A police officer’s gun was found in a school bathroom by the custodian. Thankfully, the weapon was not found by a student.
The gun belonged to an off-duty police officer of the Suffolk County Police Department, which is located in Long Island. The discovery at Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School in Manorville was a shocking mistake.
The Suffolk County Police released a statement on Tuesday:
The Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating an incident during which an off-duty member of the department inadvertently left his off-duty weapon in a school bathroom.”
“In the bathroom?! What is an off-duty officer doing in the school?” said a resident named Elizabeth.
The school district superintendent answered that question in a more detailed letter sent to parents:
“…a member of our custodial crew found a handgun in a lavatory and immediately notified building security, who worked with the administration to enact an emergency protocol procedure.”
The superintendent also confirmed the gun belonged to an off-duty officer:
“…who is a parent that used the bathroom shortly before the time and had inadvertently left it behind. This information was determined quickly, as the off-duty officer was still in the building, in the very near vicinity of the lavatory. The off-duty officer returned to the restroom area and shared the information with our security officers.”
Suffolk County police officials would not identify the officer.
Residents were understandably not happy with the situation.
“No. Not acceptable. Not with children in today’s day and age, absolutely not,” said Elizabeth.
Christina, another resident, drove by the school.
“You have to be careful if you’re a cop. You have to be trained on how to carry your gun,” Christina said.
To hear Tony Katz’s thoughts on the police officer’s careless actions with his gun, click the link below.
