PITTSBURGH -- Team 4 has obtained a copy of the military record of Richard Poplawski, the man accused of shooting three Pittsburgh police officers.
Questions are being raised about whether information in that file could have helped spare the lives of the officers.
Team 4's Paul Van Osdol has the story. What follows is a transcript of his report:
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These records, obtained by Team 4, show Richard Poplawski was a Marine for just three weeks. Family members have said he was kicked out after assaulting his drill sergeant.
That was just one of many details about Poplawski's past not known to officials who had to decide whether he was mentally fit to buy a gun.
Records released to Team 4 under the Freedom of Information Act show the Marines thought highly of Richard Poplawski -- when he enlisted.
In October 2004 staff Sergeant F.J. Lowe wrote, "I have personally screened and found him to be mentally, morally and physically qualified."
Poplawski signed up for a four-year hitch as an infantryman and reported to basic training on Dec. 13, 2004.
Just three weeks later he was discharged. But the Marines blacked out the reason for his discharge.
Poplawski's family and friends have said he was kicked out of the Marines for throwing a food tray at a drill sergeant.
A spokesman for the Marines has said Poplawski was discharged for a "psychological order."
But none of that information was released in his military records and none of it was available to Braverman Arms owner Buddy Savage when he sold Poplawski two guns last year.
Paul Van Osdol: "There's no way for you to know about any of this stuff, right?
Buddy Savage: "No."
Paul Van Osdol: "And is that the type of information that maybe should be available?"
Buddy Savage: "Myself, personally, I think it's something the state could handle and I think it probably should have been there."
State Representative Dan Frankel agrees.
Dan Frankel: "I would think if someone is involved in assaulting somebody else that information should be shared."
But the law does not require the military to share details of a veteran's file to authorities conducting a background check on a gun sale. It only requires a check of discharge status.
A dishonorable discharge will prevent someone from buying a gun. But authorities do not have access to any other information.
Trooper Paul Anderson, State Police: "Since we don't have direct access to military records by picking up the phone and calling, say, the US Marine Corps and obtaining those records, we don't have any information on what information they provide to the federal system."
Peter Georgiades: "The system is sloppy. It's loose."
Attorney Peter Georgiades is an expert on Pennsylvania's gun background check system. He is not surprised that Poplawski passed his check.
Paul Van Osdol: "Does that illustrate some sort of a loophole in the system?"
Peter Georgiades: " Well it just means the system failed."
The system has also failed Terry Freeman. He bought this gun legally, passing a background check. Then he passed another check to get a concealed weapons permit. But when he tried to buy another gun just weeks later, the third background check turned up a 23-year-old misdemeanor conviction for having a pry bar in his car. He was denied the gun and is now appealing.
Paul Van Osdol: "Does that raise a concern about how accurate some of these instant checks really are?"
Barry Freeman: "It makes you wonder. Because some people can slip through and then all of a sudden they found something."
So to be clear, it does not look like the marines or the state police or the gun store did anything wrong here. But the system does not allow them to pull up detailed information about an individual's military record. That most likely prevented them from learning about Poplawski's assault on his drill sergeant.
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