Posted on 01/22/2025 5:43:06 AM PST by T.B. Yoits
A police department in Florida is moving to fire an officer after she accidentally shot a man with his own gun during a routine traffic stop last month.
Officer Mindy Cardwell was called to assist with a traffic stop on Dec. 13 along with another cop after Jason Arrington, 39, had been pulled over by an officer for running a red light, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
Arrington was fully cooperating with all three officers, the body camera footage showed. He had informed the cop who originally pulled him over that he did have a gun holstered in his waistband.
After he had exited his car, Cardwell went to remove his firearm, but while she was trying to take the gun, it discharged and Arrington was shot in his upper thigh.
It is unclear if the gun had its safety on or off before Cardwell tried to grab it.
The bullet had gone through his upper thigh and exited at his inner leg, causing an alarming arterial bleed that officers were able to stupor with a tourniquet.
Arrington was transported to a nearby hospital following the accident and is expected to make a full recovery, but filed a lawsuit against the JSO. He is specifically citing his lasting injuries which he says have impeded his ability to work as a crane operator.
An investigation by Internal Affairs found that Cardwell had been incompetent and moved to terminate her.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
“She”? DEI?
“Some people just should not be LEO’s”
Most females I’d say. It’s a very physically demanding line of work.
Last year in the same town as this incident, a female police officer was attempting to arrest a shoplifter at a Walmart, if a male detective hadn’t come along to back her up the perp may very well have killed her......he beat her so bad she spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital.
guessing she was pulling hard with some underlying anger at the time, imho
- - =
Or, at an unnatural angle for holster removal? That could make it difficult to draw.
The safety is the reason I won’t own or carry a Glock. 1911’s for me.
Life in America has become one long Three Stooges episode.
Wonders where Mindys fall in the Hot/Crazy matrix...
People go on and on about glocks being unsafe but it’s kind of silly. Every najor manufacturer offers similar style pistols. In fact, They are overwhelmingly the largest percentage of pistols bought & carried. Glock, Sig, Ruger, Kimber, CZ, Beretta, FN, HK, Smith & Wesson, Springfield, Taurus, Walter, Bersa, etc. all offer multiple pistols with the same “safe trigger” mechanism. They are not inherently unsafe. It is simply inattentiveness and user error. The same thing that can cause negligent discharges after a manual safety has been disengaged.
Surprisingly, in today's news stories, she's actually XX.
Whether she thought she was a Didn't Earn It (DEI) hire, or the sheriff's office Human Resources would admit she was a DEI hire, she exposed that she was a DEI hire. The driver is lucky to be alive.
If she had only made it a year or two more, they would have promoted her out of patrol and into the Lesbian Outreach, Pride, Grooming Affairs Office, LGBTQRSTUV, or some other woke position in the sheriff's department.
Bottom line is she had her finger on the trigger. The gun is not the problem. Trigger mechanisms are just fine for preventing accidental fire.
Unless there is intent to fire a finger should NEVER be on a trigger. Total incompetence and lack of respect for the weapon.
If simple inattentiveness and user error puts a bullet through a femoral artery, the design is inherently unsafe.
> Yeah, she’s already been fired. <
Many police departments, and especially smaller ones, are desperate for officers. So I’ll bet you a dollar she’ll become a gypsy cop.
From Wikipedia:
In law enforcement in the United States, a gypsy cop, also known as a wandering police officer, is a police officer who frequently transfers between police departments, having a record of misconduct or unsuitable job performance.
Looks like a Glock. Cop could have put her finger in the trigger guard while removing the pistol.
Helluva price to pay for being stylish!
Personally, I wouldn't carry a semi-auto without a safety on it.
I won’t buy nor carry a pistol without a safety. Way too “old school” for that.! If I did, I probably won’t have any toes left on my right foot.
“Cocked and locked” is the only way to go.. :)
#2 rule of gun safety- Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
Accidental discharge - maybe. Negligent discharge - definitely not.
Everyone "should" drive safely but cars are still made with bumpers, air bags, seat belts, crumple zones, collapsing steering columns, safety glass, anti-whiplash headrests, fuel and ignition cut-offs, etc.
A handgun owner would be well served with a handgun with a safety because there are Didn't Earn It (DEI) hires littering police departments all over the country.
If she was going to disarm him (which I don’t think was necessary) she should have just removed the entire holster, gun and all. This would minimize, if not eliminate, the need to touch the actual firearm. This is basic gun safety.
Corollary 2b - Keep the incompetent sheriff officer's finger off the trigger and ask for her supervisor, as is your right.
Disarming him wasn't just unnecessary - she violated his rights by attempting to disarm him during a routine traffic stop. That's on her and the other incompetent officers at the scene.
It appears she tried to remove the entire holster with one hand but couldn't do it. The driver even offered to loosen his belt. She came up with her own non-solution and he paid for it.
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