Jump to content

The gun just "went off"?


Recommended Posts

Of course we all know that 99.9% of the time the trigger is pulled when a negligent discharge happens. I am curious about a sad incident many years ago, I commented on a Youtube video about negligent discharges not to try to catch a falling gun/handgun, it's safer to let it hit the ground. The incident was, I believe it was in Smyrna when a LEO was leaving the jail and retrieving his Glock from the locker it fell out of the holster and he grabbed it shooting himself in the artery in the thigh. If I remember right he did live but required many pints of blood and lost his leg because of it. I can't find any story about that on the internet, probably because it happened so long ago. Does anyone remember this? I will still tell anyone who asks me about firearms, DO NOT try to catch a falling gun, and also, don't drop your gun.

Link to comment

I remember not long ago an officer was playing with his firearm at the Smyrna Town Hall and it "just" went off.

 

I did find that story, I believe it was determined that he dropped it and grabbed at it. HMMM?

Link to comment

http://www.dnj.com/story/news/2015/02/27/swat-commander-misfires-gun-carpet-smyrna-town-hall/24144261/

 

A 25-year officer with Smyrna who has been chief for eight years, Arnold said his department has had four or five incidents involving officer guns firing by mistake. Only one of those in 1998 involved an injury to Officer Muhammad Ali (formerly known as Robert Ladell Haynes).

"He almost died," Arnold said.

The chief recalled that Ali is now on disability after being shot in the groin and losing a leg when he went to pick up a prisoner in Nashville and dropped a pistol after reaching for it in a metal box that holds weapons while lawmen are at the prison. 

 

You should be able to take it from there with his name if this is the one you recall.

Edited by Jonnin
Link to comment

http://www.dnj.com/story/news/2015/02/27/swat-commander-misfires-gun-carpet-smyrna-town-hall/24144261/

 

A 25-year officer with Smyrna who has been chief for eight years, Arnold said his department has had four or five incidents involving officer guns firing by mistake. Only one of those in 1998 involved an injury to Officer Muhammad Ali (formerly known as Robert Ladell Haynes).

"He almost died," Arnold said.

The chief recalled that Ali is now on disability after being shot in the groin and losing a leg when he went to pick up a prisoner in Nashville and dropped a pistol after reaching for it in a metal box that holds weapons while lawmen are at the prison. 

 

You should be able to take it from there with his name if this is the one you recall.

 

That's the one I remember, and I do remember it was said at the time he tried to catch the gun. That was a long time ago but even back then when I was on another forum on AOL dialup,  :biglol:  , we were talking about not trying to grab at a dropped gun.

 

Thanks for finding that.

Link to comment

 

The lieutenant and other Smyrna police are trained to let their falling guns land on the ground because the weapons are designed not to fire in such cases, the chief said.

Arnold said Barnes did what would be human nature to reach for something that was falling and forgetting the training to let the gun drop to the ground.
Link to comment
At what price point to you think a guy would let it go vs. try to save it?

Brand new $3000 'who cares what brand' custom or semi-custom pistol getting ready to hit gravel or unfinished concrete...I don't own anything quite that nice so I'll never be in that position of temptation.
Link to comment

You let it fall anyway.   Its not going to hurt it.  Cosmetic maybe but that can be buffed out and touched up.  Most of the $$$$ guns are large frame and wouldn't be easy to drop anyway.   You drop the high recoil light weight cheap stuff. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment

This is one of the reasons I went away from Glocks, and eventually away from 1911 for EDC.   I know better than to try to catch a dropped handgun, but butterfinger me, I did occasionally drop my Glock 30, and I couldnt break the instinctual habit of trying to catch it.  Never had a ND, but I figure it was only a matter of time, so I moved on.  1911s kinda similar, and I carry cocked and locked, but I thought with the safety, id be better off.  Being a big guy, I found, and still find that that the safety tends to disengage during the day as I move around.  Many times Id take the 1911 out of the holster at night and discover the safety off.  Scary.  I kept my 1911, but no longer EDC that gun.  Ive always liked high capacity, so I eventually went with the FN FNP-45 USG. With this baby, I can carry a round in the pipe, decocked with safety on.  Now, I STILL find the safety disengaged on occasion at night when i deholster, but I feel better with the first sdhoy double action, needing a stronger trigger pull.  I still work hard about not dropping the gun, and not grabbing for it when I do.

Link to comment

That's one of several reasons why I don't carry a Glock.

  1. Instinctive reaction (trying to catch something that's falling. It happens too fast to think.)
  2. Sympathetic reflex (the tendency to bend all fingers when gripping a handgun, or when it slips, or when attempting to adjust the grip)
  3. The possibility of something wedging into the trigger guard when holstering (belt, holster, shirt, etc)

I'm the type of guy who won't carry a new smartphone until I can get a protective case for it. I won't ride a bicycle to my neighbor's house without wearing a helmet. It's part of my philosophy of life. 

 

I'm okay with people who disagree. Carry whatever you like. Glocks are great to shoot. I own one.

Link to comment

You let it fall anyway.   Its not going to hurt it.  Cosmetic maybe but that can be buffed out and touched up.  Most of the $$$$ guns are large frame and wouldn't be easy to drop anyway.   You drop the high recoil light weight cheap stuff. 

 

No gun is worth shooting yourself in the artery, or anywhere else as far as that goes. I would say to get the instinct of grabbing at a falling gun out of your mind, you would have to get the instinct of grabbing at anything that was dropped and falling. 

Link to comment

I agree, never, ever try to catch a dropped gun. 

 

I have heard of one instance where a pistol went off by itself.  It was a 1911 with a "trigger job".  It was sitting on a bookcase cocked and thought to be locked, and no one was in the room.  The owner heard the boom and when he went to investigate he found the pistol in the floor with the safety off and a hole in the bookcase and adjacent wall.  He took it to a gunsmith and was shown the buggered trigger.  Basically angles were wrong which allowed something in the mechanism to creep.  I'm not familiar enough with 1911 triggers to explain exactly what.  Apparently at some point he bumped the safety and disengaged it before sitting it on the bookcase.  They replaced nearly everything in it and it was fine after that. 

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

TRADING POST NOTICE

Before engaging in any transaction of goods or services on TGO, all parties involved must know and follow the local, state and Federal laws regarding those transactions.

TGO makes no claims, guarantees or assurances regarding any such transactions.

THE FINE PRINT

Tennessee Gun Owners (TNGunOwners.com) is the premier Community and Discussion Forum for gun owners, firearm enthusiasts, sportsmen and Second Amendment proponents in the state of Tennessee and surrounding region.

TNGunOwners.com (TGO) is a presentation of Enthusiast Productions. The TGO state flag logo and the TGO tri-hole "icon" logo are trademarks of Tennessee Gun Owners. The TGO logos and all content presented on this site may not be reproduced in any form without express written permission. The opinions expressed on TGO are those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the site's owners or staff.

TNGunOwners.com (TGO) is not a lobbying organization and has no affiliation with any lobbying organizations.  Beware of scammers using the Tennessee Gun Owners name, purporting to be Pro-2A lobbying organizations!

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to the following.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines
 
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.