Another reason not to reveal to LEO

[Dave P]

STUART FLA (AP) -- Authorities say a Martin County deputy accidentally shot himself in the leg.

Deputy Daniel Foote was investigating an assault complaint at a condo complex Monday night, and a woman he was questioning acknowledged that she had a gun in her vehicle. When Foote went to remove the .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver from the trunk, authorities say the gun discharged and hit him in the left leg.

Martin County Fire Rescue transported Foote to a hospital. A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office says the deputy's injuries are not life threatening.

No charges have been filed, and authorities are still investigating the incident.

© 2008 The Associated Press.

Don't handle those weapons unless you need to - you never know when they will discharge. They can not hurt you when locked up.

 

[deaconkharma]

a shame they feel like they need to disarm people

to protect themselves from getting shot.
Isn't it Ironic?

 

[mr.72]

when they say "no charges have been filed", do you think they mean against the deputy for recklessly handling a gun, or against the driver?

sheesh!

 

[ScottsGT]

"I is the only one qualified......."

 

[Mousegun]

When Foote went to remove the .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver from the trunk, authorities say the gun discharged and hit him in the left leg.

Is that another way of saying the trigger was pulled when it shouldn't have been?

 

[bnkrazy]

Don't handle those weapons unless you need to - you never know when they will discharge. They can not hurt you when locked up.

I see what you're getting at, but I most certainly do know when a firearm will discharge...when you pull the trigger. Obviously he broke at least two rules.

I wasn't there so I won't pass judgment on whether or not the firearm needed to be further secured. However, following the most important (IMO) of the firearms handling rules would have kept him from putting a hole in his leg.

 

[Poor East Texan]

Pretty clear that this particular Cop ain't part of the "gun culture".

That kind of stuff doesn't happen to GC Members....

 

[markdaniel]

Removing it from the trunk. It must have been a real threat to him in a locked trunk.

 

[jackstinson]

I do hope that Deputy Daniel Foote replaced the woman's cartridge...which he so carelessly wasted by shooting himself.

 

[ilbob]

I don't even know what to say.

At least no one is seriously injured.

Wonder if the lady got her gun back?

 

[Halo]

I doubt it, it's almost certainly "evidence" now until their "investigation" is complete. Gotta love how the media always have to throw in some sort of line to suggest that there might be something illegal about possessing a gun.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Removing it from the trunk. It must have been a real threat to him in a locked trunk.

We just had a many page thread that eventually got locked because of that very question.

Apparently it WAS a danger to him being in a locked trunk

 

[Intune]

"It was for officer safety ma'am.

My radio's right there. Tell them to hurry up.

Dang, that hurts.

Would you please tighten my pistol belt around my leg as a tourniquet?

Oh, and please put your pistol back in the trunk for me?

Thanks, you're a nice lady...

Dang, that hurts."

 

[elChupacabra!]

You know what would be fantastic? If Smith & Wesson could (and would) hold the AP responsible for implying (falsely) that their products are defective (i.e. they "discharge" unpredictably). I know they probably can't (and certainly wouldn't) but I would love to see someone held responsible for this ridiculous slandering of guns as inherantly dangerous.

 

[Hawk]

This is reminding me of stories related by my gun store buddy of a lady that brought in a S&W, loaded and cocked, for a refresher in how to decock a DA revolver.

It was rattling around in her purse.

Any conjecture whether the article in question was in the trunk with the famous 3 pound SA trigger ready to go?

To hear my buddy tell the tale such things were rare but not unheard of. The very rare, but nonetheless predictable, result of the tendency to recommend revolvers to "the new and those not likely to practice".

Regards
Hawk
Director, Ministry of Oddball Exceptions

 

[El Tejon]

This would not happen with a revovler. Revolvers are much safer.

 

[LB7_Driver]

Martin County, Florida?
Martin County, Indiana?
Martin County, Kentucky?
Martin County, Minnesota?
Martin County, North Carolina?
Martin County, Texas?

 

[Fisherman_48768]

It was a revolver and the article says it was.

When Foote went to remove the .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver

 

[Blofeld]

With all his ADs, Barney Fife never actually hit anyone, himself included.

 

[El Tejon]

It can't be a revolver! I've read on THR that revolvers are much safer and far less prone to have to be subject to NDs.

Are you calling THR wrong?

 

[jackstinson]

With all his ADs, Barney Fife never actually hit anyone, himself included.

Actually, when I first read the story, a mental image of Barney Fife was what came to me as I pictured Deputy Daniel Foote.
Followed immediately by an image of a S&W revolver leaping from a car trunk and firing itself at Deputy Daniel Foote.
Followed immediately by an image of rabid TV reporters leaping all over the story because it involved "a gun".

 

[Borch]

You people are being pretty hard on a guy who was just doing his job. You weren't there. Maybe this woman was a DV victim and the deputy felt it prudent to secure the weapon somewhere that she could not get to it if she decided to exact her punishment on an on scene assailant. Maybe she had the car keys and could have accessed the weapon. Maybe the assailant had keys to the car and could have possibly accessed it. Maybe the trunk was open. Maybe she was not legally allowed to possess a weapon (prior felon). You people have no idea what went down. This was an assault call according to the very short, vague blurb of a newspaper article. People invovled in an assault obviously have the propensity for violence (assailants) and the victims are often upset and unpredictable.

There are nowhere near enough details on this incident for anyone to criticize this man for simply doing his job.

 

[woad_yurt]

Yeah, but....

Foote shot himself. No one else did it; he was the one handling the gun. Even if it was laying in there cocked when he found it, he still shot himself.

I noticed something about news reports on accidental discharges:
When speaking about a civilian, it's usually phrased as "he/she shot...," "he/she discharged...," "he/she fired...," etc. But when LEOs do it, they say that the gun discharged. I have nothing against law enforcement but I really wish that the verbs were used correctly. I've yet to hear of a single gun that actually discharged itself.

Wouldn't it have been amazing if Deputy Foote had shot himself in the foot?

 

[machinisttx]

There are nowhere near enough details on this incident for anyone to criticize this man for simply doing his job.

Yes, there are.

Detail 1- it's a revolver
Detail 2- he managed to shoot himself with it "accidentally".

So either he pulled the trigger, or in screwing with a firearm that wasn't any threat to himself he banged it against something or hooked the trigger on something.

He shouldn't have been messing with it to begin with.

 

[Blofeld]

I think we'd be all over a forum member if a thread was started that read "I went to the range today, did some unsafe things, and wounded myself and potentially put others at risk."

Granted the article is sparse on details (as they always are), but I'm having a very hard time imagining even the most generous scenario where this guy didn't do something very unsafe. Something that would get you thrown off the local range.