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I was a stupid mistake but he shouldn't be fired for it. To get arrested and put in jail is just stupid. Give him a fine and let him get on with his life. No need to f*** the guy over.

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I think he should at least be sentenced the same as anyone else. I also believe LEO's
should be held to a higher standard. After all they enforce laws and are familiar with
the laws.

I don't like the fact that they would be allowed to drive their duty vehicle like that
at all. They get good pay and great benefits. They can pay for their own ride
and gas on their time off like the rest of us do. Lakeland has budget issues and were
threatening to close parks due to a lack of revenue. If this is a common practice
it would be costing us a great deal in fuel, maintenance and depreciation on the vehicles.

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I don't like the fact that they would be allowed to drive their duty vehicle like that

at all. They get good pay and great benefits. They can pay for their own ride

and gas on their time off like the rest of us do. Lakeland has budget issues and were

threatening to close parks due to a lack of revenue. If this is a common practice

it would be costing us a great deal in fuel, maintenance and depreciation on the vehicles.

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It says it was an unmarked car.  That likely means that he is an investigator of some sort and therefore subject to "On-Call" status.  That means that he is REQUIRED to take his police car anywhere that he goes and cannot consume alcohol and cannot leave a specified radius from his jurisdiction while he is on-call.  Obviously citizens don't want to hear, "It's gonna be a while until the detective gets here.  He has to drive home and pick up his car first."



Also keep in mind that cops are people too.  We make mistakes from time to time and it's extremely rare that anyone faces any jail time on this charge when it results in minor injuries.  That kid will be set for life after the PD settles out with his parents anyway.

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If he was on call his weapon should have been on his person so that if he did have to respond to a call he would not have to look for the weapon he forgot was there.  He should have made other arrangements for the children to get to the destination period. Nuff said. Irresponsible and should be held accountable to the full extent.

790.174Safe storage of firearms required.
—
(1)A person who stores or leaves, on a premise under his or her control, a loaded firearm, as defined in s. 790.001, and who knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor’s parent or the person having charge of the minor, or without the supervision required by law, shall keep the firearm in a securely locked box or container or in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure or shall secure it with a trigger lock, except when the person is carrying the firearm on his or her body or within such close proximity thereto that he or she can retrieve and use it as easily and quickly as if he or she carried it on his or her body.

(2)It is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, if a person violates subsection (1) by failing to store or leave a firearm in the required manner and as a result thereof a minor gains access to the firearm, without the lawful permission of the minor’s parent or the person having charge of the minor, and possesses or exhibits it, without the supervision required by law:

(a)In a public place; or

(b)In a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner in violation of s. 790.10.

This subsection does not apply if the minor obtains the firearm as a result of an unlawful entry by any person.

1(3)As used in this act, the term “minor” means any person under the age of 16.

History.—ss. 2, 7, ch. 89-534; s. 1216, ch. 97-102.

1Note.—Also published at s. 784.05(4).

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Very rarely is anyone actually arrested for a violation like this... normally the case would just be sent to the SA for review, and possibly the filing of charges.  The only reason an arrest was made was because this guy is a cop.





And to the car issue.... departments are allowed to do as they please.  If they allow their officer's to use the car off duty, so be it... Why would anyone be angry about this?  It has been well proven in numerous studies (I'm too lazy to look them up, but you're welcome to), that more police vehicles on the street is a deterance to crime.  It doesn't matter if the unit is on-duty or not, it's still a police car on the street for a bad guy to see.  Some people bitch only because cops get a benefit they don't, but everyone is happy when a police car is parked on their block....



This was an unmarked car, does not stop any crime. I have a neighbor that was a LEO

and having a car in the drive did not stop thieves from burglarizing his next door neighbor's

house. I think that the car in the drive thing is overrated.



I take my car home.....  I also have to pay the city for the gas to do so.... that trend is becoming very common, it takes the tax payer issue out of the equation...



I'm glad to see you pay for the gas, but it appears you forgot that tax money bought that car

and pay for maintenance on it.

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On the cruiser usage topic, there is a guy who looks no more than 24 that drives a marked car (City of Miami I believe) to FIU around the same time as my 6:20 class. He parks it by ECS near the disabled spots. I guess we can't know for sure but I'm not thinking he's on any "official business."

ETA: I should say for those not familiar with FIU that it's not a parking lot aside from the loading zone and the disabled spots.

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As to the maintenance issue, of course tax money pays for it ....  however, because cars are personally assigned, they are kept in far better condition, last far longer, and require far less maintenance than shared cars.  The cars we use that are shared last an average of three to four years before falling apart.  They average 40k miles/year, and are driven 12 hours a day, seven days a week.  Our oldest assigned car is a 2004.  It has 80k.  It's in better condition than shared 2009's.  Personally assigning cars and letting the guys take 'em home actually saves agencies quite a bit of money.