The police chief in Des Moines, Iowa, has issued a groveling statement after videos emerged that appeared to show a car patrolling the streets with a rifle left on the roof.
In footage posted to social media cops in the car are alerted to the apparent gaffe by a member of the public when they stop at a red light.
Police chief Michael McTaggart said on Monday that one of his officers ‘made a serious mistake’ and acknowledged that the video caused ‘an understandable reaction of disappointment and concern.’
‘While our officers are human and will make mistakes, policing comes with heavy responsibility and mistakes have an impact,’ McTaggart said.
‘Our response to this error will be guided by our commitment to earning and maintaining the trust and confidence you place in the men and women of the Des Moines Police Department.’
McTaggart said that the officer shown in the video was not the one who made the mistake, but that the person responsible had confessed to their error.
He added that the policy violations were ‘obvious’ and the department is conducting an internal review.
The department has not announced the consequences for the officer involved. The Daily Mail has reached out to Des Moines Police for additional comment.
A video went viral of a police car with a rifle left on top of the roof while it drove down the streets of Des Moines, Iowa
A concerned citizen got out of her car at a red light to let the officer know a rifle was left on top of his squad car
Cynthia Brown shared the video on Facebook of her friend, Andrea Jones, letting the officer know there was a rifle left on top of his car.
Brown told the Des Moines Register that she saw the rifle while the two were driving and followed the squad car until they stopped at a red light.
Jones added that when she went up to the officer ‘he looked completely boggled.’
‘He gets out of the car, and again, still stunned, and he literally said to me, “I wonder how that got there?”‘
Social media users expressed their shock in the comment section, with one writing: ‘Someone could’ve gotten a free high powered rifle had that fallen off.’
‘He left his gun on top of his car like I leave my cup of coffee on the top of mine sometimes,’ another joked.
Police Chief Michael McTaggart said in a statement that his officers ‘are human and will make mistakes’ in response to the video
Public Information Officer Sergeant Paul Parizek explained to local ABC affiliate, KCCI, that the officer set the rifle on top of the car before a shift change and left with it still on the roof.
The next officer arrived and didn’t see the rifle before getting in the squad car and driving away.
‘I think we’ve all had a situation in our lives when we’ve misplaced something, we’re looking for it. We walk by it two or three different times,’ Parizek said.
‘That might help explain it. But it definitely does not excuse what happened.’
