passenger flew from LAX to Taipei with loaded Ruger with 6 bullets in her backpack
#31
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No idea what kind of firearm/ammo the cop carried from LAX-TPE. Is there non-metal ammo as well as handguns?
#32
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I think the officer behaved appropriately, once the weapon was remembered. A lifetime LEO ban seems overly harsh. A 2-4 week suspension without pay seems a much more logical solution.
#33
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The xray screener missed the loaded gun in Atlanta. It was inside the pax's purse. They fired the screener (although I guess he can appeal the firing), so presumably whatever the gun/ammo were made of, he should have recognized it on the xray.
No idea what kind of firearm/ammo the cop carried from LAX-TPE. Is there non-metal ammo as well as handguns?
No idea what kind of firearm/ammo the cop carried from LAX-TPE. Is there non-metal ammo as well as handguns?
There is a pretty good chance that the TSA or the Santa Monica Police Department doesn't know about this incident yet... guess they will never find out.
Last edited by ShutteLag; Apr 16, 2017 at 3:36 pm
#34
Join Date: May 2005
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"Honest Mistake" - forgetting to put your shampoo in the kippie bag
"Criminal negligence/stupidity" - forgetting where you put your loaded gun and ammunition.
"Criminal negligence/stupidity x 10" - "forgetting" where your loaded gun is when you are traveling with 3 kids by air to foreign countries with very strict gun laws.
This woman carries a badge; as I see it, that mean she should be held to a far higher standard of accountability when it comes to her weapon.
As for the TSA missing it, well, unfortunately that's not exactly surprising. How many sets of tests have they failed?
"Criminal negligence/stupidity" - forgetting where you put your loaded gun and ammunition.
"Criminal negligence/stupidity x 10" - "forgetting" where your loaded gun is when you are traveling with 3 kids by air to foreign countries with very strict gun laws.
This woman carries a badge; as I see it, that mean she should be held to a far higher standard of accountability when it comes to her weapon.
As for the TSA missing it, well, unfortunately that's not exactly surprising. How many sets of tests have they failed?
#35
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She had a Ruger LCP loaded with 6 rounds of hollow point 380 bullets Nice little inexpensive piece. I assume it was her back-up guns.
There is a pretty good chance that the TSA or the Santa Monica Police Department doesn't know about this incident yet... guess they will never find out.
There is a pretty good chance that the TSA or the Santa Monica Police Department doesn't know about this incident yet... guess they will never find out.
#37
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Interesting. In ATL, a screener was held responsible for missing a firearm and was (according to TSA) fired.
In LAX, no one is getting fired, but there will be retraining because procedures weren't followed. ??? Haven't they all been through the 'academy' within the last year?
I suspect an LTSO or even STSO was involved and that's why no one is getting fired. I wouldn't be surprised if the cop identified herself and TSA allowed her to take the firearm through - 'screener discretion'.
In LAX, no one is getting fired, but there will be retraining because procedures weren't followed. ??? Haven't they all been through the 'academy' within the last year?
I suspect an LTSO or even STSO was involved and that's why no one is getting fired. I wouldn't be surprised if the cop identified herself and TSA allowed her to take the firearm through - 'screener discretion'.
#38
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#39
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California officer detained in Taiwan after TSA misses gun in her bag at LAX
Excerpts
Excerpts
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The Santa Monica Police Department was notified last week that Grant had been detained at an airport in Taiwan during a layover to Thailand, Santa Monica police confirmed Wednesday. Grant was on vacation with family at the time, said Lt. Saul Rodriguez, the departments public information officer.
***
TSAs Melendez said the off-duty police officer went through regular screening procedures rather than expedited security.
***
According to the SMPDs Rodriguez, Grant was carrying a personal, off-duty weapon, not a service weapon. He could not say whether Grant, who has been in contact with one of her department supervisors, has been booked or charged with any crime in Taiwan. Shes dealing with potential legal proceedings in that country, he said.
***
Asked whether the incident could affect Grants status as a police officer, Rodriguez said it was not yet clear.
***
The Santa Monica Police Department was notified last week that Grant had been detained at an airport in Taiwan during a layover to Thailand, Santa Monica police confirmed Wednesday. Grant was on vacation with family at the time, said Lt. Saul Rodriguez, the departments public information officer.
***
TSAs Melendez said the off-duty police officer went through regular screening procedures rather than expedited security.
***
According to the SMPDs Rodriguez, Grant was carrying a personal, off-duty weapon, not a service weapon. He could not say whether Grant, who has been in contact with one of her department supervisors, has been booked or charged with any crime in Taiwan. Shes dealing with potential legal proceedings in that country, he said.
***
Asked whether the incident could affect Grants status as a police officer, Rodriguez said it was not yet clear.
***
#40
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I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. It seems to me that she declared the gun at the appropriate time to declare things when entering/transiting Taipei - so what laws have been broken, exactly? But it's been a week and she's still there, so clearly someone thinks there is a problem - or doesn't want to take a stand either way, perhaps.
That said, I don't know how this would play out in reverse. Suppose someone came from TPE to LAX, landed and immediately declared something prohibited. I thought in that situation it was pretty much 'no harm, no foul' - you were OK as long as you fully and honestly declared in time.
That said, I don't know how this would play out in reverse. Suppose someone came from TPE to LAX, landed and immediately declared something prohibited. I thought in that situation it was pretty much 'no harm, no foul' - you were OK as long as you fully and honestly declared in time.
#41
Join Date: Apr 2017
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I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. It seems to me that she declared the gun at the appropriate time to declare things when entering/transiting Taipei - so what laws have been broken, exactly? But it's been a week and she's still there, so clearly someone thinks there is a problem - or doesn't want to take a stand either way, perhaps.
That said, I don't know how this would play out in reverse. Suppose someone came from TPE to LAX, landed and immediately declared something prohibited. I thought in that situation it was pretty much 'no harm, no foul' - you were OK as long as you fully and honestly declared in time.
That said, I don't know how this would play out in reverse. Suppose someone came from TPE to LAX, landed and immediately declared something prohibited. I thought in that situation it was pretty much 'no harm, no foul' - you were OK as long as you fully and honestly declared in time.
Last edited by sunshinekid; Apr 20, 2017 at 9:16 pm Reason: merge consecutive posts
#42
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I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. It seems to me that she declared the gun at the appropriate time to declare things when entering/transiting Taipei - so what laws have been broken, exactly? But it's been a week and she's still there, so clearly someone thinks there is a problem - or doesn't want to take a stand either way, perhaps.
FWIW the gun would be have illegal at her final destination as well. Taking a gun into Thailand requires prior authorization and carrying a gun requires a gun license.
#43
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I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. It seems to me that she declared the gun at the appropriate time to declare things when entering/transiting Taipei - so what laws have been broken, exactly? But it's been a week and she's still there, so clearly someone thinks there is a problem - or doesn't want to take a stand either way, perhaps.
That said, I don't know how this would play out in reverse. Suppose someone came from TPE to LAX, landed and immediately declared something prohibited. I thought in that situation it was pretty much 'no harm, no foul' - you were OK as long as you fully and honestly declared in time.
That said, I don't know how this would play out in reverse. Suppose someone came from TPE to LAX, landed and immediately declared something prohibited. I thought in that situation it was pretty much 'no harm, no foul' - you were OK as long as you fully and honestly declared in time.
I don't know the gun laws in Taiwan, but if it's illegal to bring a gun in, then she broke the law by bringing a gun in, whether she declared the weapon or not. The Taiwanese government may show her some leniency due to the accidental* nature of the transgression, and the fact that she admitted it immediately, but if it's illegal to bring in a gun, and she brought in a gun, then she broke the law, however accidentally.
*Accidental, in this case, means unfathomably careless to the point of unmitigated stupidity when caring for a deadly weapon. In my humble opinion, of course. Both American and Taiwanese law may see things differently, but I've said before, and firmly believe, that anyone who forgets where their loaded firearms are, especially to the point where they 'accidentally' bring a weapon into a place where they know weapons are prohibited, should have their 2nd Amendment rights permanently revoked.
#44
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She should get the same kind of 'pass' from US authorities that a recently-hired FAM is getting after leaving her weapon in an airplane toilet.
People forget things, even professionals. Everybody is entitled to make a mistake, right?
People forget things, even professionals. Everybody is entitled to make a mistake, right?
#45
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No, I don't think anyone is entitled to make mistakes with deadly weapons. If you chose to own a gun, you should be held responsible for it, and that includes knowing where it it at all times and not taking into onto a plane and then to a country where it is prohibited.
Would you expect a country with strict drug laws to give her a pass if she brought along some marijuana? After all, that's legal in California now.