WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Capitol Police have inadvertently lost track of their loaded handguns at least three times since January.
A Glock handgun owned by a member of the security detail for Sen. Mitch McConnell was found in a restroom stall near the Capitol Visitors Center on Jan. 29. Another loaded Glock, lost by a security officer protecting Rep. John Boehner, was found in the Speaker's Suite restroom on March 24, Roll Call reported. A third, left in plain sight, was discovered by a maintenance worker cleaning the Capitol Police headquarters on April 16.
Law enforcement officials at the Capitol, a building with heavy tourist traffic and the constant presence of U.S. leadership, have offered little comment on the incidents. The discovery of loaded handguns, and in the case of the Glock models in question, lacking safety devices to prevent unanticipated firing, come as other Capitol security breaches are investigated.
Capitol Police Chief Kim C. Dine faced a congressional hearing Wednesday in connection with an April 15 landing of a one-person gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn.
House Administration Chairwoman Candace Miller, R-Mich., suggested communications need improvement, saying Thursday, "When you look at communications protocols, chain of command in any military organization, which every police force is, is always as critical component...we need to move from the need-to-know information, to the need-to-share information."
