Associated Press - September 10, 2009 7:25 PM ET

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) - Security workers confiscated a pistol from Gillette Police Chief Rich Adriaens' briefcase as he went through screening at Gillette-Campbell County Airport.

Adriaens says he accidentally left his service firearm in his luggage when he went to the airport Thursday morning. He calls it an embarrassing oversight.

Airport security turned the gun over to the Campbell County Sheriff's Office, which will hold the weapon until Adriaens returns to town.

It's not the first time a Wyoming police chief has misplaced his gun.

In 2005, former Laramie police chief Bob Deutsch left his loaded service pistol in a restaurant bathroom. A customer found the gun and returned it to police.

Information from: The Gillette News Record - Gillette, http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com

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