Two cops hit by ricocheting bullet after third detective fired at charging pit bull

nydailynews ^ | Jan 5, 2010 | BY Kerry Burke, Rocco Parascandola and John LauingerDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

[smokingfrog]

Two NYPD detectives suffered nonlife-threatening gunshot wounds in the Bronx Tuesday night when a fellow detective shot at a pit bull and the gumshoes were hit by ricocheting bullet fragments, police said.

Detectives Thomas Guarino and Thomas McHale and a female undercover, all assigned to narcotics, pursued a suspect into an alleyway along Davidson Ave. in Fordham about 8 p.m., police said.

With the narcs on his tail, the unidentified suspect scooted into a basement-level apartment at the end of the alley, and allowed the pit bull to slip out of the doorway.

The dog charged at the detectives, prompting the female undercover - whom cops refused to name - to fire a single shot, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said.

The 9-mm. round hit the pit bull's right front paw and split into fragments, which ricocheted throughout the narrow alley.

Guarino suffered a graze wound to the face, and McHale received a graze wound to the left leg, police said.

Both were treated at Jacobi Medical Center for nonlife-threatening wounds. Scores of NYPD officers flooded the hospital last night in support of their wounded comrades.

"We're just praying for a speedy recovery," one cop said after checking on one of the wounded detectives, who were also visited by Mayor Bloomberg.

The basement-level apartment into which the fleeing suspect darted is in a six-story building near W. Fordham Road. The detectives were part of a plainclothes unit investigating neighborhood complaints of drug sales outside the building.

Two undercover detectives, including the woman who fired the shot, canvassed the front of the building but found no evidence of drug-dealing. As they went to leave, eight thugs surrounded them and chatted them up as if they were rival dealers.

[familyop]

One other thing. She believed that she was wearing a bullet-proof vest, of course.

[Tainan]

Well, seeing as how Mr. Elmer "Hell, I was there!" Keith thought that the .41 mag was the absolute best handgun for police work, his specified rounds, IIRC a 210gr lead swc, would be exactly what the situation would call for. Be it the 2-legged or 4-legged variety of perpetrator. And of course, one has to actually hit the target to achieve required results...lol.
(although one of those rounds to the 'paw' would be, I think, a good deterrent)

Now having an UC female carrying, hiding and then effectively handling such as thing, Model 27 or 25 S&W I think it was, might be a whole 'nother ball game...;-)

Once again...Mr. Keith was right.

[RichInOC]

I don’t suppose the dog’s name was Mongo?

[Shooter 2.5]

Which handgun centerfire cartridge will stop inside a dog’s paw?

[familyop]

Well said! ;-) .41 mag would be good...for recoil-insensitive highway patrolmen in rural areas. City folks might oughtta consider .45 ACP in soft loads that won’t fragment. As for Elmer, his stuff is certainly fun to read.

For people out in the middle of nowhere in northwestern places, IMO, heavy, hardcast .45 colt loads in honed and lapped Bisleys do rule. ;-) [Re. Blackhawk-like types—not Vaqueros.]

[familyop]

None will. Accuracy and attention to backdrop are most important. Fire a popular JHP 9mm at an angle (away from you) into pavement with a large paper backstop and bullet catching medium in the backdrop. Do the same with a slow, soft lead .45 ACP (but fast enough to cycle and not with any Glock-like polygonal barrel). See the difference.

[Shooter 2.5]

I must be missing something here. Do you want a bullet to hold together in an urban setting rather than fragmenting if it hits a hard object?

[familyop]

"I must be missing something here. Do you want a bullet to hold together in an urban setting rather than fragmenting if it hits a hard object?"

Yes, you did miss something: the comparison between the path of a supersonic 9 mm round (typically +P) being less predictable after entering a pit bull than the path of a lead .45 ACP round with a light charge behind it.

As for the pavement, a big bore, soft lead round will ricochet low and lose much speed. Often, some of the copper or mild steel fragments from a fast, small bore round will ricochet high, and some of those fragments can retain much speed.

On training, no one should fire into an aggressive target with friends behind that target. But such is the way of experts who fire at most, 50 rounds per month only in bright daylight and have no military combat MOS training behind them.

[Shooter 2.5]

Somehow tailoring my ammo for the event in which I miss just doesn’t sound like a good idea.

My carry pistol uses .45 Auto Hydra-Shoks in case you were wondering.

[familyop]

That’s understandable about different situations. At least you chose to carry the .45 ACP. I carried Talons in a 9 mm Glock, when those were new and I was younger and dumber. But I chose against continuing police work a long time ago despite some good career offers from friends. Boredom and peace make life good.

Now a mountain lion or a bear from the growing populations of animal predators would be more likely to attack me than a man, and the likelihood of them ever attacking are pretty slim (skittish snobs, preferring to browse the livestock). ...maybe a crazed prairie dog or something. ;-)