While 85 newly elected Constables from all over Texas were attending a state mandated training session, burglars were having a field day breaking into their cars
By Ryan Korsgard
Click2Houston
April 14, 2017
HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- As guests arrived Friday afternoon at the Holiday Inn Express in Huntsville, a pickup belonging to the constable in Victoria, Texas, was parked at the front door.
Its back window was gone.
The broken glass was cleaned up.
But pieces remained stuck in the door.
"It's very upsetting. It's very disturbing. And I think more than anything, it's very disappointing,” said Dr. Rita Watkins.
Watkins is the executive director of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.
She said a total of 15 cars were burglarized in the area. She said that included 13 belonging to law enforcement agencies from all over the state.
She said thieves broke into constables’ cars and stole the belongings inside, including three handguns. Her office said 85 newly elected constables from all over the state were in Huntsville for a state-mandated week of training.
"I know that victims come in every way, shape and form. But we should never (think) that just because a law-enforcement officer carries a badge and carries a gun, that they're not susceptible and weren't at risk of being victimized. So it's overall, it's very disappointing," Watkins said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: First lesson for newly elected Constables – never leave a gun in an unattended vehicle!
4 comments:
I remember going to an armorers class many years ago. They insisted that no live ammo or no guns that were not being worked on as part of the class could be in the classroom so most if not all of the attendees left guns and ammo in their cars. Several were broken into. As I was attending on my own time and money I had a personal vehicle and not an official one. My car was not bothered. Once the burglaries were discovered, about lunch break, they then allowed people to bring personal guns and ammo into the classroom as long as they were stashed in the corner well away from the work. I guess a whole lot of guys had a whole lot of IA paperwork to mess with after that one. As a side note now, in CA. it is actually illegal to leave a handgun unattended in a car unless it is in an approved metal lock-box that is mounted to the vehicle in such a way that it can not be easily walked away with.
I remember when one year we hosted an auto theft school at College of the Mainland. The training program was attended by auto theft investigators from police and sheriff's departments in southeast Texas. Yup, one investigator's unmarked cop car was stolen from the college parking lot.
I have a lock box with a cable attached to the vehicle if I need to leave a handgun in the car. Most of the time I wear it under my shirt.
I heard Billy Bob from Texarkana lost his county issued double barrel with a home made silencer.
Post a Comment