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UCPD chief has gun, badge stolen from car

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AUGUST 24, 2015

This article has been updated to reflect new information from UCPD and the campus.

UCPD Chief Margo Bennett discovered her car burglarized Friday morning at Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California.

After a jog before work, the off-duty chief returned to find her car — which is unmarked — broken into about 8 a.m., according to a campus press release. According to Carolyn Jones, spokesperson for the East Bay Regional Park District, the items stolen from the officer’s car included her gun, ammunition, badge, police department ID, laptop, tablet, cellphone and diamond ring.

The gun was stolen from a bag inside the car and not secured inside the glove compartment, according to UCPD spokesperson lieutenant Marc DeCoulode. The stolen laptop was issued by the department, but he added that there is “appropriate security” to protect its contents.

“Car break-ins are fairly common at the parks along the waterfront,” Jones said. “It’s easy for people to get out onto the freeway from there.”

The park district encourages visitors to not bring valuables to the park or to secure them in the trunks of their cars prior to arrival.

The case is currently under investigation by the EBRPD police.

“(Break-ins) can happen to almost anyone,” DeCoulode said. “It’s one of those unfortunate incidents.”

In light of the event campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said the the administration is reviewing California law governing how UCPD officers secure their weapons when off-duty with the help of campus attorneys as well as a board composed of the heads of UC police at each UC campus.

“We don’t have any analogous event, so we don’t have a history to draw on,” he said. “We’re seeking the highest possible level of expert input.”

Based on their input, Mogulof said, the administration would determine further actions and whether or not current existing rules are “what we want and need.”

Contact Austin Weinstein at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @aweinstein5.
LAST UPDATED

AUGUST 25, 2015


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