Several gun crimes have been in the news this week in the Orlando, Florida area. Additionally, an Orlando police chief was disciplined this week after her police-issued weapon and ammunition were stolen. At about 1:40 in the morning, several men broke into an Orange County home. Law enforcement officials are investigating whether there were two or three perpetrators involved in the Pine Hills incident. The men held the home's occupants at gunpoint in the middle of the night, attempting to rob them. There were two women and a child, age 8, in the house at the time of the break-in. One of the women was "pistol-whipped" during the ordeal.
At this point, police are still investigating and they have not arrested any suspects or issued a description of the armed men. The men did not actually take anything from the home, despite the allegation that they demanded money from the victims.
An Orlando police chief was disciplined after her gun was stolen from her police vehicle. The vehicle issued to Police Chief Val Kemings was broken into and a duffle bag on the passenger's side of the car was taken. It contained her police-issued gun, ammunition, her baton, and other police equipment.
According to internal police department records, Chief Kemings used the keyless entry remote to lock the vehicle. Nonetheless, she was censured for failing to physically check that the doors had locked, as required by Orlando Police Department policy. According to the policy, officers have an "enhanced duty" to safeguard their weapons due to the "inherently dangerous" nature of guns.
The internal affairs documents showed that Chief Kemings accepted responsibility for her role and received a written censure for failing to check the door locks. In accordance with department policy, the censure will remain in her employment file for three years.
The original reports on these incidents are available here and here.
