Child shoots SWAT officer at reading roundup

[VTM]

LODI (CBS13) — A Lodi Police SWAT officer had a Glock 35 with a flashlight in his thigh holster at a children’s reading event when a boy managed to pull the trigger and shoot the officer.

“It doesn’t have an external safety or anything like that,” said Lt. Sierra Brucia with the department. “The gun functioned how it was supposed to. When the trigger was pulled, the gun went off.”

The officer was showing off the department’s SWAT truck, vest and other gear at a children’s event called Reading Roundup on Aug. 24.

“A small child, witnesses tell us was 6 to 8 years old, was able to walk up to the officer and was able to pull the trigger.”

The bullet hit the officer’s leg. He was taken to the hospital for a minor injury and released.

The department is investigating the shooting to see if protocols or procedures need to be changed to prevent the same thing from happening again.

Officers want to find the child and his parents to piece together what went wrong.

“Hopefully, speaking to the child and the child’s parents to find out how they were able to get access to the officer’s gun, what the child’s intent may have been—we don’t know if it was accidental or unintentional.”

Police say because the gun was in a holster to accommodate the attached flashlight, the trigger was more accessible.

The officer has been on the SWAT team for about 5 years and he is back on duty.

[benjamin801]

If his leg had had a gun, this never would have happened.

[madryan]

Interesting...

I've got almost the same pistol and have a Surefire light for it... All the properly designed holsters have total coverage for the trigger.

Either

1) the holster was some sort of POS tacticool number that wasn't properly designed or

2) the level of retention being employed on the holster (if it was a typical Safariland 6XXX series) was grossly inappropriate.

[~Abstract~]

Kids have skinny hands.

[~Abstract~]

A moron brought a loaded weapon with no safety

Moron, huh?

A Glock has 3 "Safetys".

[madryan]

While the Glock does in fact have several internal safeties, it does lack any sort of external safety, as befits a proper duty or combat weapon.

That said, police don't need to be running around with their tacticool gear and fully loaded guns at career day or some such at an elementary school.

[Lloyd Blankfein]

This thread has a poor title. Didnt we go over this last week with you and these tired ass bait thread titles?

This was an accidental discharge.

Not a fucking shooting. Get a grip brah.

[madryan]

This thread has a poor title. Didnt we go over this last week with you and these tired ass bait thread titles?

This was an accidental discharge.

Not a fucking shooting. Get a grip brah.

This too...

[Lloyd Blankfein]

This thread has a poor title. Didnt we go over this last week with you and these tired ass bait thread titles?

This was an accidental discharge.

Not a fucking shooting. Get a grip brah.

According to the official police position they aren't sure and want to question the little kid.

Whole thing makes we want to take my pants off, shit in the seat, put them back on.


I mean, I can cut the middle man out and just shit in them, but lets go ahead and take the long road to the same destination. Lol

[Pepi]

"That said, police don't need to be running around with their tacticool gear and fully loaded guns at career day or some such at an elementary school."

THIS

[Sasquatch]

i'll just leave this here

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am-Qdx6vky0[/video]

[clipless bumper]

"That said, police don't need to be running around with their tacticool gear and fully loaded guns at career day or some such at an elementary school."

THIS

Have you guys ever heard of Sandy Hook?

[madryan]

"That said, police don't need to be running around with their tacticool gear and fully loaded guns at career day or some such at an elementary school."

THIS

Have you guys ever heard of Sandy Hook?

I'm an avid shooter. Own lots of guns. Don't want Obama or anyone else taking them away and all that shit...

But ya know what? Columbine and VA-Tech both had armed security, as did several other schools which featured feckless losers shooting their classmates.

Police/Security are at best adequately trained and often are poorly trained for actual armed confrontations.

[neilrocks25]

"That said, police don't need to be running around with their tacticool gear and fully loaded guns at career day or some such at an elementary school."

THIS

Have you guys ever heard of Sandy Hook?

I'm an avid shooter. Own lots of guns. Don't want Obama or anyone else taking them away and all that shit...

But ya know what? Columbine and VA-Tech both had armed security, as did several other schools which featured feckless losers shooting their classmates.

Police/Security are at best adequately trained and often are poorly trained for actual armed confrontations.

I have to say madryan, every post you make about guns make sense to me. You don't show off about your guns you don't say how you can kill a guy from 500 yards in the dark to protect your home.
You just make sense.

I just wanted to say that, most people think I am anti gun, I am not I am anti idiots being able to get guns.
But every post you make, makes me think this is the kind of person who should have guns, you speak clearly make sense and don't show off. If I was to go shooting in the states I it would be with someone like you.


Now don't go on a shooting spree or anything

[madryan]

"That said, police don't need to be running around with their tacticool gear and fully loaded guns at career day or some such at an elementary school."

THIS

Have you guys ever heard of Sandy Hook?

I'm an avid shooter. Own lots of guns. Don't want Obama or anyone else taking them away and all that shit...

But ya know what? Columbine and VA-Tech both had armed security, as did several other schools which featured feckless losers shooting their classmates.

Police/Security are at best adequately trained and often are poorly trained for actual armed confrontations.

I have to say madryan, every post you make about guns make sense to me. You don't show off about your guns you don't say how you can kill a guy from 500 yards in the dark to protect your home.
You just make sense.

I just wanted to say that, most people think I am anti gun, I am not I am anti idiots being able to get guns.
But every post you make, makes me think this is the kind of person who should have guns, you speak clearly make sense and don't show off. If I was to go shooting in the states I it would be with someone like you.


Now don't go on a shooting spree or anything

Thanks man...

I enjoy the sport and acknowledge the utility which guns can provide in certain situations, but I totally agree that lots of folks shouldn't be allowed anywhere near them.

Growing up where I did they were just tools, just like a hammer or an axe. You used them to fill the freezer or keep varmints away from your garden. It's still that way in my family, even though I don't hunt or anything really. I'm starting to think about bagging an Elk this year because the quality of the meat is so much better than anything you buy in a store these days. Nice and lean and healthy.

[madryan]

"That said, police don't need to be running around with their tacticool gear and fully loaded guns at career day or some such at an elementary school."

THIS

Have you guys ever heard of Sandy Hook?

You're really stretching there man. First the moron was not there on a report of suspicious activity, he was there to read to a bunch of 6-8 year olds. I mean I've been in elementary school classrooms with my son and will admit there are times riot gear would be a plus, but I don't think having a weapon that any child could discharge without having to overcome a safety measure was something that would assist in keeping the peace in this particular situation. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but shouldn't a professional trained in the use of such weapons and with a mandate to protect have FORESIGHT about such possibilities, and even more important shouldn't the police themselves knowing they come in contact with curious and knowledgeable youths in outreaches such as this have specific policies to prevent such occurrences?

Also, are you honestly trying to tell me that a gun with a safety would have been such an overwhelming obstacle to this so called trained professional that he would have been unable to protect the children in that class if a shooter was reported on the campus. I mean in this guy's case maybe, because we've already established he's a dumbass, but for 9 out of 10 cops do you really think it would have been a problem? And don't say some stupid dopey shit like "but what if a shooter suddenly burst into the class with no forewarning?" The odds of a shooter coming on to school grounds, and then choosing that specific class out of all the possible classes on a campus to start his rampage are akin to the odds of a micro-class 5 tornado popping down and performing a pinpoint strike on the same class, and I don't see you advocating building all classrooms to class 5 tornado shelter standards, cause you know that would cost money which means raising school budgets, and can't be solved with a gun.

Second, I NEVER said the cop should not have had a firearm at all. I just said it was incredibly stupid to have a firearm with no safety features preventing a child from discharging it in the presence of children. I also said the cop and the department should be held responsible for unthinking negligent behavior and policies. But all you heard was "NO GUNS", and in your mind wheels started turning, 2nd amendment danger alarms started going off, and but... but... but... SANDYHOOOOOOK!!!!!

I should mention, as a long time shooter in both my professional life and later in IDPA, I gotta say that safeties get people killed. Period.

The failure here was twofold,

1) police officer shouldn't have had his tactical sidearm fully loaded in such a setting. Police, while on duty routinely carry on school property. Hell, in Oregon if you have a CHL you can carry on public school property. However, if you're a cop, with a sidearm out in full view around little kids it better be a) unloaded, or b) properly secured in an appropriate holster.

2) as previously mentioned, the holster in question obviously wasn't either setup properly, or the officer had removed the retention stuff. If it was a standard Safariland Thigh Rig you can choose several different retention styles and you can either use them or remove them as you see fit. Everyone uses Safariland stuff because it complies with all dept. retention regs and it holds up and works well. If this guy was using some "Brand X" shit like a Blackhawk rig that the airsoft crowd buys then he should be fired for being a dumbass.

Using a pistol with a safety, well that's just a recipe for ending up dead. When shit goes down and you've got a gallon of adrenaline in your system the first thing you do is forget all the shit you've previously been taught and you home in on your target. Similarly, your fine motor skills go all to hell and you tend to operate completely on muscle memory. Handguns are, by default, a weapon of last resort. They're for when you're bearing down on the guy and your carbine jams or some such. That's never a good time, and you need to be able to grab your secondary weapon and have it function as simply and as expeditiously as possible. That's why Glock has such a huge percentage of the LE market and why it's a travesty that idiots who've never been near a loaded gun except the ones on their security detail are still choosing the requirements for the Armed Forces contracts. If your sidearm has a safety, sure as hell when you go to use it you're going to forget to flick it off unless you've spent a shitload of time and energy training yourself to do so. Most police agencies recognize this so they issue pistols like Glock or Sig which don't utilize external safeties.

So this guy screwed the pooch by not properly using his holster, or not properly selecting his holster in the first place, and barring that, not recognizing that and unloading his pistol.

[clipless bumper]

Ok - I was trollin' a little.
But I didn't say anything about the safety or lack thereof.

Still, if a cop's around he's more useful with his gun.

[madryan]

Ok - I was trollin' a little.
But I didn't say anything about the safety or lack thereof.

Still, if a cop's around he's more useful with his gun.

Generally I agree. I've met some folks with badges who I wouldn't trust to count mosquitoes in Alaska.

[Telephant]

Aaaah yes, Police... To patronize and annoy

[madryan]

Aaaah yes, Police... To patronize and annoy

"To Observe and Collect"

I think that's actually it...

[GuitarBilly]

I hope the officer makes a full recovery, then gets an earful for bringing a loaded weapon to a school demonstration. Luckily, the kid didn't shoot himself with the weapon. That would be a real tragedy.

[madryan]

I hope the officer makes a full recovery, then gets an earful for bringing a loaded weapon to a school demonstration. Luckily, the kid didn't shoot himself with the weapon. That would be a real tragedy.

100% this

[Pepi]

IMO, I would still carry my gun with me loaded. I just WOULD NOT have one in the chamber knowing I was going to be around a lot of people/kids. Doesn't take long at all to jack the receiver of a semi-auto if you need it. I have never felt good about carrying a semi-auto with one in the chamber. Guess this is why I carry a 38 revolver