Detroit groundskeeper fired after finding loaded gun

[JJVP]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/15/de ... t-to-cops/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[seamusTX]

A few key details:

[The employee], who is just two years shy of retirement, ... after 23 years on the job, [he] was fired for violating department policies.

That would save the pension fund some money. It happens in private businesse, but a public-sector boss has no reason to care.

I have never known a government employee to be fired after one policy violation that was not a crime (such as drunk driving or assault).

I'd bet on him being reinstated after appealing.

- Jim

[erick619]

this is all kinds of backwards.

[Oldgringo]

The groundskeeper appears to be white. White folk ain't sposed to have no guns in Motown.

[speedsix]

...shouldn't have taken it home...either turn it in to his super at work or call the cops immediately...

...supervisor didn't do his job, which would have protected him...

...I think the punishment's excessive...but they both did wrong...

[seamusTX]

...shouldn't have taken it home...either turn it in to his super at work or call the cops immediately...

He did call the cops immediately. They didn't come to the scene.

There was no policy stating what employees should do if they find something on the job that obviously doesn't belong there. Probably nothing would have happened if he found a wallet or cell phone and did exactly what he did with the weapon.

Also IMHO it's ridiculous to say that the guy's entire work day should come to a screeching halt because someone finds a firearm. I thought firearms were just tools, no different from a screwdriver or monkey wrench.

In a broader sense, it's not ethically defensible to punish someone for actions that result in more good than harm.

BTW plenty of white people live in Detroit and Wayne County. Also a lot of Arabs (who are generally considered white). Dearborn has the largest concentration of Arabs in the U.S. I see no reason to inject race into a thread where it is not a factor.

- Jim

[Heartland Patriot]

Its not like the man kept it for himself, or used it in a crime, or tried to sell it. He simply didn't take off immediately and waited until after work. That really is a no harm/no foul situation. I'll be they actually DO write a policy now!

[Oldgringo]

...shouldn't have taken it home...either turn it in to his super at work or call the cops immediately...

He did call the cops immediately. They didn't come to the scene.

There was no policy stating what employees should do if they find something on the job that obviously doesn't belong there. Probably nothing would have happened if he found a wallet or cell phone and did exactly what he did with the weapon.

Also IMHO it's ridiculous to say that the guy's entire work day should come to a screeching halt because someone finds a firearm. I thought firearms were just tools, no different from a screwdriver or monkey wrench.

In a broader sense, it's not ethically defensible to punish someone for actions that result in more good than harm.

BTW plenty of white people live in Detroit and Wayne County. Also a lot of Arabs (who are generally considered white). Dearborn has the largest concentration of Arabs in the U.S. I see no reason to inject race into a thread where it is not a factor.

- Jim

Truth be told, there's probably more to this story than has yet to to be told. Who are his Supervisors?

[VMI77]

...shouldn't have taken it home...either turn it in to his super at work or call the cops immediately...

He did call the cops immediately. They didn't come to the scene.

There was no policy stating what employees should do if they find something on the job that obviously doesn't belong there. Probably nothing would have happened if he found a wallet or cell phone and did exactly what he did with the weapon.

Also IMHO it's ridiculous to say that the guy's entire work day should come to a screeching halt because someone finds a firearm. I thought firearms were just tools, no different from a screwdriver or monkey wrench.

In a broader sense, it's not ethically defensible to punish someone for actions that result in more good than harm.

BTW plenty of white people live in Detroit and Wayne County. Also a lot of Arabs (who are generally considered white). Dearborn has the largest concentration of Arabs in the U.S. I see no reason to inject race into a thread where it is not a factor.

- Jim

That's the liberal mentality. It's exactly what happens in a liberal paradise like the UK. It's essentially liberal symbolism, and in liberal terms, a gun symbolizes evil, so anyone not anointed by The State may not touch one.

[JJVP]

...shouldn't have taken it home...either turn it in to his super at work or call the cops immediately...

He did call the cops immediately. They didn't come to the scene.

There was no policy stating what employees should do if they find something on the job that obviously doesn't belong there. Probably nothing would have happened if he found a wallet or cell phone and did exactly what he did with the weapon.

Also IMHO it's ridiculous to say that the guy's entire work day should come to a screeching halt because someone finds a firearm. I thought firearms were just tools, no different from a screwdriver or monkey wrench.

In a broader sense, it's not ethically defensible to punish someone for actions that result in more good than harm.

BTW plenty of white people live in Detroit and Wayne County. Also a lot of Arabs (who are generally considered white). Dearborn has the largest concentration of Arabs in the U.S. I see no reason to inject race into a thread where it is not a factor.

- Jim

That's the liberal mentality. It's exactly what happens in a liberal paradise like the UK. It's essentially liberal symbolism, and in liberal terms, a gun symbolizes evil, so anyone not anointed by The State may not touch one.

It actually happened in the UK. An ex-soldier found a shotgun and turned into the police. He was arrested and prosecuted for his trouble.


http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/Ex-s ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[seamusTX]

That's the liberal mentality.

Would you please be careful about what you are labeling "the liberal mentality"?

Anyway, this guy was not prosecuted. The cops told him he did the right thing. He is being punished by an (IMHO) idiotic bureaucrat. Granted it is within a non-law-enforcement government entity, the person who did the firing probably violated some policy by firing a first-time violator. Even serious criminal allegations usually result in suspension.

That's why I said the guy who was fired probably will be reinstated.

- Jim

[recaffeination]

The groundskeeper appears to be white.

He also appears to be 15 to 20 years too young to retire. No wonder many states and local governments are bankrupt.

[seamusTX]

You can tell his age from a photograph on a web site? Maybe he has good genes. Maybe he's a health nut.

I don't understand why this specific case gets to be a launching pad for random comments about the sad state of the world.

- Jim

[Transplant]

There has to be more to the story....right? I hope so.

[recaffeination]

I don't understand why this specific case gets to be a launching pad for random comments about the sad state of the world.

Because comment A inspires comment B which inspires comment C, like 95% of the conversations on this forum.