Cop's loaded gun found in park (Austin, TX)

[davepc]

The safety of an Austin park is in question after some mothers and their kids found a loaded handgun.

Monday morning the group found a loaded gun at Slaughter Creek Park in Southwest Austin.

One mother called police.

When officers arrived, they found the weapon belonged to Daniel Eveleth, an 11-year veteran of the Austin Police Department.

He had been training at the park several hours before the gun was found.

...

http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/austin/stories/070908kvuegun-eh.3aa7475c.html

KVUE video report at link.

[tburnsten]

1. How does an LEO lose complete control of their weapon?

Let alone a veteran like Mr. Eveleth? He should find a new field.

[davepc]

2. Moms, kids find officer's loaded gun in South Austin park

more details

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

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 training a police dog about 5 a.m. Monday at the Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park on Slaughter Creek.

Department officials said Tuesday that they could not specifically describe what training exercises Eveleth was conducting with the dog, why they were being done at pre-dawn hours or the type of holster he was wearing.

Officers responding to the park after one of the mothers called 911 learned that the gun was registered to Eveleth, who has been an officer for about 11 years and worked as a Travis County jailer before joining Austin police.

They returned the weapon to Eveleth at his home about four hours after he left the park and told him where it had been found, Baker said.

...

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

[tburnsten]

4. "the type of holster he was wearing."

Obviously a shitty one. My holsters never give up my guns on their own, and if they don't feel secure I don't wear them. If it was a duty holster than I think that department needs to look into purchasing some new gear.

[BlueGirlRedState]

3. This hits very close to home

I live near this park. Sounds like there's more to this story.

[iverglas]

6. I'm curious

Sounds like there's more to this story.

What would it be?

[iverglas]

5. of course, a regular folk's firearm

could never ever fall from his/her holster in a public park and not be noticed missing until it was too late. Noooo. This could only happen when the holster is on one o' those dumb cops.

Why should firearms not be permitted in public parks?

Hmm. That's a puzzler.

Training a dog is not "on duty" in any meaningful sense, in case anyone wanted to ask.

[tburnsten]

7. He was negligent, it's tough to miss

two or more pounds of steel, plastic, rubber, brass, and lead falling off you. He may have been doing some physical training with the dog though, and had his gun in a less orthodox holster like a belly band. For the most part holsters all keep the guns they are designed for quite secure, it is when people use holsters for the wrong gun that problems arise.

[iverglas]

8. yes, and

Those regular folks, they're never ever negligent.

Or maybe their negligence just doesn't make the news ...

[Real_Talk]

9. guns in the sandbox

I have been to lots of parks and never seen a gun/an hdtv or anything else that cost $500.000- $1000.00 dollars or more laying in the sandbox. How many have you seen left laying about?

I tend to make sure I secure things that I find important, like my wallet, my keys or I don't know... a firearm. I think most other folks do the same.

It also seems to be that when these stories pop up, it is a cop who leaves their weapon laying out somewhere, because they know down deep, that if they get the weapon back and nobody dies, they will only get a little grief down at the station house. If Joe Public leaves the odd Glock or two down at the local park, Joe knows to a near certainty that his weapon will not be returned any time soon and will probably involve criminal charges and lawyers before he ever sees it again. Not to mention, ever gets his life back to normal.

[tburnsten]

10. That's the ticket!

People who actually pay for and maintain their weapons tend to take excellent care of them, and take the responsibility of owning and carrying quite seriously. I would never let one of my nice expensive firearms to be left out in the grass in some park. If you steal your guns or trade drugs for them, or are issued them and don't care about the condition they are returned in, then you have much less incentive to take good care of them.

This is a point many people miss.

[iverglas]

13. huh

A good friend of mine, a quite highly intelligent fellow, a fellow lawyer at the time, left his car lying around in a nearby city late one night and couldn't find it at all the next day. Didn't even remember where he left it.

But of course, people who own firearms never ever lose things. And they never ever put the firearm in their purse and forget about it until they try to get on a ride at Disney World, or put it in their glove compartment and forget about it until they try to cross the border to Canada ...

[Real_Talk]

14. apple-orange

What your friend did is called parking. It is normal to leave one's automobile outdoors and then later retrieve it.

I bet people rarely lose a gun or forget one in their bag actually, that is why it makes the news when somebody actually does so. I rarely say never because most things happen at times. I even agree with something you post at times.

How many of those people who "forgot" were just figuring they wouldn't get caught? I don't forget when I am carrying a deadly weapon, and I really don't forget that I am crossing the border into another country. I don't think I am the exception in the forgoing habits.

[iverglas]

16. ekchewly, no

What my friend did was called getting stinking drunk, leaving his car behind, starting to walk home, falling asleep on the sidewalk in the middle of the big bridge, waking up when the sun rose, walking the rest of the way home, and calling the police to report his car stolen.


I bet people rarely lose a gun or forget one in their bag actually, that is why it makes the news when somebody actually does so.

Yeah. I just bet. And I just bet that everybody who does do it immediately calls the police and the media to report it.

My favourite was the guy who forgot he was carrying a pipe bomb in his car when he drove into Canada ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1626370

Memory like a steel trap.

But drifting a little from the topic.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

21. I'm pretty sure any gun found in the park would have made the news.

Might not have made DU, though.

David

[AtheistCrusader]

23. Last time it made the news here

our police chief left his service pistol in his car, didn't lock it, and it was stolen. :shrug:

Occasionally I will see this sort of thing by 'normal folks' in the local police blotter, but it's pretty rare all around. Pretty big, heavy, expensive, and important thing to just 'lose' without noticing.

Good that this officer's weapon was retrieved by law-abiding citizens with some common sense around firearms. If an unsupervised child had found it...

[Spoonman]

11. Once again you demonstrate

your complete lack of knowledge with regards to OUR laws.

Training a dog is not "on duty" in any meaningful sense, in case anyone wanted to ask.

Let's clear this up for you once and for all.

THIS IS NOT CANADA!!!!!!!!!

In Texas, police officers are considered ALWAYS on duty, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Many departments have policies that require their officers to carry a firearm at all times.

Granted this cop was an idiot for losing his pistol, however his duty status is irrelevant for this discussion.

[iverglas]

12. well

Many departments have policies that require their officers to carry a firearm at all times.

That's just plain stupid, isn't it then? So what do I care?


Granted this cop was an idiot for losing his pistol, however his duty status is irrelevant for this discussion.

Yeah. We all know that NOBODY was gonna pop up and have something to say about how gosh isn't it supposed to be only the cops who are smart and good enough to carry guns?

Somebody who carries a gun while training a dog in a public park strikes me as not too smart at all.

And if a public authority imposed a policy on such a person requiring that s/he carry a gun while training a dog in a public park ... well, let's just say I expect quite a bit better from my public authorities.

[ak]

15. hey

Do you wear seatbelt every time you drive????
Might be plain stupid EH?

[iverglas]

17. goodness!

So sparing with your posts in all these years, and you devote one to MOI? I'm flattered. Is a proposal next?

If only I had a clue what you were saying to me. It could be a proposal. I really can't tell.

[ManiacJoe]

18. Care to explain your reasoning?

Somebody who carries a gun while training a dog in a public park strikes me as not too smart at all.

What makes dog training so special that it should not be mixed with carrying a gun, assuming the use of an appropriate holster? (Obviously an inappropriate holster is bad during any strenuous activities.)

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Irreverend IX]

20. Why don't you think it's smart to carry a gun?

Especially for someone whose job involves making enemies of many violent criminal types.

[jeepnstein]

24. Nice people don't think about things like this.

Walking through WalMart one evening with my wife I run into a fellow who comes up and speaks to me. We exchange pleasantries and I ask if he's still doing OK. After he leaves, my wife asks who it was. "Oh, just a guy who attacked me with a knife a couple of months back, I got into trouble for not killing him." She nearly passed out.

A good friend of mine was eating at a pizza place after church with his family. He spots two guys with guns walking in the front door. They spot my friend and recognize him as the cop who put one of them in prison a few years earlier. He flipped the table up on it's side and got his family down on the floor. In the exchange of gunfire, my friend got a finger shot off because he was holding the table in place with his free hand.

That's why cops carry off-duty weapons. It's a pain in the butt, let me tell you. I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore. As a group, cops are also terrible about gun safety. They spend so much time with a firearm that they just get as lax as you can imagine. Even though supervisors repeat themselves till they're blue in the face about safety someone will screw up. I don't know what happened in that park in Austin but it's one of those things that cops do all too often. In the law enforcement world, duty weapons aren't seen as some kind of magical device that controls life and death but rather just a part of the gear that one has to schlep around.

[JMackT]

25. Right

Why is it stupid for an officer to carry a gun?

Criminals dont wait for an officer to be on duty to pull some shit.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

22. Just plain wrong in every meaningful sense.

A cop training with a canine unit is on duty in any possible sense.

David

[tburnsten]

26. More information, it was a holster issue.

http://www.kvue.com/news/newton/stories/070908kvuegunfolo-cb.3bce83b5.html



One day after Austin police admitted an officer left his gun in a Southwest Austin park, police officials confirmed with KVUE News that the use of special holsters for working with police dogs has been suspended.

Video

KVUE's Noelle Newton reports
07/09/2008
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In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, police said they don't know whether the officer or the gun holster was to blame, but they aren't taking any chances.

Austin Police say Officer Daniel Eveleth, an 11-year veteran, somehow lost his loaded Glock gun at the popular and heavily-used Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park early Monday morning. Eveleth was at the park early Monday training with the canine unit.

"It strikes fear in every officer's heart. Leaving a weapon unsecured like that in a place like that simply for all of us and we are human in this department is sickening and we obviously want to make sure this never happens again," said Assistant Chief Al Eells, Austin Police Department.

Fellow APD officers say Eveleth is sick with the guilt of leaving his loaded gun at this park playground.

"I can tell you, no one is more devastated than officer himself," Austin Police Association Vice-President Wuthipong Tantaksinanukj. "He's a great officer. He's highly thought of this is just an unfortunate accident."

Eveleth told Eells how he thinks it happened.

"Eveleth was nearing the end of his shift. He stopped at Slaughter Creek Park to give his K-9 rest and exercise," Eells explained.

Eveleth, sat down on a slide and his dog jumped on him. A parent found the gun on the slide three hours later.

Officers illustrated in a news conference earlier Wednesday why the dog's paw swipe could have been enough to cause the gun to slip out. K-9 officers like Eveleth use a special gun holster that wraps around their thigh. When sitting, the back of the gun could easily slip out if the strap is flipped up.

Police say a gun has never fallen out of a holster like this before. Nonetheless, the department is suspending use of the belt and holster.

"We are very concerned and will look at this very carefully," Eells said.

All thigh holsters have been pulled until further investigation. Eveleth's actions will also be investigated.

One thing officers do know is they are thankful no one got hurt.

"Thanks to the mom for calling 9-1-1," Bert Lumbreras, Assistant City Manager.

The SWAT team, the bomb squad and narcotics officers also use the same holster on occasion. Those tactical officers wear outer bullet proof vests. The thigh holster makes it easier for them to grab their gun in high intensity situations.

Eveleth's actions are being investigated. He remains on active duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

[tburnsten]

27. And another. Seems like a training issue as well

(TX) Austin police reviewing holsters after gun found in park

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Austin police reviewing holsters after gun found in park
Officers who work with dogs ordered to stop using holsters.
By Tony Plohetski

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Thursday, July 10, 2008

Austin police are reviewing the type of holsters dozens of officers carry and have already suspended their use in the department's canine unit after officials said an officer's gun slipped out and was later found in a Southwest Austin park teeming with children.

Assistant Police Chief Al Eells said Wednesday that a preliminary investigation shows that officer Daniel Eveleth, who was sitting on a playground slide, lost his loaded gun when a police dog lurched toward him at Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park on Slaughter Creek early Monday.

Eells and other department officials said Eveleth was wearing a special holster in which a gun rests between an officer's knee and hip and that the dog's paw might have knocked a leather strap covering the weapon out of place.

"Certainly we believe there may be an equipment issue here," Eells said.

Eells said the investigation will include why Eveleth did not know for several hours that his gun was missing. A group of mothers and about a dozen children found the weapon on the slide about 8:45 a.m. and called police, who returned it to Eveleth at his home.

Assistant Police Chief Sam Holt, who is in charge of the department this week while Chief Art Acevedo is attending a conference, also said Wednesday that officials are reviewing why top department leaders weren't told about what happened until a day later, when the Austin American-Statesman began inquiring about the incident.

It is the second time in recent weeks that top city officials weren't immediately notified of a high-profile incident. City Manager Marc Ott has said he didn't learn about last month's fire at the Texas Governor's Mansion until the next day. About 100 Austin firefighters battled the blaze, which nearly destroyed the empty building.

Eells said Eveleth was nearing the end of his eight-hour shift about 5:15 a.m. Monday when he took the dog to the park. He said the dog had been patrolling with the officer in his car and that Eveleth wanted to give it time to exercise.

He said that after several minutes, Eveleth loaded the dog into the car, went home and immediately fell asleep.

Eells said officers who responded to a 911 call from the park thought the gun looked similar to the type of weapon officers carry and asked department officials to check its serial number against those in a database.

He said Eveleth was "quite frankly shocked" when they returned his gun.

"He's very upset about it," Eells said. "He has expressed that. This is the type of situation that strikes fear in every officer's heart."

Officials said they were trying to determine Wednesday how many officers wear the "tactical thigh holsters" and will review whether they are appropriate for their assignments. They said officers in specialized units, including the SWAT team and bomb squad, often wear special bullet-proof vests that make wearing regular holsters that go around the waist uncomfortable.

They said seven officers who are assigned dogs have been ordered to immediately stop wearing the thigh holsters.

During a news conference, Eells, Holt and Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras each thanked parents at the park for keeping children away from the gun. They especially expressed gratitude to Danielle Pieranunzi, who called 911.

"She handled the situation very appropriately," Lumbreras said.

[SteveM]

28. Picture of "tactical thigh holster" at this link:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/10/0710gun.html

[tburnsten]

29. What they get for using Uncle Mike's

as a duty holster. Why they couldn't have just bought any of the dozens of far higher quality holsters is beyond me.

[SteveM]

31. No doubt regulation- and bureau-crazy Austin will do a study (nt)

[Wickerman]

30. Horrid, obviously. I wonder if there is some sort of stat that could be derived here

For instance, number of CCW folks who lose guns US wide vs. number of cops who lose guns US wide. I'm guessing the resultant number is negligible either direction. Of course, if there were an incident the insignificant number becomes quite significant.