Another Cop’s Gun Just “Goes Off”
BY Herschel Smith
10 years, 5 months ago
A Sweewater police officer was recovering Monday after his holstered gun discharged and hit him in the leg while he was chasing shoplifting suspects at Dolphin Mall.
The officer, Joel Bosque, was responding to a shoplifting report at the mall when he was injured. He was taken to the hospital and is “doing fine,” police spokesman Jorge Fernandez de Lara said.
Bosque, who has been with the department for a year, will likely be placed on administrative leave while Miami-Dade police investigate.
The incident happened on Sunday after four suspects took off through the sprawling mall, 11401 NW 12th St., from the Burlington Coat Factory.
According to police, four men were spotted shoplifting in the store by a loss prevention officer. When the officer tried to stop them, they took off in different directions.
Bosque and another officer were able to catch one of the four. The three others are still at large.
Darius Brown, 18, was charged with felony theft, robbery and resisting without violence.
Bosque’s gun went off while it was in his holster, police said.
There should be no need to rehearse what we’ve said so many times before. Guns don’t just “go off.” More than likely (almost certainly) he had his finger on the trigger of his weapon and stumbled, causing his finger to squeeze due to sympathetic muscle reflexes. See my description here for more details.
The real issue here is that the officer was reaching for his weapon and had his finger on the trigger while chasing a fleeing suspect. Now go back and read the Supreme Court decision in Tennessee Versus Garner to see if he should really be doing that. Fill in the comments section with your homework.
Prior:
Gun-Mounted Flashlights Linked To Accidental Shootings
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On July 2, 2014 at 5:39 am, Nosmo King said:
“Bosque’s gun went off while it was in his holster, police said”
I suspect the police agency may be spinning this to save face and avoid liability, and it’s just as possible they may only be repeating what the officer told agency personnel for the same reasons. What probably happened was re-holstering with finger on the trigger.
Police violate Rule 3 so often I’m astounded this doesn’t happen more.