cnn.com— A New Year's Day shooting in which a subway police officer fired a deadly shot into the back of an unarmed man has the San Francisco Bay Area demanding answers as authorities appeal for patience.
Jan 6, 2009View in Crawl 4
What I suspect we will find is that this inexperienced officer - inexperienced with having to draw and hold his weapon on a suspect - placed his finger inside the trigger guard when he drew his firearm (You NEVER place your finger inside the trigger guard until you are ready to fire your weapon -period. That is a basic rule of gun handling). As he adjusted his grip or somehow tightened his grip, the finger inside the trigger guard naturally squeezed down on the trigger and caused it to fire unintentionally. Adrenaline is a powerful stimulant.This has been captured on video before - I have seen police pat downs and arrests on videotape where this has happened before - in one case a female officer nearly took the side of a person's head off when she drew her firearm and it immediately discharged on the ground between the suspect's head and extended arm as he lay face-down on the ground.It is tragic, no doubt, and I feel so sorry for the man;s family and little girl, and for the officer.
christianptriotJan 7, 2009
What I suspect we will find is that this inexperienced officer - inexperienced with having to draw and hold his weapon on a suspect - placed his finger inside the trigger guard when he drew his firearm (You NEVER place your finger inside the trigger guard until you are ready to fire your weapon -period. That is a basic rule of gun handling). As he adjusted his grip or somehow tightened his grip, the finger inside the trigger guard naturally squeezed down on the trigger and caused it to fire unintentionally. Adrenaline is a powerful stimulant.This has been captured on video before - I have seen police pat downs and arrests on videotape where this has happened before - in one case a female officer nearly took the side of a person's head off when she drew her firearm and it immediately discharged on the ground between the suspect's head and extended arm as he lay face-down on the ground.It is tragic, no doubt, and I feel so sorry for the man;s family and little girl, and for the officer.