POST FALLS - It was a dinner run through Del Taco that Greg Wiltse won't forget.

The Post Falls man couldn't believe his eyes Tuesday night when he was about to pull into the drive through of the fast-food restaurant on Highway 41 and there sat a pistol in the middle of the pavement.

"I thought, 'holy cow,'" Wiltse said. "I thought that maybe someone tried to throw it in the Dumpster nearby."

Turns out the .45 semi-automatic belongs to the Idaho State Police.

"There was a bullet in the chamber and the safety wasn't on," Wiltse said, referring to police's examination of the gun. "It was ready to go."

ISP Capt. Curtis Karstens confirmed the pistol is owned by the agency, but the case is being treated as a personnel matter so he declined to comment further, including saying which employee the gun belongs to.

"We're just getting information ourselves," Karstens said on Wednesday afternoon.

Karstens said it's possible the employee could face disciplinary action, pending an investigation.

After Wiltse spotted the gun around 9 p.m. - and checked his surroundings - he carefully put it on the floorboard of his vehicle and called Post Falls police.

"They immediately identified it as a law enforcement weapon, but couldn't tell me whose it was," Wiltse said. "They also told me it wasn't stolen, but that was it."

The pistol had Idaho State Police stamped on it.

Wiltse said the situation could have been worse had the gun ended up in someone else's hands such as a youth.

"It's gross negligence whoever lost it," he said. "That shouldn't happen. I'm glad I found it and got it in the right hands."

PFPD Chief Scot Haug said the gun was turned over to ISP.

"It is our understanding that the gun may have been left on a trooper's vehicle while off duty and fell off," Haug said.

Law enforcement is trained to keep firearms secured unless they're being used. It is common practice for police to have loaded guns.

Karstens said it's too early to say whether another agency will be called upon to investigate or whether ISP will handle the entire probe internally.