Police marksman accidentally shoots civilian/ UK

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doubleg

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"A police marksman is under investigation after accidentally shooting a colleague in an extraordinary blunder.

The victim, a civilian employee, was seriously injured in the accident at a lecture room at the HQ of Thames Valley Police near Oxford.

He was apparently being shown the workings of a police Glock pistol when it went off, blasting him in the torso.

The victim, aged in his 50s, was left writhing in agony with blood pouring from the wound.

He underwent emergency surgery and his condition was described as serious but stable.

The hugely embarrassing incident prompted a major internal investigation and stunned officers.

One police source at the HQ said: "There are a lot of red faces about this. Why the hell was an experienced firearms officer demonstrating with a loaded pistol in an enclosed environment?

"Someone’s head will have to roll."

The victim was among a group of about a dozen civilian employees attending a pre-lunch lecture at the Kidlington headquarters when the blunder happened.

New employees were being shown the work of the tactical firearms unit when the gun went off and the man was hit at close range.

He was taken by ambulance to hospital in a serious condition, having lost "a lot of blood".

The police source added: "There was a tremendous hoo-haa as it was realised the gun which he was showing off had actually 'got one up the spout' and had shot one of his colleagues.

"There was lots of claret (blood) about as a result of the shooting and the officer was immediately suspended and his gun seized."

In a statement the IPCC said: "We are conducting an independent investigation into the discharge of a Thames Valley Police firearm that occurred yesterday.

"The incident occurred during a Thames Valley Police firearms awareness training course, when one bullet was discharged, wounding a member of police staff (a control room operator) in the torso.

"The wounded man, who is in his 50s, is in hospital in Oxford and is in a serious but stable condition.

"The firearms awareness session was taking place in a room on police property in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and involved 11 police control room operators from across the force.

"Thames Valley Police referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and IPCC investigators have attended the scene of the discharge today, and begun to gather evidence."

IPCC Commissioner Deborah Glass added: "I have decided that we should conduct an independent investigation, using our own investigators, to establish the circumstances of this incident.

"The investigation will examine how live ammunition came to be present in a firearm during an awareness session and consider whether any criminal or disciplinary offences have been committed."

She added that details of the police marksman who fired the gun would be a matter for Thames Valley Police to reveal if they wished. "

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=458951&in_page_id=1770
 
when it went off, blasting him in the torso.

The victim, aged in his 50s, was left writhing in agony with blood pouring from the wound.
The British never cease to amaze me with the spin they put on these things. The EVIL weapon, just "went off" "blasting" the man... "writhing in agony in a pool of blood"

Come on............
 
Im not at all surprised. The British police have got to be significantly less weapons-trained than the average American cop.
 
Professional

Well, it's good to know there's someone over there professional enough to handle that Glock.
 
This is also on the BBC site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/6706711.stm

Police employee shot in training
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is to use its own staff to probe how a police support worker was shot in a firearms training session.

The unnamed civilian employee was injured during a Thames Valley Police "firearms awareness training session" at Kidlington in Oxfordshire.

The wounded man remained in a serious but stable condition in hospital after the incident on Wednesday afternoon.

The IPCC was called in to investigate by Thames Valley Police.

'Criminal or disciplinary offences'

IPCC commissioner Deborah Glass said: "I have decided that we should conduct an independent investigation, using our own investigators, to establish the circumstances of this incident.

"The investigation will examine how live ammunition came to be present in a firearm during an awareness session, and consider whether any criminal or disciplinary offences have been committed."

The awareness session is part of an induction for police support staff to provide them with basic firearms awareness.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: "The session, held yesterday, was for call takers who have a key role to play to gaining information to assist in the force's spontaneous response to firearms incidents."

The sessions - run by fully trained firearms officers - are held throughout the year usually on a six to eight week basis.
 
"Someone’s head will have to roll."
Don'tcha just love bureacratic twitch-response? If something bad has happened, someone must pay. Period. It's not possible for Bad Things (TM) to occur on their own, seperate and unrelated to any human activity or decision, rather, all possible events must somehow be tied to someone, somewhere.

It's the phrasing that really gets me. Not "Someone's head will likely roll" or "Someone may have been at fault", but rather an assertion that punishment will, and must, be doled out on schedule and in accordance with natural bureacratic law.

Maybe I'm reading into it a bit too much. Or maybe it's just yet another symptom of mass stupidity.
 
They shouldn't be armed to begin with. If the lower subjects cannot be armed with said weapons then there is no need for the crown's guard to have those weapons either.

After all, they banned all the evil weapons so there is no more need for anyone to patrol the streets with them.
 
When the Brits first set up a police force

they didn't trust them with firearms. They still don't, but what can you do under a dictatorship?:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
Not only do guns go off by themselves,

but ammunition apparently loads itself. It may, though, commit an infraction of the law in doing so.

"The investigation will examine how live ammunition came to be present in a firearm during an awareness session, and consider whether any criminal or disciplinary offences have been committed."
 
1.) Handle every firearm like it was loaded. X (Stupid)
2.) Never point a firearm at anything you are no willing to destroy or kill. X (Beyond stupid)
3.) Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot. X (Especially when it's pointed at YOU)
4.) Always be sure of your target and what is beyond it. X (... this moron is batting a 1000)

I'm guessing they didn't get to the part about Cooper's 4 rules?
 
Im not at all surprised. The British police have got to be significantly less weapons-trained than the average American cop.

How about... The British police have got to be significantly less weapons-trained than the average American boy scout.

That being said, we invented computers because if we do something 1000 times, we're probably going to screw it up at least once. Most people have probably dry fired a gun that they didn't intend to, knowing it was a mistake as they were doing it. Sometimes the brain goes on automatic pilot and forgets to mention it to the reason control center. :) This guy was unfortunate enough to screw up more than 3 things at the same time.

No excuse for it, but when I think of all the stupid things I've done, gun related and other, I'm surprised I'm not dead. Must suck for the cop. How does that hit you in the first few seconds when you see the hole show up and then the bleeding. *shudder* I wouldn't want to be him right now.
 
The British never cease to amaze me with the spin they put on these things. The EVIL weapon, just "went off" "blasting" the man... "writhing in agony in a pool of blood"

Are you saying that Americans never talk about guns just "going off"? :scrutiny:
 
If the british police weren't armed how could they defend themselves against malicious furniture movers and escaping commuters.
 
"I have decided that we should conduct an independent investigation, using our own investigators
How the hell does that work?

Rasta-Narc was better, he shot himself. I can laugh at that. This poor guy was there to learn how to handle them safely and got a a really personal lesson on the opposite.
 
So, what, did Rasta-Narc get tired of being ridiculed in the States? He up and move to Jolly ol' England thinking no one would notice?
 
A slight mis-quoting of the 4 rules.

Rule number one should read:
"1. The gun is always loaded."
Every person "accidently" shot was shot with a gun that someone "thought was unloaded".
You can render a gun "safe" you cannot render it "unloaded". That means that even in "Safe" condition it is still loaded, and still handled that way.
And yes, the shooter violated every one of the rules.
The gun didn't "Go off", it was fired. Muzzle pointed at someone, finger on the trig/boom. That's no accident, that is negligence.
 
The unnamed civilian employee was injured during a Thames Valley Police "firearms awareness training session"
I bet you they're all pretty freaking aware now.

Unfortunately, the lesson learned from this will be further restrictions on even the police, as opposed to the real solution, which is wider use, knowledge and awareness. One or two casual shooters in the room to remind Sergent Itchy McTriggerfinger to not point the thing at someone and to make sure the weapon was clear before casual handling would've prevented this.
 
Ok I'm a bad person and I'm ok with that...

that being said; too bad for the guy with the GSW....but, I will NEVER get over the British style of writing.

"I say there good chap, terribly sorry, but apparently I had one up the spout and have rawther blasted you. Dear me; claret everywhere and a tremendous hoo-haa. I'm rawther red faced."

I can't help but see this as a Monty Python skit.
 
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