Is The Line Ready?
- A Gary auxiliary police officer was killed Saturday afternoon when a fellow volunteer officer's gun accidentally discharged a bullet into the man's chest.
Kevin Weaver, 49, died at St. Margaret Mercy Hospital in Dyer. He and two other reserve officers were training at Deb's Gun Range in Hammond, Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller said.
About 3 p.m., Gary police said Reserve Officer Gerald Horton, 52, was attempting to clear his weapon when Weaver accidentally bumped into Horton, causing Horton's gun to fire a .45-caliber round.
We know a few people out there like to bitch about the Range personnel always running through their routines during qualification and auxiliary training, always with the same commands, "Is the line ready?" "Holster and secure weapons." "Never recover anything from the deck without permission." "Perform a visual and physical inspection of your weapon before cycling the slide twice and holstering an empty weapon." Most of us can probably recite the qualification litany by heart.
There is a good reason these commands are standard and never vary over the years. Because routine produces habit. And good habits need to be reinforced over and over again, especially with guns. Something went horribly wrong in Hammond and at least two lives have been completely destroyed.
There is a good reason these commands are standard and never vary over the years. Because routine produces habit. And good habits need to be reinforced over and over again, especially with guns. Something went horribly wrong in Hammond and at least two lives have been completely destroyed.
Labels: safety issues
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
20 Comments:
God Bless the range staff. A great bunch of people.
My condolonces to his family.
RIP Officer! No more to say! No Monday morning quarterbacking here!
There is lots of unsafe weapons handling by the police. You will hear the racking of slides in the locker room while POs are getting ready for their tour. Or on an arrest, the offenders weapon is just thrown on the table during processing. You will see POs pick up the offenders weapon and point it down the hall.
"Something went horribly wrong in Hammond..." is right.
I've been involved in shooting pistols, rifles and shotguns for the last 35 years or so, as well as training others in their proper and safe use. Sounds very hinky what happened to that Gary copper. Maybe a combo of careless gun handling and/or alcohol use, always a bad recipe for a Negligent Discharge. Either way it's evident proper range etiquette and handling techniques weren't followed...and the result is a fatal "accident". Feel sorry for the guy's family, it's hard enough to lose someone in the line of duty, but even harder to careless stupidity.
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
Last week a tactical officer from the 9th district was struck in the face with fragment from a bullet. It happened at the outdoor Harvey range, while he was qualifying with shotgun. He was hit by friendly fire from a suburban department.
Shit, there is a lot of police officers and yes, sgt's that can't handle their own weapons. There is a certain sgt that trembles while holding (his/her) weapon on the street and even during training from what I hear (wuh)
How will the Glock pistol come into play with this Dept.? After all, you must squeeze the trigger in order to disassemble. Will someone shoot themselves? The wall? Time will tell.
To ;10/01/2007 09:00:00 AM
First of all you, knowing nothing about the facts of this incident, felt it nessasary to name alcohol use as a possible cause.
WHY??????
Now, no where in the reports or even the press did alcohol use, ever get mentioned.
Then you use the term "Negligent Discharge". By the way it is the Chicago Police Departments new term for Accidental Dischage making the Officer liable.
Then in the next sentence you stated, "and the result is a fatal "accident".
I sure hope you are never responsible for investigating a Police involved shooting.
WOW....that sucks
If your incabable of properly loading or unloading your weapon wether it be at in the locker room or in a squad car...you my friend are a fucking retard and should be fired. I occasionally will throw a round in the chamber at work after i clean 1 of my 3 guns and rack the slide so what SISSY? If guns are so scary go work on the fifth floor, in the right hands guns are harmless. It is real simple numb nuts DONT SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER THINGY AND THE GUN WONT GO BOOM!
a sad happening--what happened is just that--sad---we'll never know the exact circumstances beyond what is reported. RIP brother in Blue.
Huh. If that can happen to trained professionals, imagine what would happen if we had thousands of civilian bozos running around with their own weapons under relaxed gun control laws!
By General orders you should not be loading or playing with your firearm in the locker room. The only thing I hope is that while you are racking your slide, you will shoot yourself. If an accidental discharge is to occur thats where the bullet should hit, you, fool.
To 10/2 at 12:49 AM
You're a f*cking clueless idiot. We already have "thousands of civilian bozos" running around with concealed weapons, LEGALLY, in 48 states in this country. The # of ND's with those "bozos" is very small, due in large part to the fact many of them are better trained at safe and effective firearms handling than many PO's recieve.
You sound like Little Ritchie D or Jesse Jerkoff or Al Sharpie when you make ignorant statements like the above. The law-abiding citizens who have gone through the screening and background checks for CCW are NOT the bozos you need to worry about, pal. There are PLENTY of tattooed, gang-banging lowlifes out there who already carry whatever they damn well want...as we all know...regardless of how much the anti-2nd nazis in City Hall and Springfield want to keep the sheeple disarmed and at risk to criminal predators.
The ignorance expressed on this board never ceases to amaze and confound me...when it comes to the RIGHT of law-abiding US citizens, to protect themselves and family members through right-to-carry. At this time the anti-gun/self protection Democrat toadies in Illinois and Wisconsin are still trying their damndest to dismantle the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution...by continuing, among other actions, to block the sanction of legal CCW.
Several years ago I had a conversation with a firearms instructor and in the conversation I told him I was and Auxillary Dep and one of their instructors also, certified thru P.T.I. He asked me if I wore a vest while on the range. I said no and he told me of 3 insidents that he knew of where the RO had been shot by officers the was instructing. Ever since then I've worn my vest.
Heard from a witness, two shots rang off at the range... anyone else hear this?
By General orders you should not be loading or playing with your firearm in the locker room. The only thing I hope is that while you are racking your slide, you will shoot yourself. If an accidental discharge is to occur thats where the bullet should hit, you, fool.
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HEY BLOWJOB IT'S PLAYING IT'S LOADING MY WEAPON YOU DORK.
12:49
There are thousands of non-police personel who are better trained than the average cop and carry a concealed weapon all day, every day in most parts of the country. It is only in the Republik of Chicago and places like it that one can cannot enjoy what the Constitution gave him and that is the right to self defense. Get the idea out of your head that the Police are the only ones qualified to carry a weapon. If anything it's just the opposite.
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