Bambi And The Gun

AUGUST 20--An impromptu photo shoot of a scantily clad waitress holding a police assault rifle has led to the firing of one Texas sheriff's deputy and the disciplining of four other lawmen.

Earlier this month, a group of Midland County Sheriff's Office deputies were eating at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Round Rock when they asked a waitress to pose with an AR-15 rifle on the trunk of their police cruiser. As seen in the photo at left, the 24-year-old waitress--who wore a "Bambi" nametag, short shorts, knee socks, and a revealing t-shirt--was perched on the trunk of a Midland police cruiser.

The automatic weapon, which had been in the trunk of the marked Ford Crown Victoria, was handed to the waitress by Deputy Daniel Subia, who was fired for his role in the August 10 incident. Subia and his colleagues were in Williamson County for a "Criminal Interdiction" training class, according to a Round Rock Police Department report.

Though the incident was originally investigated as possible misdemeanor disorderly conduct, no charges were bought against any of the Midland officers. When Round Rock cops questioned their Midland counterparts about the photo session, two Midland deputies claimed that the waitress "asked to have her picture taken with their weapon, but acknowledged they should not have agreed," according to the police report.

"Bambi," however, told investigators that "the Midland deputies asked her to go outside to take pictures of her holding the weapon on their marked unit." (6 pages)