Hennepin County / Parents sue over officer's death(MN)

Pioneer Press ^ | 2-15-07 | EMILY GURNON

[Rakkasan1]

Ryan Hoeft was a rookie St. Louis Park cop on Nov. 6, 2001, when his handgun went off in his squad car, the bullet hitting his head and killing him.

The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.

But his parents allege in a lawsuit filed this week that their son did not kill himself and that his gun fired accidentally.

Mary and Terry Hoeft, of Rice Lake, Wis., accuse the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department, the county medical examiner and St. Louis Park police of failing to properly investigate their son's death.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court, also names Hennepin County and the city of St. Louis Park. City and county officials reached late Tuesday declined to comment, saying they had not seen the suit.

[Rakkasan1]

http://www.nrahq.org/education/guide.asp

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. This is the primary rule of gun safety. A safe direction means that the gun is pointed so that even if it were to go off it would not cause injury or damage. The key to this rule is to control where the muzzle or front end of the barrel is pointed at all times. Common sense dictates the safest direction, depending on different circumstances.

2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. When holding a gun, rest your finger on the trigger guard or along the side of the gun. Until you are actually ready to fire, do not touch the trigger.

3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use. Whenever you pick up a gun, immediately engage the safety device if possible, and, if the gun has a magazine, remove it before opening the action and looking into the chamber(s) which should be clear of ammunition. If you do not know how to open the action or inspect the chamber(s), leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does.

Violating rule # 1 is a killer.

[TChris]

Hmmm.... Mysterious "suicide"? Can anyone vouch for the whereabouts of the Clintons at this time?

[Emmett McCarthy]

I didn't read the article, but I'll bet the word "Glock" is in there somewhere.

[Kimmers]

Given the rules and cops are trained to follow these rules can a gun go off accidentally?

[FreePaul]

...his gun fired accidentally.

While he had it pointed at his head. Maybe the parents would be satisfied with a ruling of accidental suicide.

[paul51]

When he began his job, Ryan Hoeft, 27, was issued a Heckler and Koch .45-caliber pistol but didn't get proper training in how to use it, the suit alleges. On the day he died, he was holding the gun in his hand while driving the squad car when he hit a curb, causing the gun to go off, the suit said. He was alone in the car

Fine handgun. Hard to imagine anyone being so careless with it.

[Zeroisanumber]

I didn't read the article, but I'll bet the word "Glock" is in there somewhere.

It was an H&K .45, probably a USP. Not known for going off accidentally.

[RJL]

I didn't read the article, but I'll bet the word "Glock" is in there somewhere.

A good guess, but incorrect this time.

When he began his job, Ryan Hoeft, 27, was issued a Heckler and Koch .45-caliber pistol but didn't get proper training in how to use it, the suit alleges. On the day he died, he was holding the gun in his hand while driving the squad car when he hit a curb, causing the gun to go off, the suit said. He was alone in the car.

[facedown]

On the day he died, he was holding the gun in his hand while driving the squad car when he hit a curb, causing the gun to go off, the suit said.

Fer cryin' out loud, it's just Darwin at work. He probably ran with scissors as a kid.

[Rakkasan1]

get rich(or die tryin')

[rednesss]

Stupid is as stupid does. One wonders how anyone managed to put a gun in this guy's hands in the first place. Did the hiring test consist of whether he could fog a mirror??????

[Emmett McCarthy]

Well, I was wrong, but at least I admitted first that I hadn't read the article. "Proper training" certainly seems that it would include not handling it while driving the car into curbs, if that's, in fact, what happened. Sounds a bit like this young man might have been playing with a "new toy". No parent wants to lose a child in any way, but suicide would be especially painful.

[FreePaul]

...holding the gun in his hand while driving the squad car when he hit a curb...

Apparently the officer was also issued a car "but didn't get proper training in how to use it."

[SFC Chromey]

..holding the gun in his hand while driving the squad car when he hit a curb...
Apparently the officer was also issued a car "but didn't get proper training in how to use it."

---

I'm stuck on the medical examiner being able to tell that it was the poor handling of the firearm that killed him, and not the poor handling of the vehicle.

Maybe the bullet went through his temple before he hit the curb.

Ahh heck, I've been reading to many conspiracy novels lately.

[Bogtrotter52]

"Michael D. Schwartz, said Hoeft's parents are not looking for money."

They ALWAYS say this, but it is rarely true.

[JoeRetired]

In am very familiar with this case and will most probably be providing testimony when it reaches the courts. I cannot comment on the specifics at this time, but I can tell you that there is a lot of covering up on both part of the police dept. and coroners office involved. And, the very limited amount of insurance proceeds involved do not even begin to cover the costs incurred by Ryan's parents.

[spunkets]

"In am very familiar with this case and will most probably be providing testimony when it reaches the courts. I cannot comment on the specifics at this time, but I can tell you that there is a lot of covering up on both part of the police dept. and coroners office involved."

Yeah right, it was a conspiracy. They played subaudible "shoot yerself in the head and drive like a jackass" music over the police radio.