Posted on 06/06/2006 10:20:48 AM PDT by real saxophonist
May 24, 2006
Gun's holster is blamed for officer wounding himself
Richmond officer sues two Chesterfield gun shops seeking $1.2 million over accident
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER
A sergeant in the Richmond Sheriff's office is suing two Chesterfield gun shops for an accidental shooting two years ago when he shot himself in the hand. He alleges the holster is to blame.
According to the court filing, on May 9, 2004, while Sergeant Naitraj David was getting ready for a family trip to Kings Dominion, the gun discharged, hitting him in the left hand, "causing serious injury." He alleges a "5 1/2 inch strap became wedged between the trigger and the trigger guard and subsequently caused the firearm to fire."
According to the court filings, the gun shops were to "use reasonable care in assembling, marketing, selling, shipping and/or distributing the holster and had a duty to provide adequate instructions, training, and warnings to those in the chain of distribution."
From the gunshot wound, David "suffered physical pain, discomfort, mental anguish substantial expenses for doctors [and] lost earnings from employment" and is not able to perform his job as before.
The suit was filed against Town Police Supply on Courthouse Road in Chesterfield County while the suit against Southern Gun World on Midlothian Turnpike was filed in Richmond.
According to David's Charlottesville attorney, Bryan Slaughter of Michie Hamlett Lowry Rasmussen & Tweel, David was unsure of where he bought the pancake-style holster, thus requiring two lawsuits.
"There is a slight chance the holster was purchased at Town Police, but I think the suit with Southern Gun will be the one that goes forward," said Slaughter. "Sergeant David is 95 percent sure he bought it at Southern Gun. It's ongoing litigation so I don't want to comment further."
When contacted, David said, "It's in my attorney's hands, so I have to follow his instructions."
"Our records indicate he didn't buy that holster from us," responded Karen Allen, owner of Southern Gun. She said David was also suing the manufacturer. "He'd better have a lot of money because G&G [Gould & Goodrich Leather, the manufacturer in Lillington, N.C.] has never lost a lawsuit."
Both suits against the retailers are similar and seek $1.2 million in damages with interest from two years ago plus legal costs. David, who is licensed to carry a weapon off duty and resides on Kentwood Forest Drive in Chester, wants a jury trial.
The owner of Town Police did not return a call from the newspaper.
Anybody that would remove the grip safety from a 1911 or rubber band it down is an idiot and should not have a pistol.
There is a difference between teenage stupidity and terminal stupidity, teenage stupidity is often outgrown, but if not it becomes terminal.
Back 20 years or so it was fairly common practice to pin the grip safety on a 1911. Dumb idea, but fairly common.
I will jump on any cop that is stupid, corrupt, or other specific shortfall, but to call all cops stupid is too broad a brush to be ignored. My father was on the job for over 20 years making his community safe, and he is proud of his service, as am I. Calling my father stupid just doesn't get it.
According to David's Charlottesville attorney, Bryan Slaughter of Michie Hamlett Lowry Rasmussen & Tweel, David was unsure of where he bought the pancake-style holster, thus requiring two lawsuits.
Talk about going fishing........................
Have a blessed day.
Don't let Gaston hear you call it a Glock a DA. He insists on calling it Safe Action. In reality, it's a pre-tensioned constant-action intermediate between DA and SA. We really need a new term.
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with carrying a DA with a round chambered as long as you carry it in a holster that covers the trigger guard. I've done so for years (although my Sig has a much heavier DA pull than the Glock). I don't know why you would carry it any other way.
I watched a buddy do something similar. He was moving his pistol from his front to back pocket and having a bit of trouble. I jumped 4 feet sideways when I saw he was pushing a pen around in his back pocket to make room. He says "What's wrong Mike?" I said "you just came this close to shootin' yourself in the ass."
i have had very few good dealings with cops. i try to put a "most" in front of cops, but in general, no, i don't like them. very few of them that i have met is anything more than a power hungry thug. i have known a few good ones, but anymore most of them seem to either be waiting to retire or new hires that that only got into police work to legally bully people. the vast majority of cops see more intent on generating revenue by harassing people than they are in any actual policing of the communities.
there are good cops, just like there are good politicians, its just that they seem to be few and far between.
IIRC, John Moses Browning didn't want the grip safety on the 1911. The Army forced it on him to win the contract.
Utter Bravo Sierra.
Most of the people who don't like our Sheriff have been his guest at the Crossbar Motel, a little Bed & Breakfast that he runs downtown. They get to wear his trademark pink underwear, and it ruins their dispositions toward law enforcement. When you're in uniform you can always tell those guys because of the way they look daggers at you. This one sounds like one of those.
Is that what it sounds like? Scary, very scary...
Regards,
GtG
Good point. My guess, from the context of the verse, is that Jesus would have shot non-Jews only, sued the Jews for their diamond riches, and then attended an anti-war rally, because we all know that God is not Republican.
release trigger? yup, sounds very scarey. you hold it down and release trigger to shoot. but if that's what you train with and that's what you use, and you use it enough that you're safe with it.. that's fine.
i'd probably never own one. just like i'd never set a trigger to an obnoxiously low weight. because i'm not used to it, i would be dangerous with it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.