An off-duty Suffolk County cop inadvertently left a gun behind in the bathroom of his child’s high school this week, sparking an investigation, authorities said.
The male officer – also a local Board of Education member – accidentally left his off-duty firearm in the bathroom at the Eastport South Manor Junior Senior High School, where he was attending a “special session” meeting Monday evening, police and school officials said.
In a letter sent to families and school staff members, Superintendent of Schools Joseph Steimel called the matter an “isolated incident.”
“Upon a routine school cleaning, a member of our custodial crew found a handgun in a lavatory and immediately notified building security who worked with administration to enact an emergency protocol procedure,” Steimel said.
During the procedure – which only lasted about 15 minutes – the security team closed off the bathroom and no one was allowed in the area, the school official said.
“As part of that investigation, it was quickly determined that the weapon belonged to an off-duty police officer, who is a parent that used the bathroom shortly before the time and had inadvertently left it behind,” Steimel said.
“This information was determined quickly, as the off-duty officer was still in the building, in the very near vicinity of the lavatory. The off-duty officer returned to the restroom area and shared the information with our security officers.”
“Thankfully the matter was resolved quickly by the SCPD and without any further impact to our school safety and security,” he added.
A school concert, that ended around 6:30 p.m., continued without interruption, the superintendent said.
The officer’s name was not released for “privacy and legal reasons,” but the man – who was coming directly from work – “has shared his name publicly,” Steimel said.
The Suffolk County Police Department confirmed that an off-duty officer was involved and that the incident was being investigated by its Internal Affairs Bureau, but did not provide any additional information Wednesday afternoon.
