Holyoke officer punished for misplacing gun



The Springfield (Mass.) Republican

 HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) — A Holyoke police sergeant has been suspended for the second time in a little more than two years for misplacing a department gun.
Chief James Neiswanger (NICE'-wong-er) said Wednesday that Sgt. John Hart was suspended 10 days without pay for leaving his gun in a restroom at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside in November. The weapon was recovered.
The Republican (http://bit.ly/1aYZCun ) reports that Neiswanger said in an email that an investigation found Hart ‘‘violated several rules and regulations.’’
Hart was suspended for five days without pay in December 2011 for losing a department issued sniper rifle in September of that year. The rifle was recovered months later.

Hart did not want to speak, but the president of the police union said the union’s position is that the punishment was fair.