AR's stolen from police cars my town

H

HiBC

New member
Latest local news:Two police cars broken into,and the "30 round semi-auto rifles" inside were stolen.I assume AR's.Supposedly they were locked in vertical racks inside the car.Theft described as "overnight"
Does anyone leave visible firearms locked in their car overnight?Seems negligent.

This is a civilized,low crime university medium size city in Northern Colorado.

I get "Be Prepared".I'm OK with LEO's having a rifle,including an AR,available.

At what point do the LEO's start to share common ideas with the folks who carry AR's in Walmart?

Sure,both the citizen and the LEO can make a case for being "Ready"

Seems like a concealed handgun or an AR in the trunk is pretty "Ready"

Its not Fallujah

So who breaks into a cop car,knows how to defeat the rack lock in quick fashion,steals the AR,then does it again the same night?

Especially when its not hard to buy an AR?

It seems like a bad sign.

Definitely two AR's in the wrong hands...What gun control law protects us from AR's stolen from police cars?

Aren't we responsible for safe storage?Obviously,it was not safe enough.
 
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I would be less worried if they are in reality AR-15 semi's than the lookalike M-4 full auto. Easy for reporters to make a mistake, and/ or an agency wanting to promote a false calm.
 
News said "These rifles shoot one round for one pull of the trigger"

I'm no less concerned about semi-auto.
 
HiBC also questioned
So who breaks into a cop car,knows how to defeat the rack lock in quick fashion,steals the AR,then does it again the same night?
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Many of the electric locks (which have a hidden button for very fast release vs. a key) have a relatively simple fault any electrical engineer / tech could use (or disclose) to release the otherwise substantial mechanical lock.

A few don't, but even those have a related weakness.
 
So who breaks into a cop car,knows how to defeat the rack lock in quick fashion,steals the AR,then does it again the same night?
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Someone who wanted to make a few hundred bucks for a few minutes "work" ..... and is not afraid of the consequenses of being caught.

Laws and the penalties associated with breaking them only deter those who are inclined to follow the laws in the first place.

Dollars to doughnuts, the the guy that stole these guns has stolen before ..... probably been to jail, too ...... may have been where he learned to defeat the rack lock .....
 
What makes you think they were locked?
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Speculation on my part. Guessing that a medium sized northern CO college town would be virtually derelict in their public safety duty having the weapons in an urban area with only a pane of glass between them and a new home.
Some agencies put them in an unlocked rack in the locked trunk.


Update Just found this article: http://www.reporterherald.com/news/...o-rifles-stolen-from-fort-collins-police-cars
Says they were locked, and in Ft. Collins.
 
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I was trying to be subtle. (I really shouldn't do that)

The theft might have been an inside job. Not necessarily cops stealing them, just an arrangement to leave the guns unattended at a certain place and time.
 
Could be zxcvbob, but a guy that has a rock, isn't afraid of 12 Volts and has an alligator clip gets a free AR if he has no scruples.
 
Lets not get too crazy with the speculation.I have no reason to believe the LEO's would set the theft up.This,IMO,is not a corrupt or rogue cop story.I'm not a cop hater.
Story as I heard it was locked in vertical rack.Assume it was a good cop following dept policy.

Policy is in question.Txaz knows something about the rack lock.Not so secure.That is good to know.

Or,cops broke policy,maybe rifles should not have been left in car.

IMO,if you are in bad enough territory you need to have an AR within reach inside the car,you are in bad enough territory to not leave firearms in a car,no more secure than a car stereo.

Given,this is darn near Mayberry,pop 150,000, are AR's racked in the car any more justifiable than carrying an AR into the local K-mart?Seems the same mindset,different venue.
 
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It happens more often than many realize. I've read reports of FBI agents having guns stolen from their car trunks at hotels when traveling. A lot would depend on where the cars were parked and if they were in sight and also locked inside.

But lets remember, it is the person who stole the guns that is the criminal here. Just because someone screws up and makes it a little easier for a thief does not change which person is the bad guy.
 
It's hard for me to understand why the Fort Collins PD,or any police department,allows their officers to leave weapons in their patrol cars overnight. This is not an isolated occurrence,it happens fairly often. I am not a cop,but I learned over twenty years ago that just because I lived in a "nice neighborhood" did not make me exempt from having my truck broken into. I was fortunate in that I got my 1911 back a few years later,but I never leave a weapon in my vehicle after that. A marked police car is,in my opinion,a big target.More so with an AR 15 in plain sight. Just not smart on the part of the officers. I'm sure it was quite embarrassing also.I am not down on law enforcement,but they need to use common sense too.
 
Even in Mayberry Andy had to pack heat a few times although I don't ever remember Barney losing their riot equipment.:p
I'm not a cop hater either, unless some new information comes out I'm prepared to give this one the benefit of the doubt.
 
Does anyone leave visible firearms locked in their car overnight?
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Yep. All of the cops, everywhere I have ever lived.
...However, two SWAT-member detectives that drove unmarked cars parked in their garages, and had the rifles in the trunks (so, slightly more secure, but mostly out of sight).
 
lots

Lots of guns are stolen from private vehicles and residences, everywhere. I bet there are at least 3 reports in my local paper, today. Not police, not necessarily visible, just stolen...period, in a criminal act. So it happens. Part of our responsibility as gun owners is that we are responsible for our weapons safe storage. But stolen guns, from anybody, is more common than it should be.

Thus the issue is, should LE be held to a higher standard. And of course the answer is yes. LE (should) have the public trust. So police storage should be more secure than the general public. And most all agencies have policies and directives stringently regulating such practices to address that very issue. In most agencies, losing a firearm, to near any reason, is a serious infraction. Penalties can be severe. Regretfully, I am aware of at least 4 separate instances: 1 revolver, 1 9mm auto, and 870, and an AR.

There could be some issues here in the OP we do not know. Improper installation/faulty racks seems one. Violation of policy/directives certainly could be another.

Also, a veh trunk is NOT a secure storage area, easily defeated.
 
In most agencies, losing a firearm, to near any reason, is a serious infraction.
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In what agency (s) is losing a firearm NOT a serious infraction????????

The riot gun in the rack in a police cruiser has mostly, today,morphed into an AR. Not much else has changed. MAYBE they got a better rack.

My guess would be that there is an official policy, and there is what everyone just generally does, and this time, it didn't work out well for those officers.

In a locked rack or not, leaving the weapons (overnight?) unattended, in a place the public has access to isn't a smart idea.

And don't say how this never would have happened if they had better gun racks or etc. The thief (s) could have stolen the entire CAR.
 
Kinda like the FBI having MP-5s stolen. In the old days of British ruled Hong Kong, gangs used to mug the police for their guns.
 
Osprey noted:
It's hard for me to understand why the Fort Collins PD,or any police department,allows their officers to leave weapons in their patrol cars overnight.
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I agree, our agency discourages leaving weapons visible in an unattended vehicle other than a stop or lunch break.

It does kind of defy common sense, but not every PD called me up and asked my opinion ;)
 
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