On Friday, Smith filed a lawsuit against the store to cover his medical expenses and lost earnings - he could not go back to work following the accident after a 30-year career in law enforcement.
Smith is seeking a jury trial, lost income and punitive damages.
'While Mr. Smith was looking at the firearm, believing it to be unloaded, the gun discharged causing serious physical injury to [Smith],' the lawsuit says.
It goes on to say that Smith exercised 'reasonable care and due diligence for his own physical well-being' while handling the loaded weapon, according to the Glasgow Daily Times.I think treating a gun as always loaded even if you think it isn’t is one of the important safety tips even those who only handle virtual guns have figured out.
It beggars belief that so many so-called law enforcement professionals don’t seem to have grasped it.
Many of the rarer problems are cascade problems. That means it takes two, or more, errors to cause an issue. In this case No 1 (Experienced and highly trained, one of the few in the country allowed one of these tools) left it loaded which is wrong and the No 2 (Experienced and highly trained, one of the few in the country allowed one of these tools) handled it by pointing it towards himself.
ReplyDeleteWe should be grateful the dickhead didn't shoot a third party but on the downside this goes down as another firearm injury and further restrictions on law abiding citizens made because of this.
The cop was an idiot and made a mistake, but that hand gun should not have been loaded in the display case.
ReplyDeleteOver the last 35 years shooting a number of disciplines I have to say that whether shooting rifle or shotgun at targets, clays or game, it is often police officers who exhibit the wordt attitude to gun safety and the lowest level of of practical safety awareness, especially in the field. Why? I don't know. It does often seem to be a mixture of foolishness, bravado and arrogance though. It often surprises me (still!!) that the 'highly trained professional' displays a level of knowledge, both technical and general, far below that of the enthusiastic amateur
ReplyDeleteTwo short planks springs to mind.
ReplyDelete@Mud in my experience police officers - even ones I know and get on well with - are prone to arrogance.
ReplyDeleteThis is also why security firms tend to prefer ex-forces personnel over ex-Job. Ask a former soldier to do something and he does it. Ask an ex-copper and he'll tell you how you should be asking him to do it.
As you said, always loaded, always.
ReplyDeleteWhen taking charge of any weapon, you first ensure it is made safe.
ReplyDeleteThere are exceptions to this for being on range (one or two way) and wanting (or needing) to fire the damn thing.
They don't apply in this case.
"We should be grateful the dickhead didn't shoot a third party.."
ReplyDeleteQuite! It was a public place, after all.
"... it is often police officers who exhibit the wordt attitude to gun safety and the lowest level of of practical safety awareness, especially in the field. Why? I don't know."
It can't be 'familiarity breeds contempt' because (at least, in the US) the rates of off-duty practice are said to be low.
Maybe it's just the sort of personality type that wants to become a cop, rather than a sport hunter?
"... in my experience police officers - even ones I know and get on well with - are prone to arrogance."
Aha!