He would regularly check the fire extinguisher in his trunk, and hope he never needed it.
He would keep his gun in proper working condition, and hope he never needed it.

Instead of your A) and B) I will posit C) He was too lazy to do proper maintenance.

You claim to be a pilot. There are a series of checks that you are supposed to do to the plane before you even get in it, then some more checks after you start the engine, then some more quick checks at the end of the runway. Do you do them, or do you treat the plane the way people do cars - hop in, start up, and go? Of course you do the checks because you want to be have a safe flight. For the same reason the cop should have checked his gun regularly.