In an alarming revelation, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has reportedly misplaced 23 firearms since 2017, raising serious questions about the department's weapon security measures.
The lost weapons were part of training units, known for their lax storage and security protocols. Some of the firearms were lost at the police firing range, while others were misplaced by the officers themselves.
As reported by The Post Millennial, the inventory of missing weapons includes 18 Glock pistol lower frames from the training unit, a modified shotgun with a disabled firing pin, a Glock 22 lower from the firing range, a shotgun believed to be lost at the range, and a pistol and rifle stolen from an officer's locker. The serial numbers of all these firearms have been submitted to the National Crime Information Center. This ensures that the SPD will be alerted if the weapons are ever found or used in a criminal act.
In a statement to the New York Post, SPD spokesman Patrick Michaud acknowledged the issue, saying, Were going to do our best to ensure that we do better Until we find them, were going to keep looking for them. However, the Office of the Washington State Auditor refrained from commenting on the matter to KUOW, stating that the case is still open.
This isn't the first instance of the SPD losing track of its firearms. In October 2019, an 18-year-old managed to walk out of a police training building with an officers personal gun. The teenager, who was attending a police education forum, later discarded the firearm from a bridge. The police recovered it a few days later from the roof of a nearby building.
An internal review by the Seattle Office of Inspector General, initiated by former Police Chief Carmen Best, found that the SPD's firearm storage methods at their training facilities were far from secure. The August 2021 report, discovered by KUOW, highlighted the vulnerability of these facilities to theft.
In a recent controversial move, the SPD announced that it would no longer respond to emergency calls without supporting evidence of a crime. This decision, coupled with the department's apparent inability to keep track of its firearms, raises serious concerns about the SPD's commitment to public safety and its adherence to responsible policing practices.
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