Armed police chief told to leave doctor’s office
Conroe, TX, Police Chief Philip Dupuis is allowed by law to open carry a firearm anywhere in the State of Texas, but apparently not in some “gun free” doctor’s offices.
Dupuis was asked to leave the Texas Ear Nose and Throat Specialists office in The Woodlands one August afternoon because he was carrying his firearm.
Dupuis told The Courier newspaper he was wearing his badge on his belt in plain view next to his handgun, as well as his Conroe PD identification on a lanyard around his neck when he entered the doctor’s office and started to check in. A receptionist took his driver’s license and insurance card before questioning him about the gun on his hip.
Dupuis said she asked him to take his gun out to his car. The 35-year law enforcement veteran, who never has had an accidental discharge, refused to disarm himself, reiterating that he is a police officer.
That’s when he was asked to leave.
“It’s just bad,” Dupuis said. “My badge is clearly displayed. I have my lanyard on with ‘police’ on my ID card hanging around my neck. I had handcuffs. The lobby was full of people, and they asked me to leave because of who I am.”
“I didn’t think twice about it because I can and do carry everywhere,” Dupuis said. “I carry to protect myself and I carry to protect my family and the public.”
However, Dupuis acknowledged that despite Texas carry laws, a private business or property owner can create “weapons-free” zones. The owner must post signage referring to the Penal Code, Chapter 30.06 and 30.07, enabling the prohibition of concealed carry and open carry, respectively.
Texas ENT Office Manager Ryan Johnson called Dupuis to apologize. Johnson told The Courier they have the same signage regarding firearms as any other doctor’s office.
“Mr. Dupuis identified himself as a police officer,” Johnson said. “This situation simply should not have happened.”
He said none of the doctors at the office were aware of the situation.
“This was a mistake,” Johnson said. “All we can do is sincerely apologize for it and will use it to teach our employees how to better handle these situations when they arise.”
But for Dupuis, the incident hit a little too close to home. He has two children who want to be police officers when they grow up.
“After a day like today, I want to come home and try and talk them out of it,” Dupuis told the newspaper. “I shouldn’t have to talk my children out of being in a profession that I have loved for so long and has provided for me and my family a good life. When I see something like this, I don’t want my kids going through this.”
Teen’s Facebook selfie leads to gun theft arrest
Sometimes it doesn’t pay to advertise.
A Colorado teenager faced charges after the feds say he posted photos of himself with stolen guns on Facebook.
Viet Trinh, 18, of Thornton, is accused of being part of a smash-and-grab burglary ring that targeted gun shops in the Denver area, according to reports.
“Know anyone that wants to buy a baby .40? $300,” Trinh messaged friends on Facebook on Nov. 11, the day after thieves broke into a Thornton gun shop and stole 25 guns, the Denver Post reported.
The court papers say that when asked by text where he got the weapon, Trinh texted, “A yistol (sic) shop,” according to the paper reported.
Trinh was arrested Aug. 16 and, during an interview with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives agents, he admitted to being the getaway driver in the Thornton smash and grab.
He also said that he sold one of the guns he got from the burglary for $375, Fox 31 Denver reported.
“Stupid people do stupid things, and that’s why they get caught. And that is a prime example,” Jacob McIntosh, a worker at the South Platte Tactical gun shop in Brighton, told CBS 4 Denver. (See related story elsewhere in this issue.)
Soviet cosmonauts carried a shotgun into space orbit
To this day, the Russian Federal Space Agency refuses to talk about the weapon though it’s an open secret. Astronauts heading to the International Space Station have trained with it, and some have even talked about it.
And in case there’s any doubt about its existence, there’s one on display in a Russian museum, according to a story appearing on warisboring.com, originally posted on Feb. 3, 2015.
It’s the TP-82 survival pistol. There was a time when Russian cosmonauts regularly traveled to space with the gun in tow. But calling it a pistol is slightly misleading; the TP-82 is more like a small shotgun.
The Russians included the weapon in Granat-6 survival kits stashed inside Soyuz capsules between 1982 and 2006. The odd weapons also found their way into military aircraft survival kits.
Having a gun inside a thin-walled spacecraft filled with oxygen sounds crazy, but the Soviets had their reasons. Much of Russia is desolate wilderness. A single mishap during descent could strand cosmonauts in the middle of nowhere.
In March 1965, cosmonaut Alexey Leonov landed a mechanically-faulty Voskhod space capsule in the snowy forests of the western Urals—600 miles from his planned landing site.
For protection, Leonov had a 9mm pistol. He feared the bears and wolves that prowled the forest although he never encountered any. But the fear stayed with him. Later in his career, he made sure the Soviet military provided all its cosmonauts with a survival weapon.
Leonov’s lobbying efforts culminated in the TP-82. It was essentially a sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun with a short-barreled rifle added onto it. It was good for hunting small game, while packing a big enough punch to deter a 1,000-pound brown bear.
