Los Angeles, CA – In a bizarre and troubling turn of events, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has admitted that one of its deputies misplaced a department-issued Colt M4 patrol rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition during a call Saturday night in South L.A.
According to an official statement, deputies from the South Los Angeles Station noticed the rifle was missing from the trunk of their squad car sometime between 10:30 and 11 p.m. The M4 carbine, a standard patrol rifle chambered in 5.56mm, was stored inside a hard-shell black case along with five loaded magazines.
Officials believe the case “may have fallen out during transit” as the deputies responded to a service call.
The department has since retraced the four-mile route traveled that evening—north on Normandie Avenue, west on Imperial Highway, north on Hawthorne Boulevard, and west on 104th Street to Inglewood Avenue—in an attempt to locate the missing rifle. Surveillance cameras along the route are being reviewed, and neighboring agencies have been notified.
While no photo of the rifle has been released, LASD is urging residents to keep an eye out and report any information that could lead to its recovery.
Tips can be submitted anonymously via the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
The incident has triggered an internal review to determine whether department policies and procedures were followed—or ignored. “The Sheriff’s Department is committed to transparency and accountability as we investigate this incident,” the statement read.
Critics of the department were quick to point out the irony: in a state that heavily restricts civilian ownership of AR-style rifles and detachable magazines, law enforcement’s apparent mishandling of such equipment raises serious questions about accountability and competence.
For now, LASD is asking the public to help locate a weapon they’re forbidden from owning themselves.
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More than 17,000 Guns Reported Lost/Stolen from FFLs in 2024
Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department Lost 185 Guns, Including 76 Duty Weapons
Someone got a free select-fire M4 with ammo and isn’t going to return it.
you would think that they sheriff’s office would know the difference between putting something in the wrong spot and LOST!
yeah, yeah, it just fell out of the trunk, right, right.
i can easily see a black rifle case with 5 loaded “large capacity” magazines in it just falling out of a locked trunk in a police vehicle. matter of fact, i’m sure it happens all the time.
is the deputy going to be charged? or even reprimanded? doubtfully.
so much for safe storage.
I can understand how this could happen. I lost all my guns in a tragic canoe accident on Lake Tahoe right over its deepest part. Unfortunately, I have no actual proof I was in said canoe or on said lake, so I can’t even file a claim.
So it just fell out of the trunk – somehow – ‘in transit’. We all know that’s a lie. There’s some obvious incompetence that they want to cover up.
To whoever got a new M4 for Christmas in July, Merry Christmas in July 😉
LMAO=Finders keepers, losers’ weepers. Nice to know that our law enforcement is responsible in the exercise of proper gun care. Why don’t they post the serial number for it? It should have a number on it! Won’t that help them find the gun? We hear so much about how important it is to have a serial number on a gun for tracking purposes all the time! They should be able to find it! When they do will the person that committed the crime not be responsible but the person that lost it is? Did the cop that lost it report… Read more »
Nick 2.0 says it is a pity that David Codrea is right. Very telling !
From my viewpoint, being aware of his work for several years, he is right about most everything all the time.
He does all of his homework and then some more.
He does not just spout off outrageous stuff and then struggle to defend it.
There is much that can be learned from him.
Fell out of the trunk my ass!
sad thing the idiot returned it
Finders, keepers….losers, weepers….
What’s the issue here? We all have full autos falling out of our Jeeps all the time. It’s just one of those things one learns to live with….