Guns stolen while Orange County deputies went swimming remain missing
Two loaded pistols remain in criminal hands after being stolen this week from an Orange County sheriff’s vehicle while two deputies decided to take an afternoon swim in Daytona Beach.
This happened just three months after Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings warned Central Floridians not to leave guns in their vehicles.
Demings’ reason for the warning – to keep them from falling into the hands of criminals who’ve used them to kill several deputies and unknown numbers of other victims in recent years.
“Any time one of our agency vehicles is burglarized and particularly if guns are taken that is a serious (case) for me,” said Demings, who declined to specifically comment Friday on this week’s gun thefts that are the focus of an internal affairs investigation. “If they violated policy… they will be held accountable.”
Over the past decade, a submachine gun with a silencer, AR-15 assault rifles and handguns have been stolen from patrol cars and unmarked vehicles parked outside law enforcement officers’ homes in Orange County. Last year, 199 guns were stolen in the county from vehicles and 83 percent of those vehicles were left unlocked.
So far, very little information has been released about why two of Demings’ deputies working undercover were taking a dip in the Atlantic Ocean.
What a mess. This is yet another case of our taxpayer money being stolen from the backseat of a government owned and operated vehicle.
The irony to this story comes from Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings who told Central Floridians to never leave their guns in their cars.
Apparently the city’s law enforcement wasn’t listening to this announcement.
Orange County sheriffs have struggled to keep possession of their guns for the last decade.
Have they worked out any kinks to solve the problem along the way?
Obviously not.
This police department should learn how to keep their firearms secure when away from their vehicle-whether it be a tamper-proof gun locker or a more concealed out-of-sight location to store their weapon.
These two trained deputies should know better than to leave their firearms accessible, and I hope they’ll be held accountable for their actions.
