A police officer is in hot water after he forgot a loaded handgun in a toilet stall at a Tokyo restaurant just after noon on Nov. 11, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has revealed.
Luckily for the 59-year-old assistant inspector, who is part of the MPD's increased security measures for the coming APEC summit in Yokohama, the weapon was turned in to a nearby police officer by restaurant staff just five minutes later, after the next customer to use the stall noticed the gun and notified the establishment. The revolver was still loaded with its original five bullets, and there was no sign it had been fired in the five minutes it was out of police hands.
According to the MPD, the assistant inspector came to the restaurant with another officer and went to the washroom at around 12:25 p.m., where he left the weapon along with its belt and holster. He apparently did not notice the gun was missing until he returned to his police vehicle, at which point he reported it missing to his superiors.
The officer was loaned to the public safety department on Nov. 5 this year.
"It is most unsatisfactory that such an incident occurred, especially during our heightened security precautions for the APEC summit," said Kenichi Sakurazawa of the MPD's police affairs section. The force is considering disciplinary action.
Mainichi
Nov. 12, 2010
