S.F. police arrest man they say had CHP officer’s gun in car

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San Francisco police officers have recovered a gun stolen from an off-duty law enforcement officer in one of a string of recent burglaries involving guns taken from unattended cars.

Officers recovered the gun Friday evening when they stopped Sergio Manriquez, 29, in the Mission District after noticing he was driving a car with a cracked brake light, the Police Department said.

The officers said Manriquez didn’t have a driver’s license and was on probation. They also said they found a loaded gun in the car.

Police said in a statement that the gun had been reported stolen from an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer out of a locked car on the 1200 block of Howard Street on Oct. 17. The stolen gun was the officer’s personal firearm and was in a backpack on the front seat, police said.

CHP policy requires on-duty officers with agency-issued weapons to secure them with the car’s lock bar or lock them in the trunk. But the policy does not extend to off-duty officers and their personal property.

Supervisor David Campos introduced legislation this month that would restrict peace officers from leaving guns in their cars unattended.

The legislation would prevent San Francisco peace officers from leaving city-issued guns in their private cars unattended unless they are in a locked container in a trunk that is separate from the main car.

Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen