An armed police officer was today in hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the leg.
The male officer, a member of the Met’s Flying Squad, was holstering a police-issued firearm at a station in Putney, south London, when it went off.Well, at least he wasn't cleaning it, I suppose.
Maybe the Met would like to consider adverts from suitable companies? Answers on a postcard...
14 comments:
It didn't "Go off". There are no firearms in active service in the UK that "Go off" these days - modern safety devices are really good.
The officer discharged his weapon into his leg. The report (that we will never see) will likely report poor trigger discipline or a failure of some other safety procedure.
"Had an accident at work?
Injury lawyers 4U can help!"
At the end of every pistol's grip there is a big nut...
that nut is normally the cause of such 'accidental' discharges.
(and before Jaded grizzles, I'm the nut who nearly put a Browning Hi-Power round through his own head whilst cleaning it).
Well I suppose it is better that they shoot themselves rather than innocent Brazilian electricians.
One of the first rules in firearms is you always check to see if a round is chambered (ready to fire) and if necessary remove it and check the safety, though they can be clicked off in certain holsters.
Clearly this guy should not be allowed out armed if he cannot comprehend basic procedures.
Army instructors have a nasty trick of palming a round into the chamber of a firearm after demonstrating that procedure to catch out the unwary who then if they don't check pay a physical penalty of some sort (runs push-ups etc)
"It went off"? Is that the same as, "She fell pregnant"?
In other words, one idiot showing off suffers the consequences. It should be instant dismissal for him.
" One of the first rules in firearms is you always check to see if a round is chambered (ready to fire) and if necessary remove it and check the safety,"
I was taught 'Handling Firearms 101' by a German Police instructor and not only were all the checks you mention carried out when handing over a firearm to anyone but we also had to TELL them that we had checked them and they had to respond in kind.
"Walter PKK.Unloaded.Checked.Safety on" or some such litany if I recall aright ("entladen, geprueft, gesichert")....twas a long time ago.
(FT will no doubt inform us that these days the checks and litany are even more stringent ). I imagine that similar protocols exist in the UK too and the officer chose not to follow them...although one would hope they were ingrained in any firearms trained officer and certainly in the Armourer.
"It went off"? Is that the same as, "She fell pregnant"?
Yep, along with "I'll be careful" and "This has never happened to me before".
No grizzling from me,I know nothing about guns.
Jaded
In all probability this was a very serious soft tissue injury. Police bullets are terribly destructive and fragments dispersed down the limb may be impossible to recover.
QM - Navy Weapons instructors are exactly the same. Woe betide the matelot who doesn't get the procedure correct.
"The report (that we will never see) will likely report poor trigger discipline..."
Undoubtedly.
""Had an accident at work?
Injury lawyers 4U can help!""
*chuckles*
"...who then if they don't check pay a physical penalty of some sort (runs push-ups etc)"
Something they should maybe adopt on police firearms courses?
XX Quiet_Man said...
One of the first rules in firearms is you always check to see if a round is chambered (ready to fire) and if necessary remove it and check the safety, though they can be clicked off in certain holsters. XX
On duty your fire arm is ALWAYS chambered and the safety set.
What appears to be the problem here is, WHY was the fire arm cocked?
Post a Comment