Stolen equipment not yet recovered

More than a month after a loaded gun and other police equipment were stolen from a Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy’s pickup truck, the search for the missing items continues.

Sheriff Ken McGovern said Tuesday that as far as he knows none of the equipment has been recovered. As for the deputy who left the department truck running unattended at his rural Douglas County home, that matter was handled with “administrative action,” McGovern said. He declined to elaborate.

“The officer made a judgment error, and we corrected that action,” McGovern said.

On the morning of Dec. 21, the officer, who has not been identified, started the truck and then left it unattended for five minutes, sheriff’s spokeswoman Lt. Kari Wempe said at the time.

When the officer returned, the truck was gone. It was found a few hours later abandoned in Kansas City, Mo. The police equipment was gone.

In addition to the Glock .40-caliber pistol, other items taken were a pair of handcuffs, a pepper spray canister, two bulletproof vests, a riot helmet and shield, and a Glock tactical knife.

An investigation into the incident continues and no one has been arrested, Wempe said this week.

Last month, Wempe said the department would have the incident reviewed by the district attorney to see if any state laws were violated by the deputy.