(AK) Officer shoots himself in foot ( w/ shotgun)

[Drizzt]

Officer shoots himself in foot

An Anchorage police officer was hospitalized this morning after he accidentally shot himself in the foot.

It happened around 9:30 in a Turnagain neighborhood near Earthquake Park. Police were in pursuit of a man wanted by U.S. Marshals.

The officer had pulled out his shotgun to assist in the pursuit when he accidentally shot himself in the left foot. Officer Paul Morino is recovering tonight at Providence Hospital.

Anchorage Police were called in this morning to help U.S. Marshals track down a probation violator.

Police say marshals found the 31-year-old suspect, Shelby Ward, at a home on Carleton Avenue. They also found cocaine.

Police say one of the marshals got into a physical struggle with Ward at the home. Ward managed to flee the scene.

APD was called in to help. When Officer Morino arrived, he parked his cruiser near Woronzof Drive. He grabbed his shotgun and that's when it accidentally went off hitting him in the foot.

He is a member of a task force, a DEA task force at the police department. He's been with the department for 18 years. He's a veteran, one of our more senior officers. He's been doing it for a long time and he's quite good at it, said Ron McGee, APD.

Authorities did arrest Ward this morning. He was found hiding in a ditch on Kissee Court.

Police say Ward is on probation for three convictions dating back to 1994 primarily on drug related charges.

Police say Morino was alert and awake hours after the shooting. Providence Hospital says Officer Morino requested that his condition not be released.

Its standard procedure for APD to investigate anytime an officer discharges a weapon. Police are looking into whether Morino's shotgun accidentally discharged or he had his finger on the trigger.

http://www.ktva.com/Stories/0,1413,163%7E6884%7E1394176,00.html

 

[tyme]

Confucious say:
Enforce drug laws and your foot may be shot.

 

[Feanaro]

Don't you feel safe knowing this man is watching your street?

 

[MicroBalrog]

Obviously these are the people who should have a monopoly on firearms. Don't you see how skilled they are?

 

[Wildalaska]

Hes a fine Officer, accidents happen and the rude comments about it are disgusting.

And I am proud knowing he is out there putting himself on the line for us. Which is more than can be said for others.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Hes a fine Officer

this may sound callous, but shooting yourself in the foot with a long arm is not the way to show you're a fine officer.

unless there was an actual problem with the firearm, there is no excuse for having an ND. (and even a broken gun is not a good excuse).

 

[Feanaro]

I'm with Wyatt. I'm sure he tries very hard and there are few callings more noble than to put your life on your line for the public. But I know idiots that border on mentally defective in my local police department that manage not to shoot themselves at ranges, practice, routine chases and such. "Accidents happen" doesn't cut it when it comes to weapons, especially one as deadly as a shotgun. What if he had been a little higher and maybe, say, over to the left. He might have taken someones leg off. Accidents happen, yes. But he's not only a veteran but he's supposed to be "very good".

I hope he gets well soon. And practices a little more safety, such as keeping your finger off the trigger.

 

[duckfoot]

You may do a lifetime of good deeds, but be remembered for one mistake!

 

[Jim March]

Every cop needs to spend enough time at the range that he can't even *imagine* not tracking muzzle direction 100% of the time they've got a gun in their hands.

Muzzle direction is in my opinion even more critical than the finger on trigger issue, although both are of course important.

 

[280PLUS]

i'm with jim on this one.

muzzle direction, always...

thats the first thing that should be taught,

just before finger off the trigger

if i'm not mistaken, however, back n the old west etc when everybody was totin', more people died from negligibles than actual gun fights.

m

hope he recovers ok

 

[Feanaro]

I should have mentioned muzzle control. I guess that's too instinctive for me. Even as a kid I was always thinking about where I pointed the gun. Finger off the trigger still gets to me though. I find my finger going for that trigger, like steel to a magnet.

 

[coonan357]

got to love this quote :He's a veteran, one of our more senior officers. He's been doing it for a long time and he's quite good at it, said Ron McGee, APD.

I am suprised he has any feet left at all .

 

[TarpleyG]

It happened around 9:30 in a Turnagain neighborhood near Earthquake Park.

Never mind about the officer, who in their right minds would live in or around a place called Earthquake Park? Get out of there people! There's probably a reason why it's called that.

GT

 

[Keith]

People who handle firearms with their finger on the trigger are going to have an ND sooner or later. Better his foot than some innocent bystander.

 

[winstonsmith]

I agree with keith. But better he get some real firearm safety training then hurt ANYONE, even himself.

I hope he recovers fast.

 

[MicroBalrog]

Which is more than can be said for others

Wildalaska, do you mean me? FYI I am to begin my term of service in the Israeli Defense Force soon (17th of August). No, that is not going to be frontline service, but still...

 

[Erik]

Hope he heals up soon and without any carrer-ending or long-term side effects.

Just like I would for anyone else who wounded themselves in a shooting incident, LEO or not.

---

Some of you seem to have let your politics interfere with the good-naturedness typically so evident in the shooting community. That's a shame.

 

[Matt G]

I'm seeing very little that is constructive, here.

Folks, I'm not seeing most of y'all addressing the real issue: Firearms safety.

The Four Rules apply always. I think the reason that Drizzt posts stuff like this is to draw your attention to the fact that These Things Do Happen if you don't maintain constant vigilance.

This is NOT about stupid cops, the War On Drugs, or even the merits of a pump SG vs. a SA SG vs. a sidearm vs. an MP5 vs. a Star Trek phaser.

SAFETY.

 

[justice4all]

Considering how the police are so often the innocent victims of the war on drugs, it amazes me that so many of them are so supportive of it. But I guess getting to play Rambo with the latest military hardware makes it all worthwhile.

 

[Keith]

If I shot myself in the foot in a public place due to unsafe handling of my firearm, the incident would result in the immediate termination of my CCW. And rightfully so, because it's clear evidence that I am a threat to public safety!

Why was his finger on the trigger? Why was the gun pointed at his own anatomy? Shotguns have safeties, why was his "off"?

But mostly; Why are cops always held to a lower standard than the general public in shooting incidents of any kind?

It's one thing to have an AD/ND in a time and place where you are obeying all the other rules - you're checking the cycling or practicing a clearance drill with the firearm pointed in a safe direction, etc.

It's quite another to have an ND in a quiet neighborhood in broad daylight. And yeah, 9;30 is broad daylight in Alaska and the kids are running around everywhere playing, people are mowing their lawns, etc.

 

[Wildalaska]

Why was his finger on the trigger? Why was the gun pointed at his own anatomy? Shotguns have safeties, why was his "off"?

We do not know what happened from the article do we? Nor do we know what disciplinary action will be taken yet.

WildnorushtojudgementAlaska

 

[Keith]

We both know what happened. Guns don't just "go off" unless you press the trigger. And they don't shoot you in the foot unless you aim them at your foot.

That's two of the four cardinal rules of gun safety broken right there.

I'll even excuse him having the safety off, since we don't know the exact situation - maybe he was expecting an armed perp to leap from behind the nearest rhododendron bush at any moment.

My issue is that police agencies don't hold police to the same standards as they do the general public. This guy will get some little reprimand and remain on the public payroll, carrying a gun.

If it was me or you we'd lose our CCW at a minimum and perhaps face criminal or civil charges for negligence, endangerment, etc.

I'm not a cop basher - really! I like and respect cops. I just firmly believe that all citizens should be held to the same standards. If I said that rich people or white people should be given a "pass" over poor people or black people, you'd (rightfully) characterize me as a bigot.
Yet, when I argue that cops should be held to the same standards as the rest of us, I always have a number of people argue to the contrary...

I don't get it?

Keith

 

[Jim March]

Correct, we don't know why the gun went boom. Might be a finger issue, might be a loose sear, God only knows.

But we damnsure know the muzzle's direction. With a great deal of certainty.

 

[Arkady]

Police are looking into whether Morino's shotgun accidentally discharged or he had his finger on the trigger.

Personally, i'm pleasently surprised to see someone drawing a distinction, here.

 

[4v50 Gary]

What Jim March says. We know not why the discharge but we do know there was little in the way of muzzle control.