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The vehicle has to be locked and the gun has to be out of view... so DO NOT DO what the Seattle Police chief did...

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What did the SPD chief say?

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I think he was hoping it would get stolen. He does not like those evil gun things, they are skeeery..........Can we trade him for Sheriff Joe, PLEASE...

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The vehicle has to be locked and the gun has to be out of view... so DO NOT DO what the Seattle Police chief did...

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I don't get why WSP didn't just charge him w. a felony for breaking state law...

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What this guy said.

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Absolutely.

Just means the vehicle itself needs to be locked, and the weapon out of sight.

That said, a modicum of commom sense is required here....................SECURE THE WEAPON  by some additional means.................cars are too damn easy to break into.  And no, a locked glove box is no barrier either.

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I don't get why WSP didn't just charge him w. a felony for breaking state law...

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Because it's a misdemeanor.

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Because it's a misdemeanor.

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Because it's a misdemeanor.

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Because it's a misdemeanor.

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The vehicle has to be locked and the gun has to be out of view... so DO NOT DO what the Seattle Police chief did...

underneath the driver's-side seat

Kerlikowske then walked away and thought he pushed the remote-lock device on the car, Whitcomb said. It's possible the locking device didn't activate

There was no sign of forced entry on the car. Nothing was taken except the gun

Police chief's gun stolen

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

Somewhere out there is a thief with a very hot gun –– that of Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske.

Sometime between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Dec. 26, someone broke into Kerlikowske's department vehicle, a Ford Crown Victoria, parked at Sixth Avenue and Olive Way, and stole his Glock 9 mm handgun.

"It's an embarrassing thing to have happened, but officers can certainly be burglarized and have their weapon stolen. It happens," police spokeswoman Debra Brown said yesterday.

Kerlikowske had left the gun hidden in his car, Brown said. He reported the theft Dec. 28, within the 72 hours allowed by policy.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Theft of police chief's gun raises questions

By Stuart Eskenazi

Seattle Times staff reporter

Several questions remained unanswered yesterday regarding the theft of Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske's gun from his parked car Dec. 26 — including why the chief was not carrying the weapon.

With few exceptions, Seattle police officers are required to carry a gun at all times within the city limits. Officers sometimes will not carry a gun if it is impractical or inappropriate to do so during their free time, such as if they are at the gym, playing in a soccer game or drinking alcohol, police officials said.

The stolen pistol, a 9-mm Glock semiautomatic, is Kerlikowske's personal weapon, which he carries when off duty, not the gun issued by the department. Department spokesman Sean Whitcomb said he did not know whether Kerlikowske was carrying another gun at the time of the theft or what the chief was doing while his car was parked downtown.

Whitcomb said he also did not know:

• How the chief secured the gun in the vehicle, except to say he had not left it in plain view.

• How the car was broken into, except to say the car was locked.

• Whether the chief had secured the pistol with a trigger lock or other safety device, although Whitcomb said he assumes the gun was loaded.

Whitcomb said Kerlikowske was out of town yesterday and would not page him to provide more details. Reached at home, Kerlikowske's wife, Anna Laszlo, said her husband was on his way home from a business trip and unavailable to comment. The chief was expected back at work today, she said.

Kerlikowske's gun was stolen from his work vehicle, an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria, while it was parked near Sixth Avenue and Olive Way between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Nothing else was stolen from the car, Whitcomb said.

Whitcomb said Dec. 26 was the chief's day off.

Kerlikowske reported the theft last week, but it did not become public until Monday night, after a TV station pursued a news tip.

"This is certainly something people have an interest in, but it's not exactly information that would be a benefit for us to release on our own," Whitcomb said. "It's an unfortunate incident, but we'd like to remind everyone that even the chief of police is not immune to these types of crimes."

As of yesterday, Mayor Greg Nickels had not talked to Kerlikowske, having learned of the theft only a couple of days ago, said Marianne Bichsel, Nickels' spokeswoman.

"The mayor is going to have an opportunity to talk to the police chief and see if there are any issues," she said. "The presumption is that there are not any issues."

Whitcomb said the Seattle Police Department has no specific policy related to storing a gun in a vehicle. State law prohibits gun owners from keeping loaded handguns in plain sight in their vehicles.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a pro-gun group in Bellevue, is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thief and for the weapon's recovery.

"It's embarrassing for the chief," said Joe Waldron, committee president. "I am in the gun business, and if somebody broke into my car, it would be personally and professionally embarrassing for me, too."

He said the reward is being offered in part to point out that gun theft can happen to anyone.

"As a general rule, we don't like people to leave guns in vehicles," Waldron said. If storing a gun in a vehicle is necessary, "we recommend locking it in a glove compartment or in the console between the seats. We also recommend that the firearm be unloaded and the ammunition be emptied, but we realize that is inconvenient and unlikely to happen."

The important thing is not calling attention to the act of storing a gun in a vehicle. Locking it in a trunk is usually conspicuous and therefore not a good option, Waldron said.

The Seattle Times reported in July 2001 that between 1996 and 2000, 15 Seattle Police Department guns were stolen from either cars or homes. More recent figures are not immediately available, Whitcomb said.

Sgt. Kevin Haistings, president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild, said he knows of no situation where an officer has been disciplined or investigated for having a gun stolen.

"We can be victims of crime like anyone else," he said. "I'm glad it didn't happen to me."

Chief didn't violate policy by leaving his gun in car

By Michael Ko

Seattle Times staff reporter

A Seattle Police Department spokesman said Chief Gil Kerlikowske did not violate department policy by leaving his personal gun underneath his driver's-side seat while he shopped with his wife the day after Christmas.

When Kerlikowske returned about five hours later, his 9-mm Glock semi-automatic had been stolen from his unmarked police car, a Ford Crown Victoria.

"The fact of the matter is that we had in the city of Seattle 58 guns stolen out of cars in 2004," said police spokesman Sean Whitcomb. "The chief is chagrined, but unfortunately, these type of crimes are not uncommon."

Kerlikowske declined to comment about the incident.

According to police, here is what happened: About 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 26, Kerlikowske and his wife had just parked the car at Sixth Avenue and Olive Street so they could shop at the Pacific Place mall in downtown Seattle, Whitcomb said.

The car was on the west side of the street, according to the police report.

Kerlikowske was wearing his loaded pistol in a holster, but decided to put them both underneath the driver's-side seat because he didn't want to carry the weapon inside under his coat, Whitcomb said.

Kerlikowske then walked away and thought he pushed the remote-lock device on the car, Whitcomb said. It's possible the locking device didn't activate, Whitcomb said.

Kerlikowske and his wife returned to the car about 3:30 p.m., Whitcomb said. The gun was gone.

There was no sign of forced entry on the car. Nothing was taken except the gun.

"There is certainly the possibility that someone saw the chief, recognized him and decided to break into his car and look for something," Whitcomb said.

The Police Department's manual states in section 1.153V ("Off-Duty Firearms"):

"Officers are expected at all times to take appropriate action to protect people and property.

"When within the City, or when acting as an agent of the City outside the territorial limits of the City of Seattle, officers shall be armed with a Department approved firearm.

"Officers participating in activities that make it impractical, unsafe or unwise to be armed are exempt from this policy. Examples are: sporting events, family activities or social events where alcohol is being consumed, etc."

Kerlikowske's gun, which has not turned up, has been registered in the department's stolen-gun database. There are no suspects.

The department is researching whether to install gun safes in unmarked police cars.

Whitcomb said there will be no follow-up investigation into Kerlikowske's actions.

As to whether Kerlikowske has a greater responsibility to keep track of his gun because he is the police chief, Whitcomb said there were more than 13,000 car prowls in the city last year.

"He is a public figure so when these type of things happen to public figures, there is a greater amount of scrutiny," he said. "But even people who are public figures can become crime victims."

Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or [email protected]

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I think he was hoping it would get stolen. He does not like those evil gun things, they are skeeery..........Can we trade him for Sheriff Joe, PLEASE...

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This is what I originally thought.  Thanks for clarifying.  It would be great to have a way to secure it even better, but I'm not sure what options there are besides mounting something in the trunk and I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far.  I could put a trigger lock on it, but that would only delay the inevitable.

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Well, even a chain or cable lock, through part of the action of the gun, and through a solid part of the vehicle (such as the bottom part of the seat frame) is far better than just leaving it in the locked car.

And a company called Center Of Mass, I believe, makes lock boxes for weapons with cable attachments that can be attached to part of the vehicle inside, as well.

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Well, even a chain or cable lock, through part of the action of the gun, and through a solid part of the vehicle (such as the bottom part of the seat frame) is far better than just leaving it in the locked car.

And a company called Center Of Mass, I believe, makes lock boxes for weapons with cable attachments that can be attached to part of the vehicle inside, as well.

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those cables are a bitch to cut through with hand tools...took me an hour with bolt cutters, wire snips and a hacksaw to cut through the one on my gate....