TAMPA, FL – A Tampa Police officer was caught on tape walking his horse through a crowded Ybor City bar, and the police chief said she approves of it.

The 37 second video was posted on YouTube and shows a mounted police officer walking his horse through Habibi’s Hookah Bar on 7th Avenue. A woman is heard screaming in surprise as the horse rounds a corner into her path.

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said, “It’s good public relations.” However, one business owner complained about the practice.

Full Story – HERE

WTF? Good public relations? Haters gonna hate I suppose.

I know police horses are really well trained an all, but this just seems like an unnecessary risk taken simply to showboat the officer’s authority.

The Bar on Google Maps street view – HERE (Looks horse friendly to me )

Saw this picture a while back:

I knew it was only a matter of time before It would surface as a tattoo:

Some people are pretty hardcore.  I could never pull that off, even if I could somehow get over the whole it’s with you FOREVER thing.

I didn’t think people from Florida really had much of an accent, that they would pronounce it “Flawda” but who knows.

hehe classic that it’s a DEAGLE in the pic too.

Two 9 millimeters, plus loads of bullets — 300 of them — and holsters to go with them, somehow got on board an Egypt Air flight out of JFK on Tuesday night. No one knew anything about the guns Mohammed Ibrahim stashed in his checked luggage until they were discovered in Cairo.

Full Story – HERE

Ooops.. someone at the TSA is going to get in trouble for that one. Interesting how a University professor would try and pull a stunt like that… you’d think he would be smarter.  Plus if he’s traveling to another country I believe he would have to get a temporary import permit from that country, and an authorization to export from the U.S. …. maybe he had all those, but figured his work was done and didn’t bother to take the last required security steps at the airport?

Hat Tip: Bryce

Lakeland, Florida – A Lakeland Police Department civilian employee accidentally shot himself through the hand Friday while handling an officer’s gun, police said.

When Waterman parked outside the police station and went inside to use the restroom, Ramirez took the officer’s department-issued back-up gun, a .45-caliber glock, out of the car’s glove box.

He was looking at the gun when it accidentally fired, shooting him through the hand, police said.

Full Story – HERE

If there is one thing I hate, it’s when guns decide to shoot when you’re just looking at them *sarcasm*

The bullet went through a table before it hit Frauman, said Kristy-Lee Lawley, the church’s communications director. She said Frauman, a member of the church, was “recovering well” and the bullet didn’t break any bones.

The NRA has a rule against bringing ammunition into a class, said Tom Wagner, a NRA instructor in Orlando who was not involved in Saturday’s shooting. He said the association has “no problem yanking a certification if the rules are being broken.

I’m glad to hear that guy will no longer be instructing.  There is no room for error when it comes to safety with firearms.

Once again… If the four BASIC rules of gun safety mentioned in my previous post would have been followed, this would never have happened.

Full story at Orlando Sentinel – HERE

Hat Tip: SayUncle

If there is one person that cringes every time an incident like this surfaces in the news it would definitely be Lee Paige.  Paige was making a “drug education presentation” in April 2004 to a group of kids in Florida when he put a round from his .40 caliber Glock through his foot (or leg according to different press coverage).

“I’m the only one in this room professional enough, that I know of, to carry this Glock .40″

Those words, and the couple of seconds following them, will live forever on the internet.

Check out the video below:

I don’t agree with incidents like these being called “Accidental discharges” (AD).  When it is human error that causes them the correct term is “Negligent Discharge” (ND).

Too bad there wasn’t a video of the NRA instructor shooting the student.  That way he could try and sue the NRA for embarrassing him like Lee Paige tried on the DEA.

Deviating from the topic of guns for a second, I thought this picture was hilarious:

Source: Unknown

Final Score:

New Orleans Saints – 31
Indianapolis Colts – 17

Recently the Florida Highway Patrol conducted testing for a new duty pistol in Tallahassee, Fla.  One of the pistols they tested was the Gen 4 Glock.  The problem is Glock is only offering the Gen 4 in 9mm and .40 S&W, and FHP wanted a .45.  To secure the contract of “about 3000 pistols,”  Glock agreed to manufacture a special run of Gen 4 pistols chambered in .45 GAP.

I know the “purpose” of the .45 GAP is to have the ballistics of a .45 ACP, but in a smaller volume cartridge.  What’s wrong with .45 ACP though?  or even .40 for that matter?

The standard magazine capacity of the fullsize .45 GAP Glock model 37 is 10 rounds.  The Glock 21 (.45 ACP) standard magazine capacity is 13 rounds. One clear disadvantage of the G37, especially in a law enforcement environment.

According to Jeff Quinn’s article on the G37 at Gunblast.com:

The grip frame dimensions are where the two guns differ, and the smaller size of the model 37 does indeed offer improved ergonomics for those who prefer the feel of the medium frame Glocks. A comparison of the critical dimensions are as follows:

Why exactly does Florida need/want the .45 GAP though?  Have they had failures in stopping bad guys with .40 or .45?  Are there a bunch of new officers with small hands?

Coming from the Beretta 96, one would think that Florida Highway Patrol would be used to a large grip circumference, and that a Glock 22 or Glock 21 wouldn’t be hard to get used to.

Maybe is it an Elitism thing, where they want to brag to everyone that Glock custom made them a new model?

I would hate to see the bill for the cost of 3000 custom Glocks.  I’m sure Florida tax payers would also cringe, especially knowing there are at least 2 other perfectly great off the self models that their highway patrol could be carrying.

Maybe someday this .45 GAP cardridge will catch on.  Glock sure pushes it in every issue of Glock Annual.

I definitely have not noticed .45 GAP ammo at any of the gun stores I frequent, though maybe that’s due to the large amount of dust that likely collected on the box, making it unreadable.

Full story on Florida’s Gen4 .45 GAP glock purchase over at BlueSheepDog – HERE