Posted on 11/20/2002 1:31:41 PM PST by marshmallow
MANATEE COUNTY -- The district commander for the Florida Highway Patrol's Venice office shot himself in the foot with a handgun Monday morning at the Manatee Technical Institute firing range.
Capt. Van Fussell, who is seven months from retirement, was wiggling his toes before the ambulance took him away from the range. The bullet lodged in the sole of his sneaker.
He shot his right foot just above the toes while he was putting his .40-caliber Glock back in its holster, according to Range Master and FHP Trooper A.J. Goodwin.
Fussell, 64, doesn't know where his sneaker went. He said he doesn't remember what he was doing with his gun when he shot his foot.
"It was an accident," Fussell said. "I'm fine. I don't have any problems."
Doctors at Blake Medical Center treated Fussell and sent him home on crutches Monday afternoon.
Fussell has been a Florida Highway Patrol trooper for 30 years. He was taking his biannual firearms qualification exam when he shot himself.
The Glock, Fussell's off-duty weapon, does not have a safety. The FHP's service weapon, the .40-caliber Berretta, does have a safety.
Goodwin said that in the 18 years he's given the exam, today's shooting was the first he'd seen.
"He was doing well," Goodwin said. "Those Glocks are just really tricky."
To qualify, law enforcement officers must shoot seven yards away from a target. They alternate shooting five to 10 shots at a time. Fussell had shot only eight or nine rounds before he began putting his gun away.
Fussell has passed every weapons qualification examination since he became a trooper. He's never fired his weapon at anyone, according to Capt. Carlos Vazquez. The FHP is investigating the shooting, but Vazquez said it appears to have been an accident.
Fussell shot himself before finishing the qualification exam, so he will have to retake it.
He said he doesn't think he'll be out of work for long. As for his retirement, he's considering a move to North Carolina.
I shoot at a private range where a lot of local cops also shoot. I've learned to respect the SWAT guys, they always know what they and their weapons are doing. OTOH, when the rank and file show up to practice for their annual qualifications, I've found it a good idea to just come back later. Talk about bad shots and lousy range awareness.
And another cop is shot in the line of duty by a gun.
He will be the butt of jokes as long as he serves. Of course there is no excuse for having an accident like that. I say give him a little slack tho. What he did was stupid but most everyone occassionally does something really stupid.
Well, that just changed, didn't it.
Poor penetration, he needs a bigger class of firearm.
One should never under estimate idiots. They are so much smarter than all the rest of us.
Barney never shot himself in the foot!
Best 2 days I ever spent with my pistol.
Or he had his finger in the trigger guard.
Did they Xray his foot so they could add the data to the Ballistic Fingerprint Database for future reference?
The round was stopped from exiting his foot by the floor he was standing on. Every range I've been to, except for shooting in the hills, had a concrete floor and I think that might stop the round cold.
"A man has got to know his limitations"...Dirty Harry
On the other hand (or foot), don't bother.
Except maybe for the one that states, "Keep your finger outside of the trigger guard until you are ready to fire."
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