Hug triggers officer's gun, kills woman at party for her birthday

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http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ass&action=1&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_USNWU00L1_UNEWS

DETROIT (AP) — A woman celebrating the weekend before her 25th birthday was fatally shot Sunday when she hugged an off-duty police officer while dancing at a party, causing the officer's service weapon to fire, according to police and her mother.

Adaisha Miller would have turned 25 on Monday, according to her mother, Yolanda McNair.


Little more at link....
 
Do guns not have safeties on them? Don't they work?
 
You would think so, Nova, it doesn't say what exactly happened for the gun to go off but at least they are investigating it:

Stephens said the Detroit officer will remain on administrative duties while authorities investigate the shooting and report their findings to the Wayne County prosecutor. The officer's name was not released.
 
I don't know what kind of gun he was carrying, obviously, but Glocks do not have conventional safeties on them. They have a safety feature on the trigger rather than a conventional thumb safety on the slide. But it still should prevent an accidental discharge.

To prevent this from happening to me:

1. I don't dance, on duty or off duty.
2. I don't hug anyone on duty, or off when I am carrying (which is usually).

I don't shake hands either.

Edit: Sounds like the officer had it in a shoulder holster based on the article....woman hugged him from behind and gun discharged into her chest.
 
How horrible! I would have never thought that could happen.
 
This is why I never have one in the chamber. Too easy for someone to run up and hug me or some other off the wall action that could cause it to fire.
 
I know a cop whose weapon discharged when getting into the patrol car. She shot the car, thank God, and not anyone.

How horrible for this family...how utterly tragic.

Best-
Herding Cats
 
:heartbeat: :angel: :heartbeat:


What a freaky horrible thing to happen!
RIP to the almost 25-yr old young woman. Prayers to the loved ones!!

Thanks to the officer for all of the information and safety advice he provided.
 
PATX ..... WELCOME TO WS!! I JUST NOTICED!



:fireworks: :welcome5: :wagon: :welcome4: :fireworks:






PATX said:
I don't know what kind of gun he was carrying, obviously, but Glocks do not have conventional safeties on them. They have a safety feature on the trigger rather than a conventional thumb safety on the slide. But it still should prevent an accidental discharge.

To prevent this from happening to me:

1. I don't dance, on duty or off duty.
2. I don't hug anyone on duty, or off when I am carrying (which is usually).

I don't shake hands either.

Edit: Sounds like the officer had it in a shoulder holster based on the article....woman hugged him from behind and gun discharged into her chest.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you!

I don't have the link handy, but you can go to youtube and search for "DEA Agent shoots himself" and see a video of an accidental discharge. It is NOT graphic. You can hear the shot, but you see no blood, etc.

(The agent shot himself in the leg while giving a talk about gun safety to school children.....)

The bottom line is be careful with firearms.
 
My brother was a cop in California for a while. Once, while dropping his pants to use the toilet, his gun discharged, and the toilet suffered a fatal injury. His department, as a punishment, had my brother make a safety video on how not to shoot toilets. I'm hoping that video is still around somewhere, 'cuz I would love topost it on Facebook!
 
So for those of us who don't know guns, the bottom line is what? Safeties don't work?

And why would any officer use a loaded gun in a demonstration for school children? He's LUCKY he only shot himself.

And, of course, he's lucky that he managed to fire right after the line "I'm the only one in here who's professional enough to use a Glock .40." Because that line made the video perfect.
 
Nova said:
And, of course, he's lucky that he managed to fire right after the line "I'm the only one in here who's professional enough to use a Glock .40." Because that line made the video perfect.
Click to expand...

Indeed.
 
Detroit chief says shooting after hug was accident

http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ass&action=4&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_USNWU00L4_UNEWS

DETROIT (AP) — The death of a woman shot in the chest after she hugged an off-duty police officer from behind during a party is a tragic, unfathomable accident, Detroit's police chief said Monday...........

Godbee said the gun was in a waist holster made of soft material, which would have allowed the trigger to be activated. He said there's no evidence the officer fired the gun, and he believes the gun discharged after Miller hugged the officer from behind during a party at the officer's home.............. Police union lawyer John Goldpaugh said the officer didn't know Miller.

"This was just a freak accident," Goldpaugh told the Detroit Free Press. "They were having a party and the next thing, a woman is dead. He's devastated by what happened."

More at link....
 
http://centurylink.net/news/read.php?rip_id=<D9VTKKA01@news.ap.org>&ps=931

DETROIT (AP) —

........."Why do you need a gun at your own house? Why do you need a gun at your own party?" she asked. McNair said she would be watching the police investigation closely.

Detroit police officers have the option of carrying their weapons while off-duty. The model issued by the department has a safety mechanism built into the trigger.

The Smith & Wesson M&P primarily was designed for police and military use. It does not have a safety switch, but the trigger has to be pulled back completely for the gun to fire, certified firearms instructor Rick Ector said.

Ector said that if properly holstered, the gun cannot be fired accidentally.

David Balash, a former Michigan State Police firearms examiner, said the investigation also should look at the gun's angle given that Miller was shot in the chest.

"What's going to be very important here is the angle of the entry of the wound to the victim (and) if there is in fact any gunpowder residue," Balash said. "I'm having a great deal of difficulty understanding how a weapon that's pointed at the ground can be turned literally 110 degrees minimum to be in an upward position to strike someone."


Good questions IMO....
 
I don't understand how she was shot in the chest either. Shouldn't the gun have been pointing downward? Or did this police officer holster it pointing up?
 
Is a "soft" holster one that can be moved around, unlike leather holsters?

Did she perhaps hug him around the waist and accidentally push the end of the gun upwards?

Is there any way in this type holster that the gun can be discarged by action outside of the holster?

Does this particular gun automatically "lock" the trigger when you holster it, or is it locked by an action taken by the user?

I don't know anything at all about guns except that they are scary. Forgive dumb questions.
 
I don't understand either? How did it shoot her in the chest? Was she on her knees when she hugged him from behind? How in the world did it go in her chest? How awful and tragic. I can't imagine how horrible and sad the family feels - and what about that poor cop! OMG!

I wonder if it was his police weapon? And if so, are officers allowed to carry them while off duty? Cause around here - an officer isn't even suppose to be in uniform when off duty! I have a friend who is a cop. She told me she isn't even suppose to stop by the grocery store while still in her uniform once her shift is over.
 
Gypsy Road said:
I don't understand either? How did it shoot her in the chest? Was she on her knees when she hugged him from behind? How in the world did it go in her chest? How awful and tragic. I can't imagine how horrible and sad the family feels - and what about that poor cop! OMG!

I wonder if it was his police weapon? And if so, are officers allowed to carry them while off duty? Cause around here - an officer isn't even suppose to be in uniform when off duty! I have a friend who is a cop. She told me she isn't even suppose to stop by the grocery store while still in her uniform once her shift is over.
Click to expand...

"Dancing exotically on her knees" was the last that I heard on a local radio station but there is nothing on the WWJ website. The victim was also said to be intoxicated. According to reports, it was the off-duty officer's police weapon.

News on WDIV now. Hopefully there will be new information on the www.clickondetroit.com website shortly.

This article from The Detroit News hasn't been updated since it was posted at 1:00AM.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...ise-doubts?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
 
BetteDavisEyes said:
"Dancing exotically on her knees" was the last that I heard on a local radio station but there is nothing on the WWJ website. The victim was also said to be intoxicated. According to reports, it was the off-duty officer's police weapon.

News on WDIV now. Hopefully there will be new information on the www.clickondetroit.com website shortly.

This article from The Detroit News hasn't been updated since it was posted at 1:00AM.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...ise-doubts?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Click to expand...

Thanks for the new article!

But he allowed that someone, somehow, "manipulated" the trigger to make the weapon fire. That model gun isn't equipped with an external safety but has a safety mechanism built into the trigger, Godbee said.

Godbee said the off-duty holster the officer carried was soft enough for the trigger to be manipulated.

Still, it raises questions on how the trigger was pulled while the gun was holstered — questions that will be answered in the course of the investigation, Godbee said.

"The story just really isn't plausible," said David Malhalab, a Detroit police sergeant who retired in 2005 and is a blogger on Detroit issues. "The department needs to investigate thoroughly and make all the facts known and proceed in an ethical and lawful manner."...............

According to Detroit Police Department policy, it's at the officer's discretion to carry a weapon off duty. If an officer does carry one, it must be concealed and holstered.

Godbee vowed the department would fully investigate Miller's death.
Click to expand...
 
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