Georgia police chief says accidentally shot, critically hurt wife

[kage69]

How the hell do you accidentally fire a Glock, twice?


I think her input is needed before I hazard a guess on his actions, but it really doesn't look good that a seasoned veteran of firearm use could put 2 bullets into a supposedly loved one, despite years of gun experience and Glock's SafeAction. I wouldn't begrudge anyone for feeling suspicious about this.

 

[smackababy]

How the hell do you accidentally fire a Glock, twice?


I think her input is needed before I hazard a guess on his actions, but it really doesn't look good that a seasoned veteran of firearm use could put 2 bullets into a supposedly loved one, despite years of gun experience and Glock's SafeAction. I wouldn't begrudge anyone for feeling suspicious about this.

Says he only shot her once. And, while I haven't used a Glock in awhile, the old trigger safety didn't seem hard to accidentally use if you were pulling the slide back with a thumb or something against the trigger. Stupid move on your part, but certainly not deliberate.

 

[Jerem]

How often to you handle and clean your gun? Do you check your tire pressure, or at least, do a walk around your car before entering it every time? No. At some point, humans become lax in their attention to detail due to becoming to comfortable around certain things. Guns are no different.

We also don't know at what stage of cleaning his gun he was in. Perhaps, he removed the magazine and was in the process of removing the chambered round when it went off?

You aren't seriously going to go with 'he was cleaning his gun in his bedroom at 4:00am while his wife was laying in bed ' are you? You are way better off with ' he was getting dressed for work and accidently fired his weapon while holstering it'.

 

[Jerem]

Also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aSJgcpqePk

 

[smackababy]

You aren't seriously going to go with 'he was cleaning his gun in his bedroom at 4:00am while his wife was laying in bed ' are you? You are way better off with ' he was getting dressed for work and accidently fired his weapon while holstering it'.

Cops routinely work 12 hours shifts, to my knowledge. Him performing an action when he could have gotten off around that time or before he is going in to work isn't beyond the realm of possibility. But, I know. His wife was a gentle giant and on her way to college before this ruthless pig shot her down!

 

[TreVader]

It may have been utter stupidity/negligence, or it may have been that he wanted her dead. It does seem odd to be cleaning your gun at 4am...


But either way, he needs to be charged with SOMETHING. Why is it that when cops shoot or kill people it's always "everybody step back, I'm sure there is a good reason" but when anybody else does they get charged with murder/assault and let the courts sort it out.

 

[smackababy]

It may have been utter stupidity/negligence, or it may have been that he wanted her dead. It does seem odd to be cleaning your gun at 4am...


But either way, he needs to be charged with SOMETHING. Why is it that when cops shoot or kill people it's always "everybody step back, I'm sure there is a good reason" but when anybody else does they get charged with murder/assault and let the courts sort it out.

Again, nobody was killed.

And, if he works 12 hours shift, it is certainly possible for him to be awake and doing things at 4AM. If he works 6PM to 6AM and was on an off day, it would be perfectly reasonable to be active at that time. There would be no reason to be on a "normal" schedule.

 

[Darwin333]

"Pointing?" I didn't read anything about him pointing the gun at anyone. No details have been released. As far as we know he could have dropped the gun and it went off or he was cleaning it, etc. This by no means somehow represents the state in anyway, so I don't quite know what you are insinuating with that last sentence.

First of all, you don't EVER clean a gun with a round chambered. A police chief should be very well up to speed on gun safety rules, at least as much as I am, and the very first thing you do when you pick up a gun is check if its loaded and unload it if necessary. Secondly, modern handguns don't just "go off" if you drop it. The trigger must be pulled and impact with the ground doesn't do that unless it has an absurdly light "hair trigger" which his service weapon (barring dangerous modifications) doesn't have.

Furthermore the Glock 17 has a passive trigger safety. You must pull the trigger at the bottom (where your finger would normally rest versus the top). This prevents a huge number of accidental discharges from something other than your finger snagging the trigger. Generally the "something" is small because it fit into the trigger guard and the shape of the trigger will cause it to ride to the top which regardless of how much pressure is used will not disengage the passive safety mechanism.

Here is an illustration showing how it works.

Glock safety

 

[smackababy]

First of all, you don't EVER clean a gun with a round chambered. A police chief should be very well up to speed on gun safety rules, at least as much as I am, and the very first thing you do when you pick up a gun is check if its loaded and unload it if necessary. Secondly, modern handguns don't just "go off" if you drop it. The trigger must be pulled and impact with the ground doesn't do that unless it has an absurdly light "hair trigger" which his service weapon (barring dangerous modifications) doesn't have.

Furthermore the Glock 17 has a passive trigger safety. You must pull the trigger at the bottom (where your finger would normally rest versus the top). This prevents a huge number of accidental discharges from something other than your finger snagging the trigger. Generally the "something" is small because it fit into the trigger guard and the shape of the trigger will cause it to ride to the top which regardless of how much pressure is used will not disengage the passive safety mechanism.

Here is an illustration showing how it works.

Glock safety

While that seems like common sense, how often do you ignore proper safety precautions on dangerous objects you use every day? Do you check to ensure you car is in proper working order before driving it every day? I doubt it.

Police also have their weapons holstered with a round chambered and the hammer back (if it uses one, as with the Baretta M9) in a single action position with any trigger lock safety off. So, he could have been just removing his weapon when it went off. We don't know the details. I am not entirely sure on the trigger pull of a Glock 17, but I could see a negligent accident happening with one.

 

[CZroe]

Heard on the news today that he says it happened while both of them were in bed... asleep. I kinda figured it involved sleep because he said that he shot her twice and the police said his gun only discharged once. That kind of basic confusion happens when the gun shot wakes you up.

 

[WelshBloke]

Again, nobody was killed.

And, if he works 12 hours shift, it is certainly possible for him to be awake and doing things at 4AM. If he works 6PM to 6AM and was on an off day, it would be perfectly reasonable to be active at that time. There would be no reason to be on a "normal" schedule.

I work 12 hour shifts. I work night shifts.

You know what you don't do when you do those?

You don't go into the bedroom at 4am where your wife's sleeping, turn on the lights and start fiddling around with stuff.

 

[CZroe]

How the hell do you accidentally fire a Glock, twice?


I think her input is needed before I hazard a guess on his actions, but it really doesn't look good that a seasoned veteran of firearm use could put 2 bullets into a supposedly loved one, despite years of gun experience and Glock's SafeAction. I wouldn't begrudge anyone for feeling suspicious about this.

According to the local news, he DIDN'T fire it twice. He said he shot her twice and but not only was she found to have been shot only once, the gun was found to have only fired once. You should read more carefully because it never said he put two bullets into a loved one.

 

[CZroe]

I work 12 hour shifts. I work night shifts.

You know what you don't do when you do those?

You don't go into the bedroom at 4am where your wife's sleeping, turn on the lights and start fiddling around with stuff.

This demonstrates a continued lack of imagination. We now know he claims to have been asleep but, for the sake of argument, let's continue with the "just came home" scenario... the lights being OFF specifically could contribute to the accident! It makes it MORE believable, not less.

 

[WelshBloke]

This demonstrates a continued lack of imagination. We now know he claims to have been asleep but, for the sake of argument, let's continue with the "just came home" scenario... the lights being OFF specifically could contribute to the accident! It makes it MORE believable, not less.

People typically clean their guns in bed, in the dark, at 4am?

Seriously never get a job as a defence lawyer.

 

[CZroe]

People typically clean their guns in bed, in the dark, at 4am?

Seriously never get a job as a defence lawyer.

Where are you getting this "cleaning gun" thing from? Check your assumptions.

 

[WelshBloke]

Where are you getting this "cleaning gun" thing from? Check your assumptions.

So the gun went off all on its own while he was asleep?

So guns DO kill people.

 

[highland145]

People typically clean their guns in bed, in the dark, at 4am?

Seriously never get a job as a defence lawyer.

Did he say he was cleaning it? Missed that.


People in my family tend to sleep walk. My bro is the worst. Went to his house one morning and he showed me the ~2'x3' hole he tore in the sheet rock. He dreamt (?) the house was on fire.


Anyway, wonder if he has a history of sleepwalking or was on a sleep med?

 

[CZroe]

So the gun went off all on its own while he was asleep?

So guns DO kill people.

ACCIDENTS kill people. Thought you were clever?

I am glad I unload my weapons before cleaning and aim them in a safe direction while unloading. Gosh! Just think how many people I may have killed by cleaning a loaded weapon.

:facepalm:

He never said anything about cleaning a weapon. RTFA

First of all, you don't EVER clean a gun with a round chambered. A police chief should be very well up to speed on gun safety rules, at least as much as I am, and the very first thing you do when you pick up a gun is check if its loaded and unload it if necessary...

See above. WTF is wrong with you people?!

Let's get one thing straight here:
The guy may be guilty as hell, but there are no details suggesting it yet. It's not that I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. My only aim so far is to show how it's easily POSSIBLE that it's an accident and show how people jumping to conclusions delude themselves about those possibilities. I am sick and tired of people jumping to conclusions and wrongly demanding justice in so many situations and letting their bias paint their perceptions, so PLEASE keep an open mind, FFS. If I see riots in my back yard before there is reason (Peachtree City neighbors my own), I am blaming you guys. Some of you have been some of the worst so far. FFS, do you take pleasure or PRIDE in being ignorant and unable to imagine possibilities?

 

[CZroe]

Did he say he was cleaning it? Missed that.


People in my family tend to sleep walk. My bro is the worst. Went to his house one morning and he showed me the ~2'x3' hole he tore in the sheet rock. He dreamt (?) the house was on fire.


Anyway, wonder if he has a history of sleepwalking or was on a sleep med?

No. He didn't. Thread totally derailed after someone made light of it by suggesting that he might make such a claim.

 

[WelshBloke]

ACCIDENTS kill people. Thought you were clever?

Well its nice that you thought that but never let it be said that I misled you.

What sort of accident involves two sleeping people, one of whom gets shot with no third party involved?

(don't make me pull occams razor out young man!)

 

[TreVader]

What sort of accident involves two sleeping people, one of whom gets shot with no third party involved?

Lol. So now he is firing his gun in his sleep? He would be much better off saying he dropped it.


I wonder how many normal citizens would still be out of jail and charged with no crime had they been found with a dead wife and used the "I was alseep" defense?

 

[allisolm]

Jeez. She's not dead. From everything I read she's not expected to die. He wasn't getting off work. He wasn't cleaning his gun. According to him, he wasn't asleep. She was. His story is "the gun was in the bed, I went to move it to put it to the side and it went off."

Still stinks as a story, but maybe the make-things-up-as-you-go-along brigade could at least start there. http://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-police-chiefs-wife-heard-moaning-911-call/story?id=27965504

 

[WelshBloke]

Jeez. She's not dead. From everything I read she's not expected to die. He wasn't getting off work. He wasn't cleaning his gun. According to him, he wasn't asleep. She was. His story is "the gun was in the bed, I went to move it to put it to the side and it went off."

I think he'd be better off using one of the made up stories here TBH.

 

[allisolm]

I think he'd be better off using one of the made up stories here TBH.

So true.

 

[Subyman]

First of all, you don't EVER clean a gun with a round chambered. A police chief should be very well up to speed on gun safety rules, at least as much as I am, and the very first thing you do when you pick up a gun is check if its loaded and unload it if necessary. Secondly, modern handguns don't just "go off" if you drop it. The trigger must be pulled and impact with the ground doesn't do that unless it has an absurdly light "hair trigger" which his service weapon (barring dangerous modifications) doesn't have.

Furthermore the Glock 17 has a passive trigger safety. You must pull the trigger at the bottom (where your finger would normally rest versus the top). This prevents a huge number of accidental discharges from something other than your finger snagging the trigger. Generally the "something" is small because it fit into the trigger guard and the shape of the trigger will cause it to ride to the top which regardless of how much pressure is used will not disengage the passive safety mechanism.

Here is an illustration showing how it works.

Glock safety

What is the first step to cleaning a loaded gun? Oh, the gun is loaded. That right there is all the potential you need for an accident to happen.

I am not saying he was cleaning his gun. You guys are getting way too hung up on that. I'm saying there are potential scenarios which we know nothing about that may have caused an accidental discharge. He could have tried to murder his wife in cold blood. We don't have any facts. That is my point. Not that hard to understand.