Sheriff's deputy has ND in the locker room of my gym!

[romma]

No one is condoning it I don't think. Handle firearms long enough and the odds may very well catch up with you.

I don't mean anyone on this board Texas Sigman, I am refering to police spokespersons and the like. I very seldom read an article of a police negligent discharge where someone does not excuse it by making statements that the person in question "is a nice guy", or "they are devastated". My point is that non-police officer CCW types like myself, would not have as much favorable press. Oh, btw

Handle firearms long enough and the odds may very well catch up with you.

I've been at the receiving end and it sucks!

 

[Trope]

I thought only Glocks did this.

(sorry, it was just a matter of time, wasn't it?)

 

[Dorryn]

Cosmoline:

reckless endangerment charges

He should have charges brought against him

Ive never had a negligent discharge in either my Marine Corps career nor as a civilian with a CCW. Does that make me better than those of you who have had ND? Would I throw you to the wolves as an example because im so obviously superior that ive never had one? Would I want to burn a fellow gunnie because im somehow afraid that the antis will lump me in with them?

No. Someday it might happen to me if the odds catch up to me, and I would want to be treated with compassion and understanding, not the vilification and anger I usually hear everytime someone posts about a ND. Cosmoline is exactly the kind of gun owner I least want to spend time with, because of these kinds of comments.

 

[jlbraun]

@Dorryn

Cases where having an ND will get you sympathy and guidance:
-ND with no property damage, no persons injured
-ND with property damage and no one endangered
-ND with injury to self and no one else endangered

Cases where having an ND will not get you sympathy but some guidance, with some demands for your prosecution:
-ND where others are injured
-ND where others are endangered

Not all ND's engender vilification and demands for prosecution, just the ones in the latter category.

 

[vynx]

What bothers me is the girls father is getting involved.

Sorry but if it misses you and it was an accident (not fired at you) then I think thats where it should end - what happens now in this crazy world?

Monetary damages for emotional stress - post traumatic syndrome? The father is stressed along with all the family members heck, even Grandma is rolling in her grave give them all a few hundred thousand?

Whatever happened to We are only humans and humans sometimes make a mistake?

The off duty officer obviously made an unintended mistake, no one got hurt I'm sure his supervisor and fellow officers will give him enough grief. Put yourself in his shoes - would you want the world pouring salt in your wounds?

 

[Ringer]

Aside from the ND it seems like pretty poor judgement to leave a gun and ammo inside a gym locker. Around here those are broken into frequently.

 

[jerkface11]

Vynx so the man shouldn't be upset that his daughter was nearly killed by an inept cop? The man should at least be removed from the force. Jail time or a hefty fine would be better. There is NO excuse for poor gun handling.

 

[1BLINDREF]

+1 Ringer
I don't even leave my car keys or wallet in my local gym locker. First clue not to was the dozens of notices posted everywhere not to leave valuables in lockers, second was all the busted lock clasps and hinges off the locker doors. I wouldn't even think of leaving my gun in there.

 

[1BLINDREF]

The man should at least be removed from the force. Jail time or a hefty fine would be better.

I think that's a little harsh, especially if this is his first such incident.
The man made a mistake, both in gun handling and in judgment. He shouldn't loose his job, maybe a suspension w/o pay and some gun safety classes.

 

[vynx]

The father can get as upset as he wants it won't change anything.

We only know what was in the article - how many times do they have the facts totally wrong?

What is narrowly missed? 1 foot, 20 feet?

After going through the metal locker and the wall the slug "bounced" off a fabric wall - if it bounced off a fabric wall - how deadly was it? If it bounces off the fabric it was most likely no longer much of a threat.

Sure it was a serious mistake but not as bad as its being made out to be.

 

[Phaetos]

The bullet eventually hit a fabric wall, bounced off and hit the floor.

Someone tell me what brand .45's those were and I'll be sure to not buy any.

 

[jeffkirchner]

After going through the metal locker and the wall the slug "bounced" off a fabric wall - if it bounced off a fabric wall - how deadly was it? If it bounces off the fabric it was most likely no longer much of a threat.

Sure it was a serious mistake but not as bad as its being made out to be.

If it had passed through the 14 year old girl, it wouldn't have been much of a threat after that, either.

Davis said the safety may have become disengaged when Cook put the gun in the locker and it went off when he pulled it out.

No. It didn't. Guns don't just "go off"

"It (the locker) is not a secure location in my mind," he said.

Where the deputy stored his gun before he pulled the trigger makes no difference.

 

[jerkface11]

Quote:
The man should at least be removed from the force. Jail time or a hefty fine would be better.
I think that's a little harsh, especially if this is his first such incident.
The man made a mistake, both in gun handling and in judgment. He shouldn't loose his job, maybe a suspension w/o pay and some gun safety classes.

So how many times should he be allowed to do this before he's fired? 3? 4? Maybe we should wait till he actually shoots a little girl and then take his gun away. Of course by looking at previous incidents some of you would be against that as well.

 

[12-34hom]

It can't happen to me.

I'm going to write him a letter As I a ccw holder. = big deal.

Does this give you some magical abilities as a firearms owner?

Don't think it can't happen to you? Think again. Rather arrogant & stupid attitude on you part.

Save yourself some time and trouble & mind your own business.

12-34hom.

 

[Brian Dale]

Don't Do That.

I had my (only, if I do things right) ND at a shooting range in 1978. I put a hole through the table on which I was resting my pistol, and the bullet went downrange in my lane. jlbraun, this fits in your category of

Cases where having an ND will get you sympathy and guidance:
-
-ND with property damage and no one endangered.
-

Sgt. Crane, our instructor, didn't actually exhibit a lot of visible sympathy at my foul-up, but he did offer a substantial amount of guidance. He was kind enough to make sure that that I could hear it all clearly through my earmuffs, too.

Four Rules, always.

 

[CNYCacher]

Gotta say this, the father of the girl is a really stand-up guy.

Not to mention sympathetic almost to a fault.

 

[jlbraun]

@12-34hom

I don't think that being a CCW holder gives me "magical abilities", just like I don't think that being a cop gives one "magical abilites" either. I don't think that I'm immune from ND's just like I don't think that cops are either.

I do, however, resent the double standard between what would happen to me if I had an ND in the locker room as a CCW holder versus what did happen to him when he had an ND - that is to say, nothing. I'd be sitting in a jail cell if I negligently pulled the trigger of my carry weapon and discharged a round through the wall of a gym locker room.

How is any of this arrogant and /or stupid?

I think that I will simply send a letter with the following in big bold type:

Deputy Sergeant Robert Cook,

Rule # 1: Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
Rule # 2: Never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you do not want to destroy or kill.
Rule # 3: Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until ready to shoot.
Rule # 4: Be absolutely sure of your target, and what is behind it.

Thank you.

 

[Brian Dale]

Resent away. There is a double standard. People perceive police officers differently than they do regular citizens.

I don't see it as arrogant; it might be somewhat stupid to send a "Nyah-nah-na-Nah-Nah" letter to the officer. Why not suggest that he offer to do a PSA for local TV: "As you know, we have legal concealed carry in Colorado; I'm here to tell you why the Four Rules of gun handling are important..."

Maybe I'm a Pollyanna about that part. Still, to add to the flak that he's taking for an ND that he can't take back is probably not the most dignified thing you could do.

 

[Standing Wolf]

See? This proves it: only the police and military can be trusted with guns.

 

[jeffkirchner]

Have we all seen this already? LOL

DEA agent,teaching a seminar about gun safety says, "It's unloaded." and that he's the only one in the room professional enough to have a GLOCK "40". Then, he shoots himself in the foot with it.

 

[El Tejon]

Didn't we just have a thread on THR in which LEOs were attempting to state that they receive no special privileges when it comes to guns? If this had been a "civilian" CCWer he would be in jail for Criminal Recklessness with a Deadly Weapon. The name and photo of the 14 year old victim would be plastered on the news. There would be an interview with a Million Mommie saying how horrible these CCWing monsters are and a POLICE SPOKESMAN would be interviewed saying that only professionals like police can safely carry firearms.

Must be nice to be above the law. Maybe I can dress my guys in police uniforms at their initial hearings so charges will be dismissed?

I have said this before, we need a sub-forum for all police NDs so that they are never forgotten, never. Everytime a Million Mommie or politician tells us how highly trained the police are we can bombard them with incidents.

 

[Leanwolf]

JIM KEENAN - "I suggest you [JL BRAUN] leave it alone if you want the sheriff to sign your CCW renewal. He is pi**ed off and embarassed enough; he won't take kindly to being tweaked by you.

Jim"

Wise words, indeed!

L.W.

 

[thexrayboy]

Accidents do happen, to everyone. And everyone should be held equally accountable for them no matter what their profession or social status.
The sheriff needs to be written by any and all concerned. Two points need to be made. First this was not an AD unless they can demonstrably prove the gun has a mechanical defect, it is a negligent discharge and needs to be called that. Secondly the point must be made very clear that if they do nothing to this officer legally then if a civilian CCW has a ND along the same lines they MUST and I emphasize that word, be treated the same. No criminal charges, no arrest, no vilifying. The sheriff and the media both need to know that LEO do not need nor deserve special privileges, especially when the subject is conduct that occurred off duty. Letters to the editor at the Coloradoan in Ft. Collins and also The Herald in nearby Loveland should also make this point. No special treatment for LEO. If he gets no punishment than civilians get no punishment. The double standard cannot be allowed to flourish for it tends to grow and mutate into abuse.

Fortunately no injuries occurred but if the barrel of that weapon had been aimed in a different direction by even a few degrees the outcome could have been much worse. No unintended discharge, no matter the cause, is to be taken lightly. The consequences can, at times, be fatal.

FWIW my mother many years back was a dispatcher in this jurisdiction. In my younger years going to high school in that area I knew some of the members of that department. They were all regular guys who never put on airs and treated everyone politely and fairly. I can only hope the current staff of that department can live up to the standards of their predecessors.

 

[The-Fly]

Doesn't matter how pissed the Sheriff gets off at JLBraun, CO is a shall issue state, and short of having a disqualifying attribute against you, you WILL get a permit.

I don't think the cop in question should be jailed, fired, etc (unless he has a history of poor gun handling). Hopefully he is given some additional gun handling training, and goes on to be a productive law enforcement officer.

I do feel that police are often are given a free pass on stuff like this. If a citizen cranked off a round like that, they'd probably lose their permit, be arrested, etc.

 

[foob]

Someday it might happen to me if the odds catch up to me

What the heck does that even mean? Odds don't keep decreasing as time increases.

Come live in Indiana, get a lifetime license. You can piss off the sheriff all you want.