I remember my first deer hunt with my old man. (I must have been 7 or so and armed with a BB gun!) But alas I swung the barrel around carelessly and had to sit in the car the rest of the day.
I remember when I learned this lesson myself. Around 8 or 9, my Dad let my brother and I shoot his pistol. Now he drummed into us several times the “gun is always to be considered as loaded” and “Never point it at anything you aren’t planning to shoot”. Also the “it is not a toy” speach.
I remember watching him unload it and hand it to me and I foolishly pointed it around making bang noises. He slapped me to the ground so hard my teeth hurt. I learned my lesson well. Too bad this officer didn’t have someone to teach him early. Like a earlier poster said, I check, recheck, and check again and I doubt I would ever point one at myself even if drunk.