The Danger of Pocket Carry (IMPD)

[El Tejon]

We've been over this many times at THR on the dangers of carrying pistols in your pockets, especially when little kids are killed by this stupidity. However, it has happened again. Stop doing this. It is dangerous to you and others around you and it is slow to action.

Do not listen to the Gun Shoppe Commandos who tell you it is "all you need." Buy a good holster AND good belt, put your pistol in said holster. Carry on then.

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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/LOCAL/712130526

Off-duty cop shoots self in foot

By Vic Ryckaert
[email protected]

An off-duty police officer shot himself in the foot at a Westside auto parts store Wednesday.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Thomas D Weida, 40, suffered a bullet wound to his right foot when his .45-caliber handgun accidentally discharged at the W I Motor Supply store, 4250 W. Morris St., at 3:15 p.m., according to a police report.

The gun was Weida's personal firearm and not department issue, police said. He was carrying it in his front pocket when it fired.
"When he reached in to his pocket to pull out his key ring it became entangled in the trigger of the pistol and it discharged," Sgt. Paul Thompson said in a written statement.

Weida was taken to Methodist Hospital in good condition, Thompson said.
No one else was injured.

Weida, a nine-year veteran, is assigned to the department's traffic section.

 

[Hokkmike]

Thanks for the good word. Sometimes when I get "lazy" I throw my .380 in my pocket. No more.

 

[BryanP]

The only way to pocket carry is with a proper pocket holster.

 

[TexasRifleman]

As the story shows here it's not pocket carry that is the danger, it's carelessness.

I pocket carry my KelTec but nothing is ever in the pocket with it, and it's in a Nemesis to keep things covered.
Why would you ever put anything else in that pocket? That's just dumb.

There is no safe method of carry if the brain of the carrier is not engaged.

Blame the user, not the tool used, just like everything else gun related.

 

[VARifleman]

I agree with TR. This is not because of pocketcarry, but because the guy carried other things in thes same pocket.

 

[crankshop1000]

Glockleg...HooRah, pixiedust!

 

[RKBABob]

When he reached in to his pocket to pull out his key ring it became entangled in the trigger...

Please, do not use your triggerguard as a key ring!!!

Weida, a nine-year veteran, is assigned to the department's traffic section.

Well, they can't put him on foot patrol now!

 

[romma]

Yup, Keltec Nemesis holster front pocket nothing else in it...

 

[fletcher]

As the story shows here it's not pocket carry that is the danger, it's carelessness.

+1. Pocket carry is not a problem, risk, or danger, etc., just don't be stupid about it. When I pocket carry, I use a holster, and have nothing in that pocket that can catch on the firearm. No risk at all.

 

[40SW]

Pocket carry is not dangerous. Negligence and stupidy are.
I agree 100%, Get a good holster. I use a variety of carrying options, including pocket carry, it is determined by my wardrobe and situation.
This individual should not have mixed the key chain and the rig in the same pocket. When I pocket carry, the only thing in that designated pocket is the firearm and the holster, the key chain and wallet are in another pocket.
Accidental discharges don't exist, Negligent discharges do. The method of carry is not to blame. The individual is.

 

[RangerVA]

Yup, Keltec Nemesis holster front pocket nothing else in it...

+1 That's how I roll

 

[jackstinson]

This kind of reinforces the need for training before getting a CCW/CHL. I'm fairly certain that the LEO was trained and knew better....or at least he should have known and I'll bet he does now.
In Ohio, we are required to carry in a holster. You can't just throw a loose handgun into your pocket. I also usually carry a P3AT in a DeSantis Nemesis holster in either my front jeans pocket or my jacket pocket. I'd never put keys or anything else into that same pocket.
The rare times I carry something larger than the P3AT, it's in a holster on my belt. And I am sure no one has ever accidentally discharged a firearm from a belt holster....uh right.
Jack

 

[tnieto2004]

He shouldn't keep his keys in his pocket with his gun .. Pocket carry is fine if you do it right..

 

[Roswell 1847]

Quote:
When he reached in to his pocket to pull out his key ring it became entangled in the trigger...

Please, do not use your triggerguard as a key ring!!!

My older brother had a Colt style single shot derringer in his front pocket and caught his keyring around the hammer spur. When he yanked out his keys the gun went off and missed the family jewels by a fraction of an inch and set his pants to smoldering.

 

[Tommygunn]

It's not pocket carry per se that's dangerous. In this case he kept keys in the same pocket. If you want to pocket carry, the pocket should be used ONLY for the gun. No keys, flashlights, pens, loose change, paper money, or anything else.
It is probably a good idea to get a holster, but pocket carry can be done right too.

 

[GigaBuist]

his .45-caliber handgun

Okay, who makes a .45 that can be pocketed?

 

[TexasRifleman]

I'm fairly certain that the LEO was trained and knew better....or at least he should have known and I'll bet he does now.

Why would you think that? I bet there is zero training on proper concealed pocket carry as part of an LEOs training.

This has nothing to do with training, this is common sense and unfortunately that can't be taught.

I can never understand why people assume that cops have more training on guns than anyone else. Guns and their use are 5 percent or less of what cops do every day.

I suspect that 90 percent of us on THR spend more time reading about, thinking about, and using, guns than the average LEO.

 

[Biker]

AMT.380 DAO Backup in my left hip pocket behind a folded up sheet of paper or behind my bandanna. Handy, concealed and safe. Good little Bug.

Biker

 

[fletcher]

Okay, who makes a .45 that can be pocketed?

I thought the same thing

????

 

[PennsyPlinker]

I pocket carry all the time, with Nemesis pocket holsters for a variety of guns. I can stuff a Kel Tec P3AT, a S&W 638-2, a Taurus PT-145 Mil Pro, or a CZ 75 P-01 in my pocket as long as they are in DeSantis holsters. A gun with no holster is way too scary. I would be afraid of shooting off other important parts besides my foot.

Nothing else goes in that pocket (most of the time), but when I accidentally put something in, the holster is what keeps me from shooting myself in the foot, or in the aforementioned other important parts.

 

[40SW]

"Okay, who makes a .45 that can be pocketed? " quote.

Glock model 36 + cargo pants+ galco leather.
Still counts as a pocket.

 

[M2 Carbine]

"When he reached in to his pocket to pull out his key ring it became entangled in the trigger of the pistol and it discharged," Sgt. Paul Thompson said in a written statement.

Rule number one when using any machinery, whether it's a gun or chain saw, you have to be smarter than the machinery.

There's nothing wrong with proper pocket carry, unless of course you walk around with your head up your butt.

 

[Mulliganpaintdee]

Sorry if this is an old or previous post, but you should check out this youtube video on a certain pocket carrier and how careless he was

WARNING: May not be suitable for some viewers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xr1t881e6c&feature=related

 

[Roswell 1847]

Several pocket pistols I've cleaned up show unusualy heavy rust pitting at the muzzle while theres none further back where you'd expect to see more.
I figured out why after an old timer brought in his personal pocket gun still in a pocket holster he'd made probably thirty years before.
The stitching had come loose at the toe and the bore of his pistol was completely plugged with pocket lint the consistency of felt.
I later noticed that after carrying a small revolver in the pocket for only a couple of hours that pocket lint coated the first inch of the bore.
Pocket lint would leech away protexctive oils and draw moisture inducing localised rust.

 

[jackstinson]

Okay, who makes a .45 that can be pocketed?

The "DOWNSIZER WSP" in .45 ACP

I can never understand why people assume that cops have more training on guns than anyone else.

Most likely because they carry guns as part of their job. I know it's unfair to think that anyone knows more about guns than THR forum members.
Is Ohio the only state which requires firearm qualification for all LEO's within the state? Yikes!
Jack