Oops

[PelicanDriver]

Forgotten key leaves officer embarrassed
07 May 2001

By SHERIEE SMITH
A game with a pair of police handcuffs left a Nelson constable red-faced today after he realised he had left the key at home.

Victory Square community constable John O'Donovan handcuffed a 10-year-old Victory School pupil for a laugh, but realised as soon as the cuffs went on that he had forgotten to bring the key.

"I was in a bit of a hurry this morning, and realised I didn't have them as soon as I put them on," he said. "I just thought, 'Oh no'."

The girl remained handcuffed for about 10 minutes, and enjoyed showing everyone on the street her "brush with the law".

Another officer was called to release her.

"I had put them on her once before and pretended not to have the key, but this time I really didn't," Mr Donovan said.

"She was very excited about the whole thing, and she was going to go back to school and write about it."

Mr O'Donovan said the children often asked him to handcuff them, and it was a positive way to interact with them.

He said it was the second time he had handcuffed a Victory School pupil without having the key.

"I know this is going to get me a bit of stick at work. "This time I am definitely going to get a spare key cut as soon as possible."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1...908a10,FF.html

Does anybody have any tales of "other officers" forgetting equipment? We'll assume that all names have been changed to protect the embarrassed

[This message has been edited by PelicanDriver (edited 05-07-2001).]

[This message has been edited by PelicanDriver (edited 05-07-2001).]

[Don]

Well, I er uh I mean a FRIEND (yeah, that's it, it was a FRIEND) got called away from code 7 one night for a gang fight at the park. Everybody was rolling.

I er I mean my FRIEND was about 1/2 block away from the scene when dispatch called me er HIM and told HIM toreturn to HIS "A" immediately to pick up equipment.

Seems he was in such a hurry that I I mean HE forgot to put on his sam browne!

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**Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.**
6P1 (retired)

[Mitzi]

Wow, your FRIEND sure is dumb, don! LOL!

[Buddingnovelist]

I'm not saying a damned thing!!

[GDenman]

One of our officers, during his training phase, was off-duty & managed to handcuff himself to a woman but did not have his handcuff key with him. He had to call for another officer to come unlock them. The embarrassing part was that it was his sister-in-law he was handcuffed to at Midnight while they sat in her car "talking" in one of the city parks. He's been with us five years now & is a good officer. He still can't live it down though.

[tcsd1236]

I always carry at least 4 handcuff keys and 3 vehicle keys on different rings. You just never know....

[Don]

Ahh shoot, I've made so many dumb mistakes that I have to believe Mitzi is right. . .

I started carring an extra handcuff key hidden in my wallet while I was still in the academy. But it took locking my keys in the radio car, (with it running of course) for me to learn to carry a spare set.

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**Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.**
6P1 (retired)

[Kelly_431]

One time when I was on a ride-along, the officer I was with locked his keys in the police car. That's not so bad - could happen to anybody - but what's funny is that about 4 days later I was listening to the scanner and...you guessed it - he did it again!

I've heard another officer tell that one time, while he was still working with an FTO, he left his gun in one of the lockers at the jail - forgetting to get it when they left to eat. He realized it just as they got to the restaurant, but his FTO wouldn't let him go back and get it - the FTO made him worry and sweat about not having his gun. He's said he'll never forget it again.

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"Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of me. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or we grow weak, and at last some crisis shows what we have become." - B.F. Wescott

[StormTrooper]

When I first saw Pelican's post, I thought, this must have been a slow news day in Nelson. My Lord, this made the paper ! !

Wow I have many many friends that sound like Don's friends.

I dont think I've ever not had a handcuff key when needed, but I've sure seen my share of "friends" that lock their keys in their patrol car. The last time that I -- my friends -- did that was several months ago. It was a cold dark night.... LOL. I'd (they) had stopped in the roadway to check out something & left overhead lights on. Seems the spare key was back at the PD in my (their) cabinet on a key ring. This nameless person waited there for a good half hour til I could get someone to bring OKAY --- ME ! ... the key from across town. The embarassment wasnt from my officers but from the nosy rubberneckers. Fortunately the road was a fairly deserted one.

Oh, and the gun thing. That used to happen to friends about once a year, by leaving it at the jail after booking. Pretty well doesnt occur any more. I hope !

[Don]

Originally posted by StormTrooper:
That used to happen to friends about once a year, by leaving it at the jail after booking. Pretty well doesnt occur any more. I hope !

This same "friend" did that one time too.

The funny thing was I had to pass by the WC's office on the way out. Of course had to do it again on the way in. Without ever looking up he said "forgot your shi* didn't you?" Talk about being embarrassed.

I went into our new jail one evening to talk to a buddy who was in the tower. I dutifully locked up my gun, my spray, even my knife before entering the secure area.

I'm standing in the tower talking to the other deputy and reached down to scratch my leg. There was my beaver tail, right where it belonged in my sap pocket. I was successful in sneaking out without the jail sergeant seeing it!
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**Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.**
6P1 (retired)

[This message has been edited by Don (edited 05-07-2001).]

[Sparky]

The trick to not leaving your weapon in the locker is to put your car keys in there, too. That way you can't leave without it!

Oh, yeah..I'll pony up...I locked the keys in the squad once...engine running...not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR...FOUR prisoners in the back!!

One of them was actually able to take my baton that we slid through the cracked window and snake it around the cage to hit the electronic lock thingy on the driver's side.

He asked if we would cut him loose on the warrant....but we said, Nah!...we did let him smoke a cigarrette on the way to the jail though!!



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-Sparky

[PelicanDriver]

OK, I did get a request to call dispatch landline. They told me to go back to the restaurant where my portable radio would be waiting for me.

I never locked keys in the patrol car. Always carried an extra set. But my POS POV is another story. I went back to my car from a fast-food place off the I-5 to see my keys sitting on the seat with the doors locked. As luck would have it, there's a Hell's Angel flying his colors parked next to me As I struggle with the coathanger, he feels pity and tries to help. With NO LUCK. Finally a tow-driver happens by and opens it in a half a second. I almost felt sorry for the HA. How embarrassing! Can't even open a POS Nova! I resisted the temptation to completely ruin his day by giving him my business card

[SpecOpsWarrior]

Dont feel bad guys, I once left the jail with my gun sitting in a lock box, fortunately I noticed before any SHTF

As a result I now secure my weapon in my trunk so I cant go anywhere without it.

As far as handcuff keys go. I keep one on every key ring I have, one inside a belt keeper and another in my glove pouch on my sam browne, the key in the glove pouch is there in case I ever get cuffed behind the back in a really bad situation. I had to learn this lesson the hard way when some of my buddies thought it would be funny to handcuff me to an office chair on a slow sunday night, I had absolutelty no way of getting out and sat there for about 10 minutes before another officer had sympathy on me and uncuffed me . Thats when I thought about the key in the glove pouch.

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I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Winston Churchill

[This message has been edited by SpecOpsWarrior (edited 05-07-2001).]

[Mitzi]

Never, EVER, in my life have I EVER done anything embarassing! But there WAS this friend of mine who lost a lot of weight and her underwear dropped to her ankles in the mall. Sure glad it was her and not me

[Copper2be]

I had an officer show up for a shoplifter call I had. Pretty routine. We had a coffee afterwards and talked for a bit and then he headed out. About five minutes after he left I noticed his hat and police radio sitting on my desk. I didn't have the heart to call his dispatch and I figured he would be back quickly enough. About half an hour later he came walking in kind of sheepishly and quietly asked whether he had left anything behind. I retrieved it from my office and we had good chuckle about it.
He also thanked me for not calling his dispatch.