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Cop Who Shot Off His Own Finger Points the Finger at Gun Shop
alloutdoor.com ^ | 1/14/2015 | Russ Chastain

Posted on 01/21/2015 4:16:40 AM PST by Jed Eckert

His careless gun handling resulted in unemployment, medical bills, and a lawsuit against someone else.



A police officer walks into a gun shop, asks to see a 380 pistol, shoots off a portion of his anatomy with said pistol, becomes former cop, and then sues gun shop.

Yeah, that’s right.

The former officer is reportedly suing for negligence on the part of Barren Outdoors, the gun shop where the incident occurred.

We all know that guns in display cases should be unloaded and safe. We also know that the gun shop employee should have checked the gun to be sure of that before handing it to customer Darrell Smith. But we also know the customer should have checked it himself, and furthermore should not have allowed the muzzle to point at himself or anyone else.

This is the most basic of all gun safety rules: Always point a gun in a safe direction, especially when it’s cocked or being cocked! Period. End of story

The officer’s attorney, of course, lays the blame on the gun shop rather than the fellow who pulled the trigger. It’s the same old story of personal accountability or the lack thereof. Because Smith’s own actions caused him to lose his job and incur medical expenses, he and his attorney are seeking to hold another party accountable.

“He’s permanently disfigured. He went through a lot of pain and suffering. He’s gone through several surgeries. He’s got a lot of medical bills that have to be paid. It ended his career and he’s going to have a lot of lost income.” – Smith’s attorney Alan Simpson

In the uncensored video (below) in which Smith shoots himself, the store employee not only fails to check the gun, he too violates the first rule of gun safety when he offers the pistol to the customer with the muzzle pointing at himself. If the gun had been fired as the customer took it, it appears that the bullet would have penetrated his hand, wrist, and arm.

So yeah, the employee showed a distinct lack of smarts.

The officer, though, did much worse. Most of the time he handled the gun, he held his hand and fingers in front of the muzzle. He also pointed it to his left – toward at least four other people.

He worked the pistol’s slide without paying attention to whether he was chambering a round, and then he pulled the trigger with his finger in front of the muzzle and with the muzzle pointed towards those folks!

I cringed repeatedly as I watched the video. This guy could easily have injured or killed one of those people with his careless handling of the firearm. No wonder he was subsequently relieved of his job. I feel thankful that nobody else was hurt in this senseless incident. I sincerely hope that Smith’s case is dismissed and that he and the employee both learned a lot about gun safety from this.

**Note: Couldn't get the video to play at the site so try this direct link for the video:

Video: Cop Shoots Off Own Finger At Gun Shop


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Hobbies; Outdoors; Sports
KEYWORDS: 2ndamendment; banglist; donutwatch; secondamendment; shooting
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To: Jed Eckert
"This is the most basic of all gun safety rules: Always point a gun in a safe direction, especially when it’s cocked or being cocked! Period. End of story"

No, the most basic rule of gun safety is simply... Never point a gun at anything you don't want/intend to shoot!

41 posted on 01/21/2015 5:49:33 AM PST by jurroppi1 (The only thing you "pass to see what's in it" is a stool sample. h/t MrB)
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To: George Varnum

The gun shop really does need to do a root-cause failure analysis on this incident.

Somebody put that round in the firearm. They need to find out who and why, and why it was not discovered before the incident.


42 posted on 01/21/2015 5:52:04 AM PST by Skepolitic
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To: Jed Eckert

LOL. Too bad he wasn’t looking down the barrel when it went off.


43 posted on 01/21/2015 5:53:11 AM PST by Begin
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To: camle

The gun store owner is responsible for the outcome...case closed. They’re lucky this idiot didn’t shoot a by stander.

HOW IN THE HELL CAN YOU HAVE A LOADED WEAPON IN A GUN DISPLAY CASE AT A GUN STORE!!!!!!!!???????????


44 posted on 01/21/2015 5:56:44 AM PST by nikos1121
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To: Jed Eckert

Watch the video.

Look at how that cop is aiming the gun down the counter at the other customers. Look how he has his finger on the trigger while handling the pistol.

He’s lucky he didn’t shoot and kill someone.

Follow the basic safety rules, folks.


45 posted on 01/21/2015 5:57:53 AM PST by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (Carter...Reagan...Bush...Clinton....Bush....Carter....BUSH? / CLINTON? STOP THE INSANITY!)
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To: V_TWIN

Yes, he’s going to win this case.

The seminal event was the gun being loaded in the first place. Handing the gun to the customer without clearing it compounded the error.

I’ve always received a weapon in the store after the employee has cleared it and locked the slide open.

After those two goofs, the store is liable, no matter how stupidly the customer behaves; because the inescapable truth is, nothing happens if the store does its job, no matter how stupidly the customer behaves. THAT is the reason these protocols exist, just in case the customer is stupid.

The guy is going to win his case.


46 posted on 01/21/2015 5:58:24 AM PST by GilesB
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To: Jed Eckert

AND he pulls the trigger with the gun aiming at his own hand.

By the way, nice pink cloud that shot made.


47 posted on 01/21/2015 6:03:01 AM PST by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (Carter...Reagan...Bush...Clinton....Bush....Carter....BUSH? / CLINTON? STOP THE INSANITY!)
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To: jurroppi1

“Never point a gun at anything you don’t want/intend to shoot!”

While I agree with the concept behind the statement, it is not a rule that can really be followed. A gun is always pointing at something, and most of the time one is not intending to shoot.

Yes, a technical point, but still true. If I handle my weapon in my home, I don’t intend to shot anything, but I must still point the gun somewhere...I just make sure it is somewhere safe.

Maybe “Never point a gun at anyone you don’t intend to shoot” would be more accurate?


48 posted on 01/21/2015 6:04:01 AM PST by GilesB
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To: Jed Eckert
In my area, if you ask to see a firearm, the salesman will clear the shotgun, rifle, or pistol BEFORE he gives it to the customer. The salesman does this with every gun and checks it again before putting it back in the display case or rack. It is also incumbent upon the recipient customer to verify the firearm is unloaded on acceptance.

Did this cop have a heaping bowl of Stupid Cereal before he visited his gun shop? If he shot himself, why hadn't HE verified the pistol was unloaded? This is especially true if there was any confusion as to whether it was loaded or not.

49 posted on 01/21/2015 6:11:10 AM PST by MasterGunner01
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To: jsanders2001
Why they would have left a round in the chamber in store I don’t know...

Because a semi-automatic pistol is unloaded when you drop the magazine...

...I learned that from watching Hollywood pitcher shows.

Seriously, though, the gun should not have been loaded, the gun store guy needs to learn how to properly clear a pistol, the cop needs to learn that you never trust that someone else has properly cleared a pistol - do it again yourself, the cop needs to learn not to cover his anatomy with the muzzle.

50 posted on 01/21/2015 6:29:13 AM PST by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes EVERYTHING)
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To: Jed Eckert

The gun is the responsibility of whoever is holding it. Case dismissed. Blurring this absolute principle is corruption.


51 posted on 01/21/2015 6:32:50 AM PST by Born to Conserve
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To: nikos1121

the ultimate responsibility is the gun shop. unquestionably. did the cop contribute? yes, but expecting an empty gun from a gun shop is reasonable.


52 posted on 01/21/2015 6:40:35 AM PST by camle (keep an open mind and someone will fill it full of something for you)
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To: Jed Eckert

Stupid employee. Stupid Cop.


53 posted on 01/21/2015 6:40:53 AM PST by onedoug
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To: jsanders2001

I’ve been at gun shows where anti gun nuts have come in and loaded a round in guns on the tables hoping to get someone shot and shut down the gun shows.


54 posted on 01/21/2015 6:43:06 AM PST by IMR 4350
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To: Jed Eckert

Firearm safety rule Number 1: Treat any firearm as if it were loaded at all times.

Also Number 1 indicator the ex-cop is an idiot. I’ve never been to a police academy, but I’ll bet everything I own that rule Number 1 is emphatically repeated at ALL of them.


55 posted on 01/21/2015 6:43:33 AM PST by Blue Collar Christian (quod est Latine morositate)
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To: Jed Eckert

Don’t cops on a fairly regular basis pick up strange weapons - from people they arrest?

Isn’t the first thing they do clear it?

If nothing else, muscle memory should have kicked in.

What cop doesn’t clear a pistol he just picked up?


56 posted on 01/21/2015 6:45:00 AM PST by lacrew
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To: Malsua

“-The salesman should have locked the action open before he handed it to the cop”

Not being a gun shop expert myself, but a curious sort of fellow, I asked my salesman at my favorite gun shop why he DIDN’T leave the action open on the autoloader he handed to me after checking the chamber himself, showing me the empty chamber, closing the action and re-inserting the empty magazine. He explained the store’s protocol thusly; with the action closed and the empty magazine in the pistol, it will take someone with bad intentions several moves in order to insert his own loaded magazine into the firearm and therefor give the salesman enough time to prevent it or draw down on the creep before really bad things can happen.


57 posted on 01/21/2015 6:54:04 AM PST by Blue Collar Christian (quod est Latine morositate)
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To: camle

I don’t ever dry fire ANY weapon, even one of my own, in my own home, even if I’ve just cleaned it, without checking it at least twice.

There are just ways that certain things go wrong...and pulling the trigger on an “empty” firearm is one of them.


58 posted on 01/21/2015 6:59:21 AM PST by Fightin Whitey
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To: Jed Eckert
Video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDwQ8DxsALA

59 posted on 01/21/2015 7:07:37 AM PST by offwhite
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To: GilesB

I stand by my point. If I am actively handling a weapon, I make sure what it is pointing at is something I would intend to shoot vs. something I don’t intend to shoot. A wall, floor, the ground or other inanimate object is much more innocuous than something animate or precious. Of course you have to keep in mind what is behind the wall or floor or other inanimate object (be aware of your surroundings).

If a weapon I am handling is going to discharge (whether by intent or accident), then what I am actively pointing at should be something I am ok with discharging any weapon I am handling into.


60 posted on 01/21/2015 7:20:49 AM PST by jurroppi1 (The only thing you "pass to see what's in it" is a stool sample. h/t MrB)
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