Cop Leaves Gun In Wareham Courthouse Bathroom — How Does That Happen?

As I was listening to the news this morning I couldn't believe my ears when this story came across. 

It's about a Plymouth police officer who was in the Wareham District court who went to the bathroom put his gun down and left without taking it.  When he went back for it minutes later, it was gone.  He notified court officials, they then used a weapon-sniffing dog and did a sweep of the courthouse and passed everyone inside through a metal detector without success.

They then collected the names of everyone on the court list of appearances and also searched the parking lot, the bushes and underneath vehicles without finding the weapon.

How can this happen?  I cannot wrap my head around this, as an officer of the law your most important task is to take care of your weapon!  No excuses, I don't know how long this man has been an officer and I'm sure he is devastated by his actions.  My next question is what happens next?

What happens to the cop that lost the gun?  What happens to the person who took the gun, if they ever find it?  And the toughest question of all, how do we stop this from happening again?  The thing that really bugs me is the fact that there could be a gun roaming around the streets in the hands of a criminal.  Again I ask how can this happen?

We talked to a few callers to WBSM today and they said that the cop should be prosecuted just like a regular gun owner would be if they had done the same thing.  I don't know what that involves but I do know that this should be a lesson to all gun owners, if you take it out with you never let it leave your side, ever!