Oops: Seattle Cop Drives With Rifle on Cruiser

A citizen tracks down cruiser and notifies officer
By Sarah Whitmire,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 29, 2011 12:58 PM CDT
Seattle Police Left Rifle Unattended on Trunk of Cruiser
This handout photo provided by Nick Gonzalez shows a police rifle left unattended on a patrol car outside a busy downtown area on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, in Seattle.   (Nick Gonzalez)

This is a little worse than driving off with a cup of coffee on the roof: The Seattle Police Department is investigating how one of its officers managed to drive around downtown with a semiautomatic rifle on the trunk of the cruiser. "It's very embarrassing," says a department spokesman. And all the more so because a passerby happened to snap a photo.

Apparently, an officer was unloading gear from his car in a police garage, and he popped the rifle onto a nearby car and forgot about it, reports the Seattle Times. Another officer drove off in the cruiser unaware. At least two people spotted the car in the downtown area when it was parked, and one tracked down the officer. (More Seattle stories.)

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