Off Duty Police Officer Shoots Himself

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Lesson: FOLLOW THE FOUR RULES



An unholstered handgun doesn't belong in your pocket, especially a striker fired semi auto.

An elevator, one handed, while holding a box with your other hand, while talking to a random person, is not the time/place to handle a loaded gun.

Keep your finger off the freaking trigger!
 
He dropped the doughnuts and he tried to lie about it going off in his holster. Good thing it was caught on tape or else the antis would be having another field day about how guns are inherently unsafe. It looked like he flagged his wife with the muzzle a few times too.

Bullet physics question: I have been told that the lead core will liquify when it hits steel which is why we see the spray in a line about three feet infront of a steel target, so how much mass and velocity do you think was retained by the time the bullet hit the officer after the two ricochets?

Unless he loaded all copper bullets, he may have only been hit with a fragment of the separated jacket at low velocity.
 
Couple things we can all learn from this video:

-finger off trigger until ready to shoot. This guy was a cop for 25 years and still screwed up. It can happen. Be vigilant.

-never try to shoot to incapacitate someone. This guy got shot in the leg with what I can only assume was duty hp ammo and he just walks out of the elevator, doesn't even fall down! Shoot to stop the threat and keep shooting if needed.
 
Well, at least she saved the donuts... He puts it in his pocket, takes it right back out? I have done dumb things before too. Buddy of mine carried a 22 darringer in his pocket for years. It was a $75 POS. It went off one night when he was taking his pants off. He swears he wasn't touching it.
 
Couple things we can all learn from this video:

-finger off trigger until ready to shoot. This guy was a cop for 25 years and still screwed up. It can happen. Be vigilant.

-never try to shoot to incapacitate someone. This guy got shot in the leg with what I can only assume was duty hp ammo and he just walks out of the elevator, doesn't even fall down! Shoot to stop the threat and keep shooting if needed.
Click to expand...

He did go down and almost went down a second time. He had trouble getting off the elevator. He was NOT shot in the leg. He was shot in the stomach.

If you go frame by frame, you can see his finger is indexed along the slide when the spent case is ejecting from the gun. You can see the coat it pulled out with the gun at the time of the firing, ostensibly entangled with the trigger.

This was interesting. The claim is being made that the round ricocheted off the elevator door and then struck him in the stomach...
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news...mble-with-gun-before-shooting-self-in-stomach

Also stated it was a ricochet.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/05/darryl-jouett-shoots-himself-in-the-stomach_n_6420688.html

I don't see any evidence in the video of a ricochet.
 
Why in the world did he even take it out? That was his first mistake
Click to expand...
looks like he was showing it to the woman. I suspect from the video he was trying to put it back in his pocket with his finger on the trigger

I saw a line here once to the effect "every time you handle a gun, you've bought a ticket to the lottery of negligent discharge"

Handling a loaded gun like a toy is beyond foolish.

And, this is one of the reasons I got a Shield that has an external safety
 
A safe gun is a HOLSTERED gun. When CCWing keep it there.

He had no call to mess with it. Fortunately he didn't kill is wife or any other unfortunate soul that would have been there (or if the door opened they would have been shot as they entered.)

Been packing CCW for 20 years using 1911, SIG traditional DA/SA, S&W 3ed Gen, Kahr, Glock, various revolvers and never had an ND/AD. And yes packed the 1911 cocked and locked, the Kahr K9 has a very light but long trigger, my Glocks have NY-1/3.5 lb connectors, and of course the revolves are revolvers.

Plus 30+ years of IPSC and IDPA and no ND/AD as well as 40+ years of hunting.

Once I leave the house the gun stays where it is in the holster.

And of course, KYFFOTFT.

Oh, and I've heard of several cops, even chiefs, shooting themselves with their guns. The more you handle the gun, especially fully loaded ones you are carrying, the more chance you will make a mistake.

This guy made that mistake. Learn from him.

A safe gun is a holstered gun!

Deaf
 
No guns, no badge for that dolt. That was not an accident. That was complete irresponsibility. No excuse for his actions at all. He makes responsible gun owners and cops look bad.
 
So that's how it went down. Bet that was loud in the elevator. My guess is he removed the gun from the holster, was fumbling with the gun and coat trying to return the gun to holster. Managed to get a finger on the trigger during this fiasco and the gun went bang. No surprise here and yes, this was a result of negligence.

Ron
 
If you go frame by frame with the video, as the spent case ejects from the gun, the officer's finger is on the slide.

Officershot.gif

Kudos to the wife for not panicking. She got the elevator headed back to the ground floor and was on the phone to 911 ASAP.
 
James Yeager, guns.....

I've only viewed the video a few times but Id add a few points....
From the way the off duty cop acted with the small pistol, he seemed to be a tad ambivalent about gun safety & CCW. :uhoh:

Youtube host & tactics trainer James Yeager made the point that being in a rush or being careless is the main cause of most ADs with CCW guns or incidents.
I agree with that remark 100%. Guns are not toys, props, gadgets or accessories. They are lethal weapons that can injury or kill someone.
The off duty cop should have waited until his companion closed the door, then hand her the box, then check the pistol. :rolleyes:
Cops and security officers(among other armed occupations) get lax around guns all the time. More effort & dillegence needs to be used with CCed handguns.
It's sad that the off duty officer now has a stomach/lower torso wound to always remind him of his mishap.
 
The Officer enters the elevator with his wife. They are talking. He begins to fiddle with his gun at his waist band and does this for a few seconds. Then he decides to move the gun to his coat pocket. he fumbles doing that and shoots himself in the stomach.

Why he decides to move the gun (good reason? bad reason?) we don't know, not yet anyway. But it was a poor time to do it (carrying on a conversation while carrying a package) in a poor public place for it, into a pocket that was closed and not easy to access one handed. Several rungs on a ladder of things that he fell off of.

Too careless and complacent and not concentrating on what appears to be an easy task. Easy with a pen or a piece of paper but guns is guns and they be dangerous.

The bullet may have hit him or shrapnel from it. That's not clear yet and maybe don't matter that much as either way he shot himself. Bullets don't splatter unless they hit full on. If at an angle they can ricochet.

At any rate it meets the criteria for a one shot stop.

The fella is doomed to be a minor YouTube immortal.

tipoc
 
True....

I agree with post #19.
His mishap will be viewed and reviewed for a long long time. :rolleyes:
I would add that I would not call him a dolt or a moron.
He wasn't doing the actions on purpose he just got distracted or was in a rush. :uhoh:
Youtube.com is filled with gun mishaps and NDs. Many are shooters or armed professionals who made a error or bad choice at the wrong time.
They aren't bad people or "stupid" they just made a tragic mistake.

Rusty
 
As for why he was handling the gun- one of the early news reports said he planned to have it in his hand as they walked through a parking garage...presumably in a dicey part of town.
 
RustyShackelford said:
Youtube host & tactics trainer James Yeager made the point that being in a rush or being careless is the main cause of most ADs with CCW guns or incidents.
Click to expand...

Calling him a trainer is a misnomer. He has slightly more experience than your average concealed carrier because he was a defense contractor. He is little more than a loudmouth internet personality.

Being a police officer doesn't make this any better or worse. Many departments qualify once or twice a year because of budget or time. How many people do we know who carry daily but only go to range once or twice a year? Not many I would say. I try to go to the range at least once a month to practice, not to mention get away from the wife for a few hours.

He messed up and quite terribly. The 4 rules and adherence to them would not have stopped this negligence. He was fooling around with the firearm in his pocket in public, came out and went off. If a gun is falling, let it fall. Unless it is a very old firearm, it is drop safe.
 
Quote from immediately above by herrwalker:
"If a gun is falling, let it fall."

That right there should be added to any firearms safety rules.

What I like about it is that your rule provides sound practical advice that might just prevent someone from grabbing at a falling gun, the way that we all grab at a falling set of keys.

Since it is our instinct to grab at things (even a falling knife) it would be helpful, for new and old shooters alike, to be reminded of what can happen when grabbing at a dropped gun.
 
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