A man claiming to have a gun robbed a south-side drugstore of prescription painkillers, according to a Fort Wayne police report. The man approached the pharmacy counter in Walgreens at 222 E. Pettit Ave.An Indiana State Police trooper is not expected to face any reprimand after leaving his loaded duty weapon in a public restroom over the weekend.
A loaded Glock 17 9 mm handgun was found in its holster in a restroom by an employee of Lowe’s, 1929 Coliseum Blvd. N., just before 7 p.m. Saturday, according to a Fort Wayne police report.
The employee notified managers, and a store security officer unloaded the weapon. When a Fort Wayne police officer arrived, the gun’s serial number was entered into a database to find the weapon’s owner.
Police learned the gun was registered to the Indiana State Police, the report said.
After finding no state police cruiser parked in the store’s lot, the officer called the Fort Wayne state police post. A dispatcher made a radio announcement about the found weapon to all troopers on duty.
After no one claimed the gun, a senior trooper called Fort Wayne police and asked that the gun be brought to the Fort Wayne post – confirming it belonged to a state trooper, the report said.
Sgt. Ron Galaviz, a spokesman for the state police, said the gun belongs to a trooper who was off duty at the time.
“He actually walked around the store for a few minutes and realized it was left in there,” he said.
After realizing the gun was missing, the off-duty trooper notified store managers – who told him the gun had already been confiscated by Fort Wayne police. Galaviz said the whole incident lasted about 15 minutes.
“It wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” he said. “Fortunately it didn’t fall into the wrong hands ... nobody got hurt.”
The trooper’s name was not released, but his supervisors were made aware. No reprimands have been given, Galaviz said.
A recent national review found hundreds of instances in which members of law enforcement misplaced or lost a firearm.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that nearly 300 such weapons had been lost or stolen between 2005 and 2008. The firearms were left in places such as fast-food restaurant restrooms, bowling alleys and clothing stores.
Officials said the losses could have been prevented. They recommended stricter rules for storing, transferring and taking inventory of firearms – and for reporting when firearms are lost.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
