Trust
 

Tonight a cop came to the office in response to a 911 call. One of our staff members had a seizure, and whenever you call an ambulance, you get a cop too.

The officer had to go back to the unit to see the subject and get some demographic information.

Unless there is an insurrection in progress, we don't allow firearms anywhere near the nuts, so I let him know that he'd need to lock up his weapon. We have property lockers for visitors in the foyer.

"You mind if I leave this here?"

"Nope."

He set his pistol on my desk and came back for it about a half hour later, spoiling my hopes that he would walk off without it, and well, finders-keepers, you know?

wow...wouldn't that be against the rules? I mean, him just leaving it with you?

It seems that you have either left something (EEI) out of this story, missed something when the event took place; or, the cop's name is Barney and he kept his one bullet with him in his shirt pocket!

Unless you have a special relationship with this cop and/or his department:

*Locking the pistol up in a monitored area [i.e. is the foyer monitored?] would have been a better option for both personnel safety and property security.

*The pistol should have been deactivated (e.g. ammo stored separately, magnetic key (ring worn) safety, magazine (removed) safety, trigger lock (handcuffs through trigger guard behind trigger) ... etc. regardless of where the pistol was stored.

*The cop should have gotten a receipt for the pistol from you (e.g. held your driver's license, your facility ID, annotated business card ... etc.).

The cop not taking his pistol back to the unit was fine; however, the limited information you provided makes it appear that the cop was trusting to the point of being irresponsible and some weapons security retraining is in order.

That's a cool story. There are only about three cities where I could see something like this happening. Philly is one of them.

Now tell us everything that ran through your mind while the officer was away.

Which happens . . how often??

Actual insurrection requring police assistance? Once in 15 years.

Basic insurrections occur about three times a week.

... mmm ... nice ... I've been wanting something from this manufacturer ... needs cleaning

The story is complete. Okay, I left out one thing. My (new) partner said "Did that cop just leave his gun on your desk?!" in an incredulous manner.

He did make sure the safety was engaged.

It was fully loaded.

This is not the first time that this has happened.

I have a special relationship with all the cops in all the departments. It is also known that I am experienced in firearms handling.

There is a reason that the story was headlined "trust."

You're European, Australian, or from New Jersey aren't you ...

P.S. There are no "magnetic keys" for firearms. Science fiction crap.

Bullshit, I don't believe it. No way. Never happened. You can't convince me a cop left his weapon with you and you didn't run out back and cap a couple of coffee cups.:lol2:

He was looking for backup if his CQB training didn't work ;)

It was misleading, the words "trust" and "incompetence" are not synonymous.

No, that's wolfshit.

Such devices have been around for more than a quarter century:
http://www.tarnhelm.com/magna-trigge...ty/magna1.html
Perhaps you've seen something like this before and simply forgot about it (i.e. the short term memory is the first thing to go). That's wolfing big shit. :p

PS: Whether or not the lockers in the foyer are under continuous observation (e.g. by a receptionist) is a significant factor in assessing the cops actions which I presume is why you didn't address the question; unless, you didn't understand its ramifications. :eyebrow:

Only because I really like my cellar.org coffee cup.

Revolvers went out with sword fighting and knickers, fool. :p

That's true for military and police (firepower concerns). Revolvers are still popular with private security (litigation concerns) and for home security (ease of use and maintenance) among others (e.g. hunters). I do believe that I also mentioned magazine safeties (applicable to pistols) and a trigger blocking technique that works well with many of both [reading comprehension xoB!] The reference to magnetic safeties was thrown in to cover all bases and the nostalgia didn't hurt.

My concern is that, as any psychologist can tell you, past human behavior is not necessarily a reliable indicator of future human behavior. Actually, any NASA employee can tell you that after their astronaut fiasco. When that cop decided to "trust" wolf with a loaded pistol, which could be fired after the flick of a safety, he was projecting an outcome that not even the best psychologists in the world can state with certainty. If this had happened between wolf and the cop at home; or, while out on a hunting trip together, the immediate consequences of something going wrong would have been limited to only the two of them. The general public; however, doesn't pay its police to take that risk (in this case a most unnecessary risk) with their lives. It is a betrayal of the special trust and confidence that the public has in its police officers that they will abide by protocols; or, at least the reasonable man principle so as not to unnecessarily "trust" nonaffiliated others with lethal weapons (not wolf, not you, not me ... not anybody).

It would be entertaining to see what the applicable statutes and regulations are governing both the officer and wolf under those circumstances as well as the policies of wolf's employer pertaining an employee's possession of a lethal weapon (regardless of who owns it) in a facility of that nature. While these factors may be mitigating, they wouldn't change the fact that neither the cop rendering his loaded weapon to wolf nor wolf's acceptance of it constituted sound judgment. I'm sure that wolf was flattered by the experience as many would be. Just goes to show you that flattery can get you anywhere, especially for a man in uniform. ;)

From your link
That's all. Pretty small coverage leaving out police for the most part, which is what she was talking about.

"As any psychologist can tell you", your sky is falling view of the world is silly, and as any gunsmith can tell you, your grasp of reliable mechanisms is right out of Popular Science magazine. :crazy:

You've seemingly never carried a firearm as a significant part of earning a living and come across as a psychology lay person. You're as inept at debating as wolf is in weapons security and your elementary "I know you are; but, what am I" styled retorts amuse me. Please continue to "save" your fellow moderator from the hole she dug for herself. Nothingland was in a slump and I saw some entertainment potential here. You never disappoint xoB: thank you for being you. :cool:

BTW, wolf wasn't talking about police, she was talking about trust. My stated views on reliable mechanisms pertain to brain housing groups. Dwelling on trigger housing groups I leave to amateur enthusiasts like you. You're of no use to me for much more than that; although, you and wolf are both good moderators which is why I voted to retain you two. Now that's :crazy: :lol2:

What hole? She told a story.

And speaking fondly of Barney Fife, I remember when Andy used to bend the rules from time to time how Barney would go *AHEM* then change his voice to a raised, nasal, monotone pitch then proceed to give Andy a stern lecture quoted from chapter and verse of the Official Rules and Regulations That All Men and Women Sworn to Uphold the Law Have Taken A Solomn Oath To Follow And Enforce.

Something about your first post in this thread made me think of that.