Police in the US Capitol seem to have a problem remembering to grab their guns after they use the bathroom.
For the third time this year, a member of the Capitol Police left a loaded firearm in a public bathroom located on Capitol grounds. In the first incident, a Capitol Visitors Center worker found a Glock handgun and magazine stuffed into the toilet seat cover holder in a bathroom stall, Hannah Hess wrote in Roll Call.
A member of House Speaker John Boehner’s security detail left a loaded gun in the bathroom of the Speaker’s Suite in late March, where a 7-year old child on a tour with his parents found it, according to Roll Call’s source, and in the third, most recent incident, a janitor found another Glock handgun left in plain sight in a bathroom stall at Capitol Police headquarters.
Roll Call reported that Capitol Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility called for a six day suspension for the first officer who couldn’t hold on to his gun. The other two are still being investigated.
It’s worth noting that the particular models of handgun the officers left in plain view in the public bathrooms have a safety lock system that makes it almost too easy to shoot.
The Glock safety action system doesn’t have a physical switch to turn on or off. It has a lever system that makes it physically impossible for the gun to fire unless the trigger is pulled. However, it would be fairly easy for a 7-year old to pull that trigger.
Last Tuesday, Capitol Police caught a bit of flack for a picture posted on Rep. Ken Buck’s twitter page showing he and Rep. Trey Gowdy posing with an AR-15 rifle.
.@TGowdySC stopped by today and we got a photo with my AR-15 #2A #SecondAmendment @TPPatriots @TeaPartyExpress pic.twitter.com/FhnAlyqTeW
— Congressman Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) April 16, 2015
The Attorney General for Washington, D.C. looked into whether the two congressmen broke the law, but they were later vindicated.
Lt. Kimberly Schneider, a spokeswoman for the Capitol Police, told TheDC that Buck was completely within his rights, and that their regulations allow congressmen to possess firearms within their offices.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.