By David Codrea
“The submachine gun was a Heckler & Koch MP5 10mm,” the report elaborates. “An ammunition magazine for the weapon was also taken. Officials did not say how the weapon was secured.”
In other words, they don’t know where, they don’t know when, they’re not saying how, and they’re certainly not going to publicly identify who the public employee is, despite indications of personal negligence and an institutional history of chronic incompetence. And it’s not just a gun—it’s a National Firearms Act-controlled weapon, forbidden by California law to non-LEOs (with limited exceptions, like for the “anti-gun” movie industry). Do you doubt, had such a gun been stolen from your car, that not only would your name be widely spread (and smeared by gleeful antis painting you as a typical, irresponsible ammosexual), but that you’d be facing be serious criminal charges, and potential civil ones as well?
Such anonymity for fedgov offenders appears to be standard operating procedure, and unsurprisingly, that appears to be the way the establishment media likes it. Recalling the killing of Kate Steinle by an illegal alien and habitual criminal taking advantage of San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policies, even the lawsuit filed by her parents refers to the negligent party who “left a loaded and government-issued .40 caliber SIG Sauer P239 handgun unlocked in an unattended vehicle … in a backpack in plain sight of passersby’s and within reach of someone smashing a window of the vehicle” as “a BLM Ranger.” Now that a judge has released the San Francisco from the lawsuit, the city is “doubling down” on providing a haven for unvetted foreigners, all the while doing everything it can to disarm the citizenry.
And it’s not like these are isolated incidents. Per a 2016 investigative report in The Mercury News, “Officers across the Bay Area and state are losing firearms at an astonishing rate.
“Nine-hundred and forty-four guns,” the report reckoned. “From Glocks, Sig Sauers and Remingtons to sniper and assault rifles … They used to belong to law enforcement officers across California, but a new Bay Area News Group investigation found hundreds of police-issued weapons have been either stolen, lost or can’t be accounted for since 2010, often disappearing onto the streets without a trace.
It’s also not like the problem is limited to the Bay area. Per The New York Times in a 2001 report:
An internal F.B.I. inventory has found that 449 firearms and 184 laptop computers, including one containing classified data, are missing or have been stolen…
Sometimes, the way the guns are “lost” is ridiculous, bordering on the hilarious if not for the wholly unnecessary danger created through inexcusable negligence. Cases in point: multiple examples of bathroom humor, “Only Ones”-style.
These are the people tasked with controlling your guns. Still, now may be the time to say “Welcome to the party, pals.”
“Beginning Jan. 1, the law in California changed,” Law Enforcement Today reported. “Depending upon the variables, this could be a violation of law, LET previously reported. That is because Senate Bill 869 requires anyone — including police and people with concealed weapon permits — leaving a gun in a vehicle to lock it in the trunk or in a container out of plain sight. Otherwise, they will face a $1,000 fine. Police won’t face sanctions during exigent circumstances.”
Perhaps that means “We the People” paying for FBI “services” will ultimately learn the name of our employee. Either that or get the lowdown on how his assigned weapon was “secured.”
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UPDATE: FBI refuses to say how stolen machine gun was stored in agent’s car in Contra Costa
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
If the forces of Law and Order were to be held personally and financially responsible got lost and or stolen equipment, firearms or anything else supplied to them, I suspect that the incidence of such losses or thefts would be sharply reduced, if not completely eliminated. does the foregoing sound bitter, perhaps however it also,tends to,get cold and uncomfortable in winter.
This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can excercise their constitutional right of amending it, or excercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.
Yeah! Right! What are you going to use? Anti -Fa?
The Bloods? The Crips? Black Lives Matter? The left wing moonbats, morons and wingnuts?
You have to realize that many citizens today, as a matter of fact, MILLIONS of the masses today don’t even understand that they have a state constitution allowing them to remove corrupt officials from office! Unless you can get that information to them either in Reality TV form or in video game form, you’re not going to gather spit to do squat!
People! People! People! CALM DOWN! I have the solution! I will just set up a Bay Area gun buyback and purchase the weapons back at that point with a $50 gift card to Alpha Beta, Kroger or Piggly Wiggly!
Or I will just use the BATFE’s gun tracking system that they utilized during the Fast and Furious sting operation that got fellow US Marine and US Border Patrol BORTAC Agent Brian Terry murdered!?!
I never knew so many weapons were stolen or lost like this. I just came across this site and thanks for the info. The Seth Rich Case may be related to something like this. An FBI SUV was left pasrked on a DC street a mile and a half from the murder or 6 mins. The FBI posted a 10k reward for the theft which took place between 12 and 2 am The murder took place at 419am Missing were a glock 40 cal and 22 cal bullets baton scanner and rifle pepper spray.. The theft was reported at about… Read more »
That’s like saying you went on to a Marine Corps base and saw guy dressed in digital Camis?
Not to mention that you can’t walk 50 feet in Washington DC without coming across a federal vehicle that has such accessories on board at any given moment?
If I was an FBI agent the MG would be stored in my house and when I retired for the night it would be right beside my bed. Just in case someone tried to enter my home at which time they would have a big surprise.
One sees, on the internet, numerous cries for the auditing of the federal reserve, usually written as follows, “audit the fed”. Possibly this is something that needs to be done, possibly not. That said, there is a crying need seems a crying need for the most thorough audit possible of not only the FBI, up also the DOJ and ATF or more completely, The FBI, the ATF, more completely the BATFE, and likely the IRS too
There IS such a solution. It’s covered under, Checks and Balances”. However, as long as John Q. Public remains in complacency mode and never DEMANDS these, “Checks and Balances”, WE, The People will never get them!
The FBI does not have report stolen weapons or anything else to local law enforcement.
How come, one wonders, for after all, such equipment is purchased with PUBLIC MONEY, if such a mundane consideration matters, seemingly not, which by the bye, strikes me as a large problem.
@Albbac2, it is due to the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution, and the dual sovereignty theory. On the other hand, the County Sheriff does not have to help out the Fat Boy Institute or the Bureau of Anti-Freedom, either.
“ATF’s Milwaukee sting operation marred by mistakes, failures from jsonline.” What a CF.
Towards the bottom they mention the theft of a fully automatic m4.
The endless doubletalk, I here use a polite form of description, from government is truly amazing, and seemingly without end. How come or Why strike me as reasonable questions. Anyone care to bet on the possibility, for or against, of obtaining a reasonable answer??
@Rokflyer, I agree all police and federal agents should buy their own weapons and ammunition. That is the way that it used to be. Police agencies buying weapons for their personnel is just another way that the various governments exempt themselves from the legal burden that those governments have placed upon us.
@Wild Bill,
During my LE career, I was assigned to a major state police armory. At one time, officers were allowed to carry personal weapons in lieu of the issued S&W M-15. It was a logistical nightmare. My armorers had to attend numerous factory sponsored armorer training. Our parts inventory was expensive. It actually saved man hours and money by issuing a single make of pistol, with limited models, everything could be standardized from holsters to ammo.
@Grig H, Thank you for your service, but: Armorers? Why did you have armorers? Police should be buying and maintaining their own weapons; they should be buying their own ammunition; and they can standardize , if the department so desires, by a single memo. There that eliminates the logistical nightmare.
@Wild Bill, Large L/E departments issue specific firearms for a multitude of reasons. Here are just a few. Uniformity: Standard paramilitary thought process. Standardized holsters, magazines, belts, and other equipment. It keeps a Trooper from wearing a weird holster around their calf, because they read about it in some SOF wannabe magazine. Stricter controls of firearms from being modified by a hack gunsmith, quite often rendering the firearm unsafe. Officer involved shootings required a complete inspection of the firearm used to determine if it met manufacturer’s specifications. Standardized service/training munitions. No hand loads that guaranteed to knock an elephant down.… Read more »
If the individual police officer supplies his own gear, the law suit must be against the individual officer, not the police department. Thus the taxpayer does not have to pay for all the things that you mention, supra, and the taxpayer does not have to pay for the law suit.
Police departments are lawsuit magnets, PDs are high payroll budget items, PDs have costs well after the officer retires, and we have no right to expect the PD to defend us individually, PDs are subject to politics, maybe we should just do away with police departments, altogether.
Cold facts. 2013. A gentleman had a very nice Colt 1911 stolen. It was lying in his truck seat while he went to relieve himself. This was at a gun range in Virginia. Upon arrival, the officer told the gentleman he could be charged with negligence, even without the gun being used in a crime. This firearm turned up in 2015. It had been taken to a gun shop for repairs and the customer refused to pay his bill. When the gunsmith ran the numbers it came back stolen and was turned over to police. It’s 2017 and the original… Read more »
@Oldvet, Was Ammoland able to do anything about it?
David, David, David, my good man, please won’t you try and remember a governing concept applying to aLL government operatives. It fully explains this mystery and is so simple. Repeat after me, please: “Some pigs are just more equal than other pigs”. See how simple that is? And how it explains and justifies all such incidents. OK, sarc off, for the slow to comprehend. Until that “thin blue line” gets erased, and gummit hooh hahs face the same level of personal accountability that we peons do, there will be no end to this. I imagine Mr Trump might take as… Read more »
Your observations are, shall we say, ON POINT PRECISELY. That said, re the needed changes you specified, “ain’t gonna happen” as those more equal pigs are all to comfortable with existing arrangements. that said, it also seems to me, and this has been sadly demonstrated previously, John and Jane Q. Public lack the necessary staying power. Additionally, they have given more than ample demonstrations, time and time again, that the next to appear sporting event is all to,likely to command their attention, other real issues aside. Should you or another reader accuse me of being bitter, I plead guilty. IN… Read more »
My wife worked on an office complex with many different business and one Federal agency. The offices were small and had the restrooms in the hallways. My wife was using the restroom one day and looked up. Hanging from the coat hook was a 9 mm Glock. My wife has her CCW. She finished her business, proceeded to was her hands, and unloaded the wepon. All this time and no one came in looking for it. She took it down to their office and asked if anyone was missing one. A lot of people were really glad to help her.… Read more »
Embarrassment works wonders as sealing lips, or so it might be.
Why dont they just go back and check the paperwork for the weapon transfer??????????????? Isn’t that how they want us to work
It almost appears that the police are supplying all the guns needed for a crime wave. “And it’s not like these are isolated incidents. Per a 2016 investigative report in The Mercury News, “Officers across the Bay Area and state are losing firearms at an astonishing rate. “Nine-hundred and forty-four guns,” the report reckoned. “From Glocks, Sig Sauers and Remingtons to sniper and assault rifles … They used to belong to law enforcement officers across California, but a new Bay Area News Group investigation found hundreds of police-issued weapons have been either stolen, lost or can’t be accounted for since… Read more »
So your telling me that they can apparently get unlimited weapons paid for by the “civilians, turn around and “lose” (sell) them to thugs/drug dealers, make god knows how much profit cause they are the ones who paid for it. And no one seems to notice or care?
Sorry I meant aren’t then knew who paid for them.
Back in ’97, I was told that a Glock G18 had been stolen from the car of an agent in Los Angeles. It was inferred that it was a Fed agency, IIRC. I was also told that there were only 30 of them in the country then, including two owned by a movie armorers rental company. I wonder if that G18 was ever recovered?
20+ years ago, I had an acquaintance that was an FBI agent in the PDRC. He had his gun stolen of his car twice. The odd thing was his incredible lack of common sense, as it happened at the same place both times.
FBI (F)u*ked-up (B)eyond (I)ntelligence
They would throw us under the bus.
But Noooooo! Not Feeeee Beee Eye. FBI
My personal interpretation is FBI (F)u*ked-up (B)eyond (I)ncredible!
In some cases, all to true, sad to note.
It could be worse. California could be Mexico, and instead of the federal government distributing guns to criminals via gross negligence, they could have DELIBERATELY sent guns to the Sinaloan drug cartel as part of Operation Fast & Furious.
PS – I’ve always wanted an HK MP5/10. If I had one, I’d take better care of it, and wouldn’t leave it lying around where some punk could steal it. Then again, I would have bought it with my own money. I guess when it’s provided for you and paid for with unlimited tax dollars, it’s probably not a big deal.
Eric “Gun Runner” Holder needs to be held accountable for allowing El Chapo gain US authorized 50 cal sniper rifle that was given away by the Obama Administration. He has a Perjury and Obstruction of Justice from Congress no less. Yet now Obama has invoked Presidential Order which means he is officially involved with arming Cartel terrorist by Executive over reach.
I agree NoBS, and it is another reason to decommission the entire BATFE.
Yes he should be. By the way, I should have been born rich and handsome, in addition to charming, which I already am. Sad to note, that didn’t work out either. As for Pig Holder, as has been noted by another poster, some pigs are more equal than other pigs.
“Ain’t gonna happen” is I think an appropriate observation, factual too.
Hate to burst your bubble Dave, but Joe Citizen idiots who have their firearm stolen from their vehicle are NOT charged with ANY crime (unless a specific law is in place; for example the new law in California). Another news flash: since the major west coast PD I retired from had over 7,000 reported vehicle prowls a year no name of the victim was ‘widely spread’ anywhere, no matter what was taken from their vehicle. And by the way, the trunk of a vehicle is NOT a secure place to store your firearm. Nice try; no cigar.
I once had a firearm stolen from my locked vehicle (I recovered it about two weeks later in good condition) and one of the jerk cops who showed up told me I might be charged if the gun is used in a crime. I ignored him and turned my back to him to talk to the other cop who was there.
Well that should make Joe citizen idiot feel much better, because the ignorant opinion came from a retired minion from a major west coast PD said it. Makes perfect sense.. ” noone is charged unless there is a law in place” what infinite words of wisdom, what a revelation.. there is no inclement weather unless there is inclement weather…… you happen to take a stroll thru gun laws lately? You sure you are up to date on them? “The trunk of the car isnt a secure place to store your firearm” Sept. 28, 2016 -,Law enforcement officers – unlike most… Read more »
Coming from you; the expert in ignorance. Put down the crack pipe before you post.
@CK, from your post, I can not say what your objection is.
Get ’em Larry!
Hey Superman,
Shut your filthy hole.
You first…….
Yep. Just as I already knew, you’re no cop, nor are you a retired one.
You lose, boy.
First, note the qualifier “such a gun.”
Second, per Loyola law professor Blaine LeCesne: “But a gun owner could find him or herself in court if the stolen gun is negligently discharged. LeCesne described it as any subsequent use of the gun that injures because of lack of reasonable care: sticky-fingered kids goofing around, someone picking up the weapon and accidently pulling the trigger or a fumbling thief who doesn’t know how to use a gun.”
https://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/11/how_liable_is_the_owner_of_a_s.html
That’s just what happened in the Steinle case.
I believe my bubble will survive.
Also see: https://www.nhregister.com/article/NH/20150918/NEWS/150919487
No; it won’t. Nice try; no cigar (again). Hint: live in the real world.
You just got proven wrong, clark. George Soros needs to find better talent for his online trolls.
@"MCCLOUD!" Kent, Oh, come on Mr. Codrea takes time from his busy schedule to make a cogent response to you (with citation to a legal expert and a website where we call all read more), and all you can write are third grade one line insults! What part do you disagree with? Come on I know that you have more time on your hands than Codrea does, so please give us your thoughtful argument. It is like watching an Amish person getting punched. Put up your dukes.
Yeah, apparently Mr. Retired California PoPo never heard of negligence as a charge. Of course, neither he or any of his colleagues were ever charged as they are part of the big government machine. The federal agent who allowed his government issued handgun to be stolen and used to shoot and kill Kate Steinle has, as far as I know, faced no charges. I would be in leg irons but, on the bright side, at least I could volunteer to build a wall down south. The leftist notion that only agents of government are responsible enough to be trusted with… Read more »
Your next to last sentence hits it, in spades. The phrase noblise oblige, bear with me on spelling errors, puts it nicely. In plain English, “nobility obliges”.
@"MCCLOUD!" Kent, aren’t you that black DEA agent that was showing off your Glock to the children in the school proclaiming that you are the only professional allowed to carry such a weapon and then you shot yourself in the foot?
Unpossible….it’s against the law to have fhose guns and magazines in California