Posted on 01/21/2015 4:16:40 AM PST by Jed Eckert
Meanwhile, the other people in shop were extremely lucky.
Some people should never had been issued badges...
Who pulls the trigger on any weapon with your hand in front of the barrel?
When I took my concealed class the instructor also trained the local PD. He said about half the cops can’t shoot and don’t care to learn.
enough stupidity to go around, but imho the gun store had no business hand over a gun that hadn’t been personally checked and cleared.
that said, mr policeman should have checked the gun himself before doing anything else
Video says it all but I do agree on one thing. No guns should ever be loaded in a gun store or pawn shop. Why they would have left a round in the chamber in store I don’t know but I’d say the shop owner has some ‘splainin to do. Stupid on both sides of the aisle...
I’m thinking that the dept. wanted an excuse to lay him off...and he gave it to them...
The gun shops I go in...when physically holding a weapon...the guy behind the counter clears the chamber...inspects it...hands it to me...I inspect it...chamber it forward...then clear it again...all the while the weapon is pointed at the floor...that procedure has never been different...
but the second part of the “clear the weapon” is the officer’s responsibility...and since he didn’t do it...one cannot blame “stupid” on someone else!
This was a fail on many levels.
-It should have never been loaded
-The salesman should have checked the chamber before he handed it to the cop
-The salesman should have locked the action open before he handed it to the cop
-The cop should have inspected the chamber upon getting gun
-Neither His hand nor anything living should have been in front of the barrel when he pulled the trigger.
Had any of the prior been handled properly, nothing would have happened.
That said, why can’t he work with a missing finger? I have a family member that lost his middle finger when he was 25, he worked 35 more years before he retired and working in the Oil Field is more demanding on your hands than a cop.
I also worked in the logging and wood working industry for some time and people were always cutting on their fingers....they still work.
The gun shop should charge him $2,000 for an education in gun safety with real experience included in what it feels like to be the victim of improper firearm handling. Education is expensive these days.
How much does one semester of college cost these days, and does a student gain as much value from their training as that former police officer did for the same amount?
52 years later and I have never made that mistake again - any cop (or other gun handler) who isn't just as careful has no business handling weapons.
IIRC every time I have looked at a weapon in a store/gun shop, first thing the counter person does is check to make sure the weapon is clear.
“The salesman should have checked the chamber before he handed it to the cop”
Yep, dat’s da one right there.
Maybe the police department wanted him gone because he is stupid, and the loss of his finger was a good excuse to get rid of him.
Hate to say it but he may very well have a good case against the establishment for negligence.
Yeah, that was the whole point of the article!
On rare occasions, I’ve seen unsafe firearms handling in stores. I leave if it’s not immediately corrected.
Everyone working in a gun store should have a loaded personal firearm within reach, but the items for sale should be unloaded when stored on the shelf, checked unloaded every time a clerk picks them up, and checked unloaded again every time a customer takes possession of a firearm from the clerk. Even after checking that a firearm is unloaded, it takes carelessness to point one at your own hand. It takes a special kind of stupid to point one at your hand without checking.
He’s got bills to pay! So he has to sue somebody!
Yeah, he coulda shot ME !
The stupidity applies to both the store and the policeman, however, the store clearly bears the burden of responsibility. The police officer will bear the reality of shooting off his own finger due to his stupidity of assuming the gun was unloaded. Always always assume a gun is loaded and handle it accordingly.
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