 2008

A group of mothers and kindergarten students at a South Austin park found the loaded gun of an Austin police officer who did not know for hours that his weapon was missing, officials said today.

Austin police Lt. Donald Baker said supervisors are reviewing how Officer Daniel Eveleth's Glock handgun might have fallen from his holster while he was at Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park training a police dog at about 5 a.m. Monday.

Officials said they did not immediately know whether one of the children or a parent discovered the gun.

Officers responded to the park after one of the mothers called 911 and learned that the gun was registered to Eveleth, who has been an officer for about 11 years.

They returned the weapon to Eveleth's home and told him where it had been found, Baker said.

"He had no idea he was missing the weapon from his holster," Baker said. "It doesn't look like it was done in negligence."
Elizabeth Phillips, a mother who was at the park, said she arrived soon after officers showed up.

She said the gun appeared to have been on a slide, that officers were still standing around it and that about a dozen children were nearby.

"I was completely shocked," she said.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/09//0709gun.html

If it wasn't negligent, was it deliberate that he left it there?

 

[nwilliams]

"He had no idea he was missing the weapon from his holster," Baker said. "It doesn't look like it was done in negligence."

No, I think there is another word that best describes it

 

[Realbigo]

maybe the dog wasn't the only thing that should have been on a leash. I always dummycord my Handgun

 

[armoredman]

New retention holster might be a good choice, if they let him keep his job.

 

[Claude Clay]

now if that was a civilian's gun..............

free ride in a police car
free coffee at the station for a few hours
perhaps a free phone call

him going home without his permit

lets find out how it goes down when it is one of their own.

i am not being cynical. it has happened 3 times in less than a year here in Corrupticut and thats how it goes.

 

[RonE]

Yes, we need them, but noone has ever accused the police of being overly bright. Too bad it happened, if he stays on the job, he won't live this down for a long long time.

 

[John G]

They found it on the slide?

 

[Old Grump]

Lost my 45

In the middle of a pistol match, a minor one, I think it was called the All Army Championship's at some little place In Georgia. Colonel Moore managed to track it down and return it to me, he wasn't pleased. Dumb things happen to everybody once, Dumb things happen to dumb people all the time. We don't know this guys record or what he will do next. Whatever it is I bet he's more careful doing it.

 

[ilbob]

I can't even fathom that you could lose a holstered gun, go home, and not notice eventually. Very fishy story.

I also find the training dog at 5:00 am in the park story a bit fishy. Might be interesting to see if he was on the clock or not.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Only the police and military should be allowed to have guns.

 

[TexasSkyhawk]

I also find the training dog at 5:00 am in the park story a bit fishy. Might be interesting to see if he was on the clock or not.

Not really.

It's hotter than hell right now in Texas. Best time to work your (working) dog is in the early morning hours when it is the coolest.

In addition, most K9 units work the swing or night shift since that's when most burglaries, intruders and suspicious activities occur. Playgrounds are a very popular place to work your dogs for the the agility opportunities that are ready-made, as well as the myriad of scents that abound.

I don't doubt the "working his dog" story a bit. I can also see how when you're rough and tumbling with your dog, you might lose your gun.

What I can't see is how you could go eleven hours not knowing it was no longer in your holster.

Jeff

 

[TAB]

how do you lose a gun?

 

[moooose102]

i agree, i know where my gun is all the time it is on me. whether it is on my hip, or in my pants pocket. they simply either weigh to much, or are uncomfortable enough that i feel it every time my body moves. maybe that is something said FOR ccw'ing pistols instead of carrying it on the outside of your pantsin a HARD holster. but you still think he would have noticed the weight not being there.

 

[KiltedClaymore]

if it wasnt at a park full of kids id laugh at this officer. they used to take guys like him out back and beat them with a hose...

 

[Drizzt]

Is it possible he was using his own weapon to work on training his dog to find firearms?

 

[jrfoxx]

maybe that is something said FOR ccw'ing pistols instead of carrying it on the outside of your pantsin a HARD holster.

I carry both open and concealed with OWB holsters exclusively, and I guarantee I would notice if there was no gun in it, even with my light S&W m637 Airweight. I cant imagine a Glock is so light as to not make a noticeable difference in weight from an empty holster, regardless of the construction of the holster.This guy just plain screwed up, and was not even CLOSE to paying attention at all. I can see the gun falling out when working with a dog, but there is just NO excuse for not noticing it almost immediately, let alone for 11 hours.

Plus, unless the cop had been playing on the slide, the fact that thats where it was found tells me it didnt fall out, but that he took it out and set it there, and ended up leaving it.IMHO, that makes it even worse, as it it didnt fall out unexpectedly, but was intentionally removed, then forgotten. taking a loaded gun out of its holster, in a public park, and allowing it out of your control for even a minute, is just plain stupid and negligent, IMHO.

I cant cant come up with ANY valid excuse for what happened. Luckily, no one was hurt,(including the cop who may have ended up at a call where he needed the gun he no longer had) and some meth head didnt get a free gun to use to rob and possibly kill someone to support his habit.I really thin kthis guy needs a LONG unpaid vacation from police work, at the minimum.

 

[justin 561]

I don't know how he couldn't see his pistol was missing, every time I see a police officer getting into a car he adjusts his weapon to sit down properly. Neg-li-gence.

 

[Eightball]

He should be regulated to walking parking meters or something else that doesn't require a gun. Then he won't think of it as something he can have, and people can't, because obviously, he can't handle it

 

[TAB]

He should be regulated to walking parking meters or something else that doesn't require a gun. Then he won't think of it as something he can have, and people can't, because obviously, he can't handle it

he should be fired and charged( assuming you or I would be)

 

[yeti]

Just another Robert Blake wanna be.

 

[ilbob]

I also find the training dog at 5:00 am in the park story a bit fishy. Might be interesting to see if he was on the clock or not.

Not really.

It's hotter than hell right now in Texas. Best time to work your (working) dog is in the early morning hours when it is the coolest.

In addition, most K9 units work the swing or night shift since that's when most burglaries, intruders and suspicious activities occur. Playgrounds are a very popular place to work your dogs for the the agility opportunities that are ready-made, as well as the myriad of scents that abound.

I don't doubt the "working his dog" story a bit. I can also see how when you're rough and tumbling with your dog, you might lose your gun.

What I can't see is how you could go eleven hours not knowing it was no longer in your holster.

I don't doubt your logic is indeed possible. I just wonder if he really was on the clock or not. I am thinking if he lost his gun somewhere, somehow, this might be the most plausible story he could come up with to explain it.

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

he should be fired and charged( assuming you or I would be)

Charge him with what? I just want to see if the people calling from prosecution even know what to prosecute him with.

Sounds like the guys in Austin need to re-evaluate their retention equipment.

 

[Catherine]

Quote:

Only the police and military should be allowed to have guns.

~~~~~

Ha ha... in before they close this one!

Catherine

 

[FieroCDSP]

Figure a Glock Fo-tay (G22) weighing in at 22.92 oz empty, plus 15 rounds of 165gr ammo @ (165+, call it 110gr case+, 6gr powder=6/10 pound), comes out to be 32.52 oz, or 2.03 pounds.

This would likely be the lightest full-size duty piece carried. You don't lose a two pound chunk of plastic and metal off your belt and not notice unless you're negligent. Heck, I notice a serious difference between my compact 9mm carry piece being on my belt or not. There should be an extensive investigation as to this officer's competency in his day to day goings.

 

[LAK]

As soon as I read the subject line I was reminded of the similar "child shoots self with granny's pursed handgun in Sam's" Thread.

Yep; these mishaps and oversights happen to the "highly trained" as well. Although happily in this case a small child did not pick it up and shoot themselves. And like the granny, no need to hang this guy either - the embarrassment has been sufficient I am sure.