‘Serious mistake’: Police investigating after officer leaves rifle on roof of vehicle
By Beau Bowman
Click here for updates on this story
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — A rifle was found on the roof of a Des Moines police squad car around 2 p.m. Sunday after someone driving behind the car noticed it and alerted an officer.
“I thought maybe it was a bike rack at first or something but I kind of seen it hanging over the edge and I was like no … is that … ? I think that’s an assault rifle just sitting on top of their vehicle,” said Andrea Jones, who first saw the weapon on the roof near the Des Moines Public Schools Central Campus on the west side of downtown.
Jones said she caught up with the officer at a red light, got out of her car and waved him down.
“I approached him with caution and just told him and he was completely stunned, and I could just tell on his face like he was a little confused, and I keep telling him, and I’m like pointing, ‘There’s something up there that you might want to get,’” she said.
Des Moines Police Chief Michael McTaggart called the incident a “serious mistake,” and said the officer seen in the video was not at fault; the rifle had been left on the vehicle by the officer who used the car earlier.
“At shift change, an officer was offloading his equipment, set his rifle on top of the car, and then left and left that rifle there. Next officer came in, checked that car out, and didn’t see the rifle on the roof and drove away,” said Sgt. Paul Parizek, the department’s public information officer. “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. That might help explain it. But it definitely does not excuse what happened.”
Jones said she was grateful the rifle was removed before anyone was hurt.
“Well then (my niece) said what if it falls off, and I was like, ‘Don’t say that, we’re behind him, what if it fires off or something?’”
DMPD says the incident is under internal review.
This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.