http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/01/23/e1.cr.shoot.0123.p1.php?section=cityregion
Accidental shooting injures police officer
By Rebecca Nolan
The Register-Guard
Published: Tuesday, January 23, 2007
A Eugene police SWAT officer was shot in the foot Monday when another officer's gun accidentally discharged at the home of a suspected drug dealer, police officials said.
A bullet from a SWAT 9mm long gun went through the injured officer's foot shortly before 6 a.m., police Capt. Pete Kerns said.
"This is what I would classify as an industrial accident for law enforcement," Kerns said. "This was not a friendly fire incident, but a mechanical failure or an error on the part of the person carrying the gun."
The department's violent crimes unit was investigating.
The officers' names were not released.
The department's vice narcotics unit had asked SWAT to help serve a search warrant at a home on North Danebo Avenue near Barger Drive. Detectives suspected that a man with a history of weapon possession was dealing drugs from the home, Kerns said.
advertisement SWAT officers entered the house, rounded up the occupants and searched for any hazards, Kerns said. They were preparing to hand the scene over to detectives when the shooting occurred.
Apparently, three SWAT officers assigned to cover the backyard of the home were climbing a fence to get out. One of the officers' guns fired and hit the other officer.
Paramedics already were on scene and immediately came to the injured officer's aid, Kerns said. The officer was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Kerns said the department would not release the injured officer's name because he has a large family that needed to be notified of the accident. The officer has been with the department for nearly three years.
The officer whose gun discharged is a "veteran police officer," Kerns said. His name was withheld because he is the subject of an internal investigation, the captain said. Monday was that officer's regular day off, and he will be allowed to return to work as scheduled.
"It is not a standard of ours in cases of accidental discharges to place officers on administrative leave," Kerns said.
SWAT officers are among any police department's most highly trained and skilled officers, and as a result such accidental shootings are rare, Kerns said.
However, in Eugene, the last accidental shooting of one officer by another occurred in 2001, when a SWAT sniper mistook another SWAT officer, Sgt. Jay Shadwick, for an armed suspect and shot him once in the chest while responding to an attempted murder in Creswell.
Shadwick survived and returned to work six months later.
An investigation found no negligence on the part of the sniper, officer Ted Williams, or his spotter, officer Jud Warden.
Once investigators establish the facts of Monday's shooting, the department will evaluate whether additional training or weaponry changes are necessary, Kerns said.
Accidental shooting injures police officer
By Rebecca Nolan
The Register-Guard
Published: Tuesday, January 23, 2007
A Eugene police SWAT officer was shot in the foot Monday when another officer's gun accidentally discharged at the home of a suspected drug dealer, police officials said.
A bullet from a SWAT 9mm long gun went through the injured officer's foot shortly before 6 a.m., police Capt. Pete Kerns said.
"This is what I would classify as an industrial accident for law enforcement," Kerns said. "This was not a friendly fire incident, but a mechanical failure or an error on the part of the person carrying the gun."
The department's violent crimes unit was investigating.
The officers' names were not released.
The department's vice narcotics unit had asked SWAT to help serve a search warrant at a home on North Danebo Avenue near Barger Drive. Detectives suspected that a man with a history of weapon possession was dealing drugs from the home, Kerns said.
advertisement SWAT officers entered the house, rounded up the occupants and searched for any hazards, Kerns said. They were preparing to hand the scene over to detectives when the shooting occurred.
Apparently, three SWAT officers assigned to cover the backyard of the home were climbing a fence to get out. One of the officers' guns fired and hit the other officer.
Paramedics already were on scene and immediately came to the injured officer's aid, Kerns said. The officer was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Kerns said the department would not release the injured officer's name because he has a large family that needed to be notified of the accident. The officer has been with the department for nearly three years.
The officer whose gun discharged is a "veteran police officer," Kerns said. His name was withheld because he is the subject of an internal investigation, the captain said. Monday was that officer's regular day off, and he will be allowed to return to work as scheduled.
"It is not a standard of ours in cases of accidental discharges to place officers on administrative leave," Kerns said.
SWAT officers are among any police department's most highly trained and skilled officers, and as a result such accidental shootings are rare, Kerns said.
However, in Eugene, the last accidental shooting of one officer by another occurred in 2001, when a SWAT sniper mistook another SWAT officer, Sgt. Jay Shadwick, for an armed suspect and shot him once in the chest while responding to an attempted murder in Creswell.
Shadwick survived and returned to work six months later.
An investigation found no negligence on the part of the sniper, officer Ted Williams, or his spotter, officer Jud Warden.
Once investigators establish the facts of Monday's shooting, the department will evaluate whether additional training or weaponry changes are necessary, Kerns said.
