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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A member of Salt Lake County's SWAT team left an M4 assault rifle in front of someone's home after leaving the scene of a standoff in the township of White City.
Salt Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Levi Hughes says the gun was left by a veteran member of the SWAT team who forgot the weapon in the grass while packing up gear after the standoff ended.
"It's a terrible mistake," Hughes said. "For this to happen one time is unacceptable. The public expects more out of us than this. We're going to take every step possible so that this never happens again."
A homeowner found the rifle in the front yard of a house a few hours later and notified authorities. Hughes says an officer on patrol stopped by the home and recognized the rifle as a weapon belonging to the SWAT team.
Hughes says the officer will face disciplinary action, but probably won't be fired.
Hughes said the SWAT team responding to Saturday's standoff consisted of employees from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, Taylorsville Police Department and Unified Fire Authority. He declined to name which agency the officer who forgot the gun worked for.
He said SWAT team officers have a process called "resetting" after responding to each incident, in which officers carefully pack away equipment. It's unclear how the officer got distracted and missed packing the rifle.
"To the public, some might look at it like 'I'm glad nobody got hurt,'?" Hughes said. "To us, it's as devastating as it gets."
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
