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Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.

2K views 22 replies 21 participants last post by  _Hawkeye_ 
#1 ·
It's amazing with all the accidental discharges that's been happening in the law enforcement world, gets you thinking that there is a lack of training or just officers not taking their training seriously, which is sad. As a concealed carrier I would love to get their free training. I've spent a couple of thousand dollars on training so I can become proficient with my carry weapon and LEO can't even get the basic safety rules down.
 
#3 ·
Everyone is capable of making a mistake, some more than others. I just hope it never happens to me or if it does no one gets hurt.

Not all police are as trained as we would like to think. Some only do what is minimally required.
 
#4 ·
"Accidents" (NDs) are reported a lot these days because anything involving a gun is making the news. It's possible that such things are actually declining, but it's hard to tell since the stories are everywhere.
 
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#5 ·
You have to remember, just because a cop carries a gun for work, that does not necessarily make that cop a "shooter". They may only qualify only once or twice a year and never shoot it in between.

The other side of that equation is that we, as shooters, have to constantly guard ourselves against complacency. When we become too familiar with a thing we no longer "think" about how we are using it. Or, in other words, we go on auto-pilot. Take driving for example. How many times, on a long trip, have you reached your destination and just couldn't actually remember that much about the drive?

Familiarity breeds complacency, which is almost as dangerous as stupidity when it comes to firearms.
 
#9 ·
Auto pilot is a bad place to be with firearms. Well put RR...
 
#11 ·
Our sister companey in my battalion had a negligent discharge during their last pre-mob. It was their 1st sergeant. That 1st sergeant was immediately taken off the battle roster and lost his diamond. I believe he's no some LT's secretary pushing paperwork.

The same standard should apply to LEO. Your first ND will be your last as a LEO.



No spell-check with Tapatalk, sorry.
 
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#8 ·
65% of the LEOs carry a pistol that you need to pull the trigger to disasemble, that with the hours of carry and use the ND rate is low for LEOs! We've seen as many NDs with Shotgun as pistols. Most are after training or after shift.
 
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#10 ·
The way that I see it is that with the amount of time that these people spend handling firearms, (given the number of LEO's in the US) I'm surprised that we don't hear of it happening more often.
 
#12 ·
Are the reports always indicating 'accidental discharge'? I've said it before and I'll say it again - just because it's reported in the news as an 'accidental discharge' doesn't mean it was. I believe than any discharge where the person didn't intend for the gun to fire, is 'negligent', not 'accidental'. Guns don't go off by themselves. And if it was a negligent discharge, they should be severely reprimanded.
 
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#21 ·
Are the reports always indicating 'accidental discharge'? I've said it before and I'll say it again - just because it's reported in the news as an 'accidental discharge' doesn't mean it was. I believe than any discharge where the person didn't intend for the gun to fire, is 'negligent', not 'accidental'. Guns don't go off by themselves. And if it was a negligent discharge, they should be severely reprimanded.
I wholeheartedly agree. I've said this once and will likely say it many times over, putting one's finger on the trigger is not an accident.
 
#13 ·
Police, Corrections officers, and security personell handle weapons in far greater numbers than the non-uniformed civil population. It would be expected that they would have a much higher rate of N/D's Same thing with the Military... But like most police functions, the military are 99 9/10% professionals. And N/D's are actually rare. Well those reported are somewhat rare. Like the non-uniformed civil populace most police, corrections, and security people dont report them if they dont have to. N/D's happen.

However I cant understand how anyone can have an N/D while unloading a DAO revolver. Except that maybe they were playing with it. Oops I take that back... I did witness a near N/D while working a security job. We were working in an old abandon hotel while some X rated movies were being shot. (a lot of down time) We got to talking guns with one of the customers.... and one old timer offered to show his... I dont know when he had last qualified, but he was totally unfamiliar with his Colt Police Positive Special. While pointing the gun at the customer, and trying to unload it he cocked it with his finger on the trigger. I grabbed it away, putting the web of my hand between the hammer and the frame. Of course he pulled the trigger putting a little hole in my hand. I was terminated for acting unprofessional, and embarrassing the company. Go figure.
 
#14 ·
If you have an ND are you, the Forum members, suggesting that the person responsible for the ND turn in their firearms, CCW or CCL or CCP to the nearest PD or BATF?

Isn't that the same as terminating the offending LEO? Please don't get me wrong, there should be a come to "Hay-Zoous" (can't mention god), but termination?
 
#17 ·
Everyone is human, and that doesn't change when you put on a LEO or military uniform. When I did the M9 qualification with the Air Force, I sat next to a woman who had clearly never handled a pistol in her life during the classroom portion. I gave her a great deal of extra help to get her to some basic proficiency; nevertheless I was very happy she was in the other group for live-fire. "They're only human" certainly doesn't excuse a careless mistake, but to just expect that it will never happen is unrealistic. When handling a firearm, no matter in what capacity, you absolutely need to obey the 4 rules at all times. As far as automatic termination for a ND, I think it should depend somewhat on the circumstances. The police chief should have some discretion; that being said, in those circumstances where an LEO does it in public and endangers people, I think the only answer is usually going to be termination. For military members, having something like that happen is generally a sure-fire way to get lit up like never before. Nevertheless, it still happens sometimes. Better to deal with the offenders than punish everyone, or paint all groups with a broad stroke.
 
#20 ·
The word "accident" addresses intent, while "negligence" addresses care or awareness (or lack there of). An unintentional discharge is both accidental (you didn't intend it to discharge) and negligent (you didn't have proper care and follow protocol). You can use either one, in my opinion, though I understand why everyone focuses on the negligence: negligence is almost always the cause of the accident.

*Edit*
The "accident" is in the discharge, not the trigger pull. You can accidentally hit someone's car with your own, even though you intentionally had your foot on the accelerator.
 
#22 ·
in fairness to the LEO in question, she at least had the weapon pointed in a relatively safe direction. the shot went into the floor and I don't see where anyone got physically hurt.

I'm not saying that excuses it by any means, if she didn't know how to unload it, swallow your pride and ASK someone how (like....I don't know.....the owner standing three feet away)
 
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