{"article":{"id":246700,"heading":"Seattle cops leave rifle unattened on trunk of cop car","author":"Cienna Madrid","created":"2011-06-29 20:02:29","modified":"2013-11-11 01:06:28","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 08:06:28","article":"<p>Seattle police leave rifle unattended on cruiser <br><br> SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; A Seattle police spokesman says the department is embarrassed after officers left a police rifle unattended on a patrol car outside a busy downtown area. <br><br> Spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb says the department has launched an investigation. <br><br> Whitcomb says two people spotted the rifle on the parked car. One flagged down bicycle officers to alert them. The other followed the cruiser as it drove through downtown Seattle and tracked down the driver after the car parked. <br><br> The alternative weekly The Stranger first reported the incident, posting a picture that shows the rifle sitting on top of the trunk. <br><br> Whitcomb says such rifles are assigned only to officers who have additional training. They're usually kept in the trunk or between the driver and passenger seats.<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/3fpxr9z","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"Seattle cops leave rifle unattended on top of a cop car in downtown Seattle","numcomment":1,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2011\/06\/gun_on_cop_car.jpg","filesize":"45.8 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2011\/06\/246700.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2011\/06\/gun_on_cop_car.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2011\/06\/gun_on_cop_car.jpgthumb.jpg","medium":"\/uploads\/2011\/06\/gun_on_cop_car.jpgmid.jpg"}},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":246725,"heading":"heating up the heat","article":"unbelievable incompetence or was it?\r\nit could have been bait for another spectacular  'terrorist' event if say, the assault weapon was acquired by some 'lone wolf'  bad person while the twit who drove this patrol car; with the rifle on the trunk, to have a Starbucks coffee...\r\ncall me a paranoid but hey - this is incredible to the point of alarm.\r\nKeep your cameras handy.  more soon.","author":"fmr Wa. state resident","parent_id":246700,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2011-07-01 09:59:19","modified":"2011-07-01 09:59:19","fileurl":""}]}