An off-duty Milwaukee cop is carrying but not using a holster. The gun drops from his waistband, he grabs for it, and discharges a round.
He's charged with 'endangering....'
Flynn does the right thing and expresses disappointment. The DA did the right thing, too.
More 'splanation:
1) The DA has effectively warned everyone that he will be tough as nails on gun infractions. Cop? Civilian? No difference--you screw up, you'll be hit with charges. That's a political decision (and this DA plays politics a lot, despite his image.)
2) The cop was carrying WITHOUT a holster; he had it jammed into his waistband. When the gun was dislodged, he attempted to grab it--and pulled the trigger in the process. There is no doubt that this was an accident. But it was an accident-waiting-to-happen; not using a holster is just plain stupid.
3) Flynn stands up for his men. He's right that the MPD could have effectively disciplined the guy internally, and the DA really didn't have to step in. But to that, see #1 above. This was a political decision.
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2 comments:
You know, if you dropped my single-action Ruger, it wouldn't go off -- and if you grabbed the trigger, it still wouldn't go off. Another way of avoiding the problem is the Israeli style carry, where you have a semi-automatic weapon (with the safety left off, if there is a safety), but the chamber is kept empty until the weapon is drawn.
The reason we have this problem is the propensity for police to be armed with semi-automatic pistols, carried with a round in the chamber. If the Israelis can afford to leave the chamber empty, surely our police can too.
What Grim said.
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