Kentucky Officer Shoots Off Finger

D

Double Naught Spy

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A Glasgow, KY officer is now suing a sporting goods store where he was shown a gun that was on display. In the video below, you can see him handling the gun, covering the muzzle with his hand, covering other people in the store, finger on the trigger, and then racking the slide and pulling the trigger of the gun, apparently blowing off the tip of his index finger. Turns out, the clerk, who did not check the gun, handed the officer a loaded gun.

The officer, Darrell Smith failed to follow any of the gun safety rules, never even remotely looked to see if the chamber was clear. Fortunately, the officer only hurt himself as he very well could have shot any one of several people down at the end of the counter that he was repeatedly scanning.

http://www.wbko.com/home/headlines/VIDEO-Former-GPD-Officer-Sues-Gunstore-After--288172101.html

I included the liveleak video version below in case the news version above disappears as some news articles are apt to do.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=30b_1421174383
 
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At least he only hit himself, and not the numerous people he muzzled.

Note to gun store customers: putting your hand over the muzzle won't stop a bullet and it doesn't exempt you from Rule #2.

Note to gun store employees: clear the gun before handing it to a customer because the customer won't check it. Seriously, 90% just of them just start dry-firing away with wild abandon as soon as they've got their sweaty mitts on it.

Note to gun store owners: you can and will be sued for this. Comparative negligence might mitigate the damages, but you're going to have some of the liability. You can quote Rule #1 to a jury until you're blue in the face, but it's not normal to hand someone a loaded firearm without warning them.
 
Looks like the gun was empty with a loaded mag in it. At about the 40 second mark he racks the slide and nothing is ejected. Then he fires the gun.
 
Carelessness, gross negligence, and mistakes on all levels. But one thing that really jumps out at me. How in the world did a gun with a loaded magazine get in the case in the first place? Pure neglect on the part of the store, and employees? Or, gasp, gasp, sabatage?
Makes a great story for the gun grabber crowd, doesn't it.:eek:
 
1. Treat all guns as loaded
2. Keep guns pointed in a safe direction
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire
4. Know your target and what's beyond.

Sigh.
 
Sabotage? Really? Like all the supposed gun show NDs suggested to be sabotage for which it has never been proven and several of which are by dealers with the dealer's own guns?

No, not sabotage. People really are just that negligent. No need for conspiracy theories to explain away negligence.
 
a lot of cops only handle a firearm on the job, and a number had never held a gun until they entered the police academy, they know enough about firearms to be dangerous. I dealt with one that did not know how to clear a 1911.
 
No, not sabotage. People really are just that negligent. No need for conspiracy theories to explain away negligence
Click to expand...
But do you really believe that there is that much negligence in a gun shop to allow ammo to meet gun in the sales case?
I just find it very hard to believe that the loaded magazine was not added after the gun had been put in the case.
One possible scenario, a used gun that someone traded, or sold to them, and it was just stuck in the case without checking the mag. Even that is hard to believe.
 
No way of knowing unless we bring in the Inquisition.
I was once present for a man getting shot at a gun show. There was never an explanation of how that gun got loaded. This before, probably contributing to, the zip tie era.
I once had a dealer take an auto rifle down from the rack for me. Been many years, I don't even recall if he racked the bolt or I did, but a round jumped out on the floor and we stood staring at the next round in the magazine. Turned out an employee had "tried it out" and returned it to stock loaded.
I know a few other cases of carelessness in the store, too.
 
Negligence on the part of the store (for letting a loaded firearm get into the display case) and the employee (for not clearing the firearm before handing it to a customer.) BUT ...

The first thing the cop did was put his booger hook on the bang switch. Zero trigger finger discipline. The second thing he did was point a loaded firearm directly at the employee. Zero muzzle discipline. Yes, I know he thought it was empty, but the complete version of Cooper's first rule is "All guns are loaded, until you have personally verified that they are not." Officer Friendly also had a responsibility to clear the firearm, ESPECIALLY when it was handed to him with a closed slide. I hang around the range shop a lot. Any time I ask to look at a firearm, it's handed to me with the action open and the sales person has verified (in front of me) that it's empty. Even then, the first thing I do is verify that it's empty.

And then there's this, from DNS's second link:

“He’s permanently disfigured, he went through a lot of pain and suffering,” said his attorney, Alan Simpson. “He’s gone through several surgeries. He’s got a lot of medical bills that have to be paid. It ended his career and he’s going to have a lot of lost income.”
Click to expand...

Really? He shot the tip of his left pinkie finger off and he's "disfigured"? Okay, technically he is, but not for any practical purpose. A guy from my high school (who also wound up a couple of years behind me at college) is an amateur woodworker. He sawed most of one finger off on a table saw years ago. It hasn't slowed him down.

Ended his career? There are soldiers who have had their legs blown off and they manage to qualify to go back into combat, yet this doofus can't work as a cop with the tip of his pinkie missing? Gimme a break
 
But do you really believe that there is that much negligence in a gun shop to allow ammo to meet gun in the sales case?
Click to expand...

Well, let's see. Did the clerk clear the gun before handing it to the cop? Nope. So right there it tells me that they are lax on their safety.

I just find it very hard to believe that the loaded magazine was not added after the gun had been put in the case.
Click to expand...

So what you are suggesting is that some anti-gun person was able to load the gun while the gun was in the case? Well, they would have video of that, I am sure.

One possible scenario, a used gun that someone traded, or sold to them, and it was just stuck in the case without checking the mag. Even that is hard to believe.
Click to expand...

Again, the clerk obviously was lax in the handling of the gun. The clerk did not try to protect fellow employees when the cop customer was pointing the gun at them. The clerk didn't correct the cop on covering the muzzle of the gun, pulling the trigger, etc.

We know that their safety standards are pretty low, so negligence would appear to be the more realistic cause than sabotage.
 
The lawsuit is hilarious.

http://www.glasgowdailytimes.com/ne...cle_1dd3f85c-9ade-11e4-b960-4b72db33bbc5.html

Amongst other things, it apparently claims...
The lawsuit claims Smith was “exercising reasonable care and due diligence for his own physical well-being” during the time described in the document.
Click to expand...

If the jury sees the video, then they will know that the above claim is not correct.

Page 2 of the suit claims he lost one entire finger, functionality in a second, and has damage to the hand.
 
My ten year old daughter NEVER NEVER NEVER accepts a firearm from someone without checking to see if it is loaded. She is absolutely OCD about it. We are proud of her for that. I can't wait to show her this video tomorrow so she can call out the mistakes one by one as they happen.

A few months ago I saw some idiot at a pawn shop handling a handgun like that. I left the store. I saw the clerk rack the slide before he handed it over, but it REALLY bothers me to see someone carelessly pointing one all over the place like that.
 
And the officer failed to keep the weapon pointed in a safe direction. At T-7 sec he sweeps one of the other customers before ventilating said finger at T-6.

From the video alone, I'd vote 80% gross negligence on the officers part.
No winners here.
 
Maybe this was a blessing in disguise getting this officer off the street? I just watched the video again and laughed at the alligations of the former officers suit...what a clown.
 
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Kentucky is a comparative negligence state which means the jury apportions liability. If there are damages of $100 and the officer is 60% negligent and the store 40% negligent, the officer is awarded $40.

I'm very familiar with Glasgow. It is town of 12 to 15 thousand in a rural area of the state about half way between Louisville and Nashville. Lots of cattle there.
 
He was in control of the weapon, so I would think the fault would be his for not safety checking the weapon.
It would be kind of like the reason I had a car accident was because somebody put fuel in the tank.
 
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