Excuse me, is it your GLOCK

[MadRussian]

The ex-PM's close protection officer left the Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol in the cafe's toilet after relieving herself while on duty, it is claimed.
The gun was later found by a member of staff, who dialled 999, The Sun newspaper reported.
A Scotland Yard spokesman told Sky News it has launched an investigation into the incident, which took place on August 29.
He denied reports the officer has been sacked, but confirmed she had been "removed from operational duties".
He added: "A police-issue firearm was left unattended in a central London café on Friday evening and was found by a member of the public.
"The weapon belongs to an MPS Authorised Firearms Officer who was on duty at the time. An investigation has begun."
The female officer, in her 30s and attached to the Yard's SO1 protection unit, searched frantically for the gun for an hour after realising her mistake.
A senior police source quoted by the newspaper said: "She knows she has messed up bad."
He said she was caught short while on Edgware Road - near one of Mr Blair's homes.
He added: "Luckily it was found in time, but if a child or a criminal had picked it up there could have been terrible consequences.
"This has come as a shock. The officer is inconsolable and seriously regrets her mistake.
"Everyone is fond of her. She was among the top in her class during training, but her firearms career could be over."
Her SO1 unit - full name Specialist Protection Command - is responsible for protecting Gordon Brown and former PMs Mr Blair and Margaret Thatcher.
It is the second bungle involving Mr Blair since he left Downing Street.
Last September four asylum seekers got into the UK in the back of a lorry delivering his new £100,000 reinforced BMW from Munich.

[DarkHorse]

Oh dear :-)

[ASE]

Oops! She was probably distracted by there not being enough toilet paper to hand....lol

[Rosie]

Hope that the response is reasoned for her and takes into account how long she was on shift prior to the incident, operational circumstances and how long she performed the job etc etc. All too easy to crucify somebody to appease others.

Big mistake yes but it is lucky man (or woman) who can say they are devoid of a brainfart in the past......even monkey's fall out of trees occasionally and let's face it, she is hardly going to make that mistake again. Is it really worth totally ruining a career and wasting thousand of pounds in training and experience for? Focus should be on what did happen and not what could have happened. If she is good enough to get to that level in the first place you know full well she will be carrying that mistake with her for a very very long time and as a Met Firearms Officer she know's more than most what the results could have been.

Also goes to show you, the average hoody would not be seen with with a Glock 17, just no "cred" with it - if however it had been the Glock "Homeboy" it may have been another story
(image wouldn´t work on here)

[mally]

umm, now lets all agree, if you go to the toilet and remove your belt, put it down next to the door so you or even better hang the belt on the door handle so you can´t forget it!

[ASE]

Rosie,
Wow! Was it you then? ..lol :-)
This lady must have been distracted to have left her weapon in a public cafe toilet, whatever the distraction was. Four pointers here are:
1. Never put your weapon down. Keep it in your holster/bag or your hand at all times.
2. She will never do this again
3. A good boss will set you back up on the horse and start again.
4. We all make mistakes (part of a mistake is getting found out)

ATB
ASE

[Rosie]

...or reduce the risk of repetition by manadory standing to pee for all...

Having "ventilated" an item by mistake in the past I can sympathise to a certain extent.. tough trying to work out why your brain stopped for a second..

I read it as just the weapon...if it was the enitre belt that is a little harder to swallow....

shame the picture did not work - i found it amusing anyway - attached again

[HALO61]

Funny you should mention that, when I was working for a North American National Armed Security Company we had 2 similar incidents in the space of a month with members of the staff, leaving their firearm in the bathroom of a public establishment.

After much deliberation less than 4 minutes… We as the “Firearms & Use of Force Trainers” decided to add a simple recommendation in the training to prevent further incidents such as this happening again.

Simply put, If you have to use a public bathroom facility, when you drop your trousers/pants and underwear (If you wear underwear aka Commando)… Remove firearm from holster and place it the convenient storage area between your legs created by your trousers/pants. In doing this you are creating a safe alternative way for you not forgetting your firearm when you finish in the stalls, unless you like something cold and hard between your legs and or crotch.

If this simple procedure doesn’t work for you, I suggest they seek employment in another area of security, one that does not involve firearms…

Stay Safe

H61

[morky]

It seems impossible that someone could really mess up so badly. Like the original article says, what if a child had found it? Doesn't bare thinking about.

I hope she recovers from it and learns from the experience.

[24/7]

Even the best off poeple mess up at some stage some have been caught out others not, I am sure most of us have stories to tell.