Posted on 05/12/2005 8:31:10 AM PDT by Stew Padasso
Officer's Weapon Accidentally Discharges In Anderson County School
Two Students Get Minor Cuts From Debris
Story by The Carolina Channel
ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. -- An Anderson County school resource officer's gun accidentally discharged Wednesday morning.
Anderson County chief deputy Tim Busha said it all started when students asked school resource officer Robert Miller how his holster works. Busha said during the demonstration, Miller was trying to explain to the students that the holsters are so secure that no one could take an officer's gun. At that point, Miller told a student to try and take the gun out, said Busha. The student tried and the gun went off. The gun never left the holster, said Busha.
"Accidentally discharged in his holster," said Busha. "The projectile went into the floor. Fortunately no one was injured or required medical treatment."
In a written statement, District Five superintendent Betty Bagley said "Two students received minor scratches from debris that flew up from the impact of the shot. We regret this most serious breach of protocol by the officer and we are grateful that no student or adult was injured by the bullet. We will work with the sheriff's office to help ensure that this sort of breach does not occur again." Busha said the role of the school resource officer is more than just to provide protection for the school.
"They're also there to build provide a way for children to better understand what law enforcement does is an educational component that school resource officers do," said Busha.
Miller has been placed on administrative leave.
Well, they do have him over a barrel. He'll probably get hammered. He should have had the fore-sight not to do this - every primer on firearms around recoils against it and you'd have to have an awful lot of brass to say otherwise. The investigative chamber is probably going ballistic. What a dum-dum.
Whattamaroon! Don't cops have to pass IQ tests anymore?
Maybe he should only be allowed one bullet and have to keep it in his shirt pocket
They're fully-trained police officers.
Associated Press
ANDERSON, S.C. - A gunshot was fired into the floor in an Anderson County middle school after a student accidentally pulled the trigger of a deputy's holstered gun.
The gun fired Wednesday morning after a student at Lakeside Middle School grabbed it as the deputy told them how hard it was to take a gun from an officer's holster, Sheriff David Crenshaw said.
The student's finger apparently was small enough to get inside the holster and pull the trigger, the sheriff said.
The bullet fired into the floor, and debris cut and scratched two students. But no one was seriously injured, school officials said.
The sheriff's office has begun an internal investigation and the officer involved is on administrative leave, said Crenshaw, who would not identify the deputy or say whether he would be paid while on leave.
"The officer there today had a major lapse in judgment," Crenshaw said Wednesday. "He was just trying to be nice to the kids and made a faulty decision. It was an accident. The good Lord blessed us that nobody got hurt."
The deputy was a school resource officer assigned to protect the school. They are trained and certified like regular officers and are allowed to carry guns to try and stop a tragedy like the school shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, where 12 students and a teacher died six years ago before the gunmen turned their weapons on themselves.
"Had there been armed officers at Columbine, there would be a lot less dead people there," Crenshaw said. "The most dangerous places in our country are where there are no guns."
"The most dangerous places in our country are where there are no guns."
Then tell me Sheriff Crenshaw, why are us CWP holders prohibited from carrying on school property in South Carolina?
We need to seriously consider revamping the police force in this country to consist of about 25% career cops, and 75% draftees (similar to jury duty).
The "draftees" (selected randomly from the community) would fill roles at both the top (police chief) and bottom (traffic patrol, routine calls, etc.). The "professionals" would do the investagatory work, with close oversight from the draftees.
Any "professional" that screwed up big-time would be permanently banned from ever working in law enforcement again.
That's one well-resourced school 
"Not very smart to do, but certainly not a case for the gun control zealots to use either."
Acutally, it makes a good case for disarming cops...Their weapons seem to "accidentally" discharge much more than those of the average citizen.
What I meant is it should not be used for an excuse to ban guns. You make a decent point and cops are using less lethal weapons all the time. However, I would rather have one protecting me with a Glock rather than just a billy club. I am thankful for the cop some years ago that stopped this guy from attacking me (he didn't use a gun).
Glock and a retention holster, no doubt.
If you don't want a Glock to go off, don't pull the trigger.
Let's see... where do I start.
Problems:
1) The dumb cop should have not had a loaded weapon in the school for the "demo".
2) The cop should have had another cop/Adult try this not a kid.
3) So now the cops are showing the kids how to "reach" for a cops weapon. ( so that later in life when they try it, it's a clean shoot)
4) "The gun went off" BS!!! guns don't just go off. Refer to #1
5) This cop needs to be charged with endangerment to a minor.
AND YES I PINGED YOU TO THE THREAD, but as you stated early this AM.
He is a "resource officer", an employee of the school system. He is not a law enforcement officer. Why is he carrying a weapon in the first place?
Not much I can say on this one-he's a dumbass
You did get that right. Oh drat!!! OUUUUUCHHHHH! I've got to see if my toe is somewhere around here.
I'm not sure what state you are in but in Alabama school resource officers ARE NOT law enforcement officers. They are little better than clerks who have the authority to remove children from the class room.
You beat me to it.
What was this guy thinking?
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