Police officer who wounded toddler was cleaning gun

Newsday ^ | 2/10/08

[muir_redwoods]

I’ve cleaned guns easily 500 times and never found a round in the chamber. Am I just lucky?

[arderkrag]

"Just a few more inches and I could have lost my son," said his father, Justin Porcellini. "This is a city employee, a cop. They are supposed to be safe. I want people to know that what happened was wrong."

"What happened" was an accident. Get over your knee-jerk reactions, get the cop to pay for the medical bills, get on with your life.

[BlueDragon]

Woops!

[billakay]

Thank God that this baby wasn't killed...

I honestly can't say that I've ever had the problem of finding a round in the chamber while cleaning a gun.

[Mr. Brightside]

"What happened" was an accident.

It was a preventable accident.

Would you feel the same about a drunk driver getting behind the wheel of a school bus?

[Tennessee Nana]

What ijit cleans a loaded gun ????

[Clemenza]

One of the first things I learned in firearm safety was always to make sure that the chamber was empty, the magazine was out and that NO AMMUNITION SHOULD EVEN BE IN SIGHT.

This cop deserves a slap on the head. From his son. for the rest of his life.

[Zeppo]

I’m trying to believe the story, but I dunno... What type of gun did the officer have?

[Mr. Brightside]

BTW, if the same thing happened to you and your gun, you would be arrested.

[KarenMarie]

Something tells me there is more to this story than meets the eye.

But, in any case, I smell and eleventy billion lawsuit coming.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Smell Test = Failed

[Mr. Brightside]

And if your gun accidentally went off and shot a police officer who lived in the apartment below, you would also be arrested.

[Radix]

Usually you hear the “cleaning his gun” excuse to refute the possibility that a suicide occurred.

[hole_n_one]

What happened" was an accident.

The article states that the officer was "cleaning his gun in dim lighting because his electricity had been turned off".

Wouldn't it have been prudent for Officer Fife to have waited to undertake such a task until circumstances were more conducive to such an endeavor?

[wastedyears]

Take the mag out the gun, pull and lock the slide back. Presto, your weapon is safe.

Sad this happened in Brooklyn. I wonder what avenue it’s by.

[dasboot]

The only way that firearm could discharge...assuming standards for issue semi-autos....is if a finger was on the trigger.....or the firearm was defective. The odds of the latter very slim. A poor cover story. A negligent handler.

Little doubt that, after the armorer examines the waepon, and the internal investigation is complete...the guy will get his walking papers. Tpoo much present and future liability for the city.,

[arderkrag]

Did you feel the need to state this twice? Because you did. And it really doesn’t matter if I would be arrested in the context of this discussion. Moot point.

[Mr. Brightside]

Click the link to read the whole story.

The officer was cleaning his gun in the dark after having his electricity cut off for nonpayment of rent.

He walked out of the room, leaving the gun on the table. When he returned (in the dark) he reached for the gun and knocked it off the table, which discharged one round through the floor of his apartment.

[Disambiguator]

His brother told reporters Friday that the officer had set his gun down on a table, and then accidentally knocked it to the floor when he returned to the room.

Modern firearms, especially those widely used by PDs all over the place (Glocks) are not prone to discharge simply by being dropped, even if there is a round in the chamber. This guy is lying about something to cover his sorry behind. ).