Former cop sues Kentucky hunting store after accidentally shooting off his own finger

http://www.remington.com/10commandments

1 Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

2 Firearms should be unloaded when not actually in use.

3 Don't rely on your gun's safety.

4 Be sure of your target and what's beyond it.

5 Use proper ammunition.

6 If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, handle with care.

7 Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting.

8 Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before shooting.

9 Don't alter or modify your gun and have it serviced regularly.

10 Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the firearm you are using.
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I have made it a habit to make sure that not only a gun, handed to me, is unloaded, I also look through the chamber and down the barrel to see if it is free of any obstructions.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
The gun was loaded , so I guess the cop did not know that and he could have a strong case. Can you tell when a gun is loaded is it heaver ?
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Gun owners have drilled into them the message that you treat every firearm like it's loaded, even if you know it isn't, and that you never point it at anyone. It sound to me that this cop lacked serious understanding of the basic fundamentals of gun handling. Maybe he shouldn't be a cop? Sounds like someone wasn't paying attention to the NRA instructor when discussing how to handle firearms. The only one to blame for the negligent discharge is him.

Laura
 
jonnyghost said:
You see variations on this but basically here is safe gun handling procedure.

1. Treat every firearm as if it's loaded. FAIL
2. Never point a firearm at anything you are not willing to destroy. FAIL
3. Always be sure of your target and what is beyond it. FAIL
4. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are on target and ready to fire. FAIL

Cop failed them all!
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Oh, it happened at the gun shop (not the shooting range) so the customer is not at fault since the retailer gave him a loaded gun. Very simple! What do you mean by number 4? It's not allowed inside the gun shops.
 
Lau2046 said:
Gun owners have drilled into them the message that you treat every firearm like it's loaded, even if you know it isn't, and that you never point it at anyone. It sound to me that this cop lacked serious understanding of the basic fundamentals of gun handling. Maybe he shouldn't be a cop? Sounds like someone wasn't paying attention to the NRA instructor when discussing how to handle firearms. The only one to blame for the negligent discharge is him.

Laura
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He is a former cop , and I wonder why. :hmm: I was :shock: that the way he was handling the gun when I saw this on TV . He had his hand right on gun muzzle when it went off . Yeah , like I said my dad made that very clear to us kids to never aim the gun at a person keep it pointing to the ground. Dad had two rifles in the house and he kept them up high so we could not reach them , when got old enough to reach his guns he told us not to touch them but he also knew that we needed to know gun safety if we decided to disobey him . Smart dad.
 
Lau2046 said:
Gun owners have drilled into them the message that you treat every firearm like it's loaded, even if you know it isn't, and that you never point it at anyone. It sound to me that this cop lacked serious understanding of the basic fundamentals of gun handling. Maybe he shouldn't be a cop? Sounds like someone wasn't paying attention to the NRA instructor when discussing how to handle firearms. The only one to blame for the negligent discharge is him.

Laura
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I don't know what you are talking about because what about a first time gun buyer who comes into a gun shop and try a gun out? Do you expect him/her to inspect the gun to make sure it's not loaded? *smh* NRA has nothing to do with it. All gun shops (retailers) must follow the law for safety reasons. The gun shop made a honest mistake. It doesn't matter whether the customer is a cop, ex-cop, gun expert or newbie as Reba mentioned. In other words, the gun shop is fu*ked up for failing to inspect a gun before it's given to a customer.
 
CrazyPaul said:
I don't know what you are talking about because what about a first time gun buyer who comes into a gun shop and try a gun out? Do you expect him/her to inspect the gun to make sure it's not loaded? *smh* NRA has nothing to do with it. All gun shops (retailers) must follow the law for safety reasons. The gun shop made a honest mistake. It doesn't matter whether the customer is a cop, ex-cop, gun expert or newbie as Reba mentioned. In other words, the gun shop is fu*ked up for failing to inspect a gun before it's given to a customer.
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She said 'gun owners ' should know to treat every gun as loaded.
So you're getting bent out of place for nothing.
 
CrazyPaul said:
Oh, it happened at the gun shop (not the shooting range) so the customer is not at fault since the retailer gave him a loaded gun. Very simple! What do you mean by number 4? It's not allowed inside the gun shops.
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It doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing the rules ALWAYS apply. If you want to pull the trigger to get a feel for a gun it still needs to be pointed at a safe target that would stop a bullet in the event of a discharge.
 
jonnyghost said:
It doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing the rules ALWAYS apply. If you want to pull the trigger to get a feel for a gun it still needs to be pointed at a safe target that would stop a bullet in the event of a discharge.
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And you don't put your hand on the gun muzzle while trying to get feel for the trigger like the ex cop did.
 
He was a police officer at the time of the accident. (Note, he's wearing his uniform in the video.) He's only a "former" cop now because he can no longer work since his injury, according to the story.

It is ultimately the store employees' responsibility to check guns before they hand them over to customers in their store. The employees can't put that responsibility onto the customers, regardless of whatever expertise the customer might have.
 
va bowbender said:
firearms safety 101: Never point a gun at something you don't intend to shoot!

Firearms safety 102: Whenever anyone hands you a firearm you never assume it's safe/unloaded. You must check for yourself to be sure the gun is cleared!!!!

The cop is supposed to be trained in this...he's an idiot and it's his own fault. Not to say the shop isn't negligent. They should have made sure the gun was cleared as well.
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i repeat
 
VA Bowbender said:
i repeat
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Reasonably, yes, but we're discussing legal liability here.

The best the store owner can hope for is that the amount of the damages might be somewhat mitigated by the actions (or inactions) of the victim.

It's like an auto wreck where one driver runs a Stop sign, T-bones the other vehicle, and that driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, gets killed. Maybe the seat belt would have made the accident survivable. BUT if the first driver hadn't run the Stop sign, there would have been no wreck in the first place. The non-wearing of the seat belt doesn't get the first driver off the hook for running the Stop sign.

At least twice, the employees of the gun shop overlooked that round. Once, when the gun was placed in the display case, and twice when the gun was removed from the case. Who knows how many other times it had been handled prior to the accident?
 
It's really a moot point to my mind. Nobody is trying to get cars banned or made illegal to own. There are more unqualified drivers than there are gun owners. More people get off the hook for car fatalities than gun owners. Only gun owners are under a microscope. I'm sure no matter what is bantered in this thread the insurance companies will settle and the injured party will prevail. The burden was on the store to follow proper procedures and were negligent in that regard. That being said the buyer is still an idiot and a hazard to people and property.
 
Reba said:
Reasonably, yes, but we're discussing legal liability here.

The best the store owner can hope for is that the amount of the damages might be somewhat mitigated by the actions (or inactions) of the victim.

It's like an auto wreck where one driver runs a Stop sign, T-bones the other vehicle, and that driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, gets killed. Maybe the seat belt would have made the accident survivable. BUT if the first driver hadn't run the Stop sign, there would have been no wreck in the first place. The non-wearing of the seat belt doesn't get the first driver off the hook for running the Stop sign.

At least twice, the employees of the gun shop overlooked that round. Once, when the gun was placed in the display case, and twice when the gun was removed from the case. Who knows how many other times it had been handled prior to the accident?
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More like they both ran stops signs. Only the cop did it at 90mph while texting on his phone and changing the radio.
 
His lawsuit is based on the claim that he exercised reasonable care. What was reasonable about the way he handled the gun?
 
Former cop sues Kentucky hunting store after accidentally shooting off his ow...

Jonny, if it was "common sense" everybody would have it. That's why when you buy scissors, knives, etc the package has to read CAUTION (item) IS SHARP AND MAY INJURE HANDLER. There alway has to be a disclaimer. Idiots Abound.
Next they'll be imprinting on barrels BULLET COMES OUT OF THIS END OF THE TUBE.
 
Yea, the McD hot coffee lawsuit was the first thing to come to mind when i read it.
 
He's suing for lost income and punitive damages. Punitive damages make sense but lost income doesn't make sense. After 30 years in law enforcement, he should be receiving retirement benefits as well as SSDI if he paid SS taxes (since he's under 62-MRA). So I don't think a court will award it except punitive damages in case he wins.
 
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