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Police marksman suspended after shooting civilian during pistol demonstration
Last updated at 19:07pm on 31.05.07
The victim was apparently being shown the workings of a Glock pistol like this when it went off
A police marksman is under investigation after accidentally shooting a colleague in an extraordinary blunder.
The victim, a civilian employee, was seriously injured in the accident at a lecture room at the HQ of Thames Valley Police near Oxford.
He was apparently being shown the workings of a police Glock pistol when it went off, blasting him in the torso.
The victim, aged in his 50s, was left writhing in agony with blood pouring from the wound.
He underwent emergency surgery and his condition was described as serious but stable.
The hugely embarrassing incident prompted a major internal investigation and stunned officers.
One police source at the HQ said: "There are a lot of red faces about this. Why the hell was an experienced firearms officer demonstrating with a loaded pistol in an enclosed environment?
"Someone's head will have to roll."
The victim was among a group of about a dozen civilian employees attending a pre-lunch lecture at the Kidlington headquarters when the blunder happened.
New employees were being shown the work of the tactical firearms unit when the gun went off and the man was hit at close range.
He was taken by ambulance to hospital in a serious condition, having lost "a lot of blood".
The police source added: "There was a tremendous hoo-haa as it was realised the gun which he was showing off had actually 'got one up the spout' and had shot one of his colleagues.
"There was lots of claret (blood) about as a result of the shooting and the officer was immediately suspended and his gun seized."
In a statement the IPCC said: "We are conducting an independent investigation into the discharge of a Thames Valley Police firearm that occurred yesterday.
"The incident occurred during a Thames Valley Police firearms awareness training course, when one bullet was discharged, wounding a member of police staff (a control room operator) in the torso.
"The wounded man, who is in his 50s, is in hospital in Oxford and is in a serious but stable condition.
"The firearms awareness session was taking place in a room on police property in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and involved 11 police control room operators from across the force.
"Thames Valley Police referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and IPCC investigators have attended the scene of the discharge today, and begun to gather evidence."
IPCC Commissioner Deborah Glass added: "I have decided that we should conduct an independent investigation, using our own investigators, to establish the circumstances of this incident.
"The investigation will examine how live ammunition came to be present in a firearm during an awareness session and consider whether any criminal or disciplinary offences have been committed."
She added that details of the police marksman who fired the gun would be a matter for Thames Valley Police to reveal if they wished.
Reader views (12)
And we rely upon these people to make difficult decisions over life or death.... this was supposed to be a firearms awareness training day?
truly astonishing
- David, London, Leighton Buzzard United kingdom
This will probabily get the UNDER THE CARPET TREATMENT.. Yet again we are being shown that the police atre not safe and responsable anough to have any form of access to firearms..What has happened over the female who left her weapon in a public toilet ?.
- Jack, Oldham..Lancs
I wonder if we'll ever be told the truth about this? It's gone quiet.
As everyone else has commented, the most basic rule of firearm safety has been breached, and that a normal firearm certificate holder would expect to have his certificate revoked and to be prosecuted.
I note that when the Firearms Licensing Manager from Devon & Cornwall Police was found with a pistol in a nightclub he was given a caution, instead of the five year minimum sentence others would get.
It doesn't give you confidence in the police use of firearms, does it?
- Mike, Wrexham, Wales
What on earth was a loaded firearm doing in a classrom? Why was the weapon not proved clear, and why was it (When there are brightly coloured inert training firearms and even barrels available) being pointed at someone anyway? Don't the police know the rules of basic firearms safety? If this had been a licensed firearms holder, he'd be charged, lose his right to hold firearms, and likely jailed. Can we expect the same to happen to this moron? I doubt it...
- John, London
Brandon, this was not a "bizarre accident" but BLATANT CRASS STUPIDITY on behalf of some obviously incompetent in the use of firearms. The ammunition did NOT load itself, the demonstration chap loaded the gun! If not he should have checked to make sure it was clear and empty!
- Palladin, Glasgow
As a qualified NRA (America) pistol instructor I can safely say the most basic of safety rules were broken completely. At NO TIME should there be live ammunition in a classroom used for firearms training. There are NO exceptions to that rule.
Only dummy INERT ammo (usually bright orange) can be present.
Likewise pointing a pistol at someone in a classroom is also a serious breach of safety rules, there are inert "firearms", again brightly coloured that are specifically designed for this purpose.
The same errors that these self styled experts make are happening on an all too regular basis these days.
- Chuck, Scotland
A total lack of basic firearms awareness displayed by the officer; the comments above are all valid, but avlittle misdirected.
The onus lies with the instructor who should have ensured live ammunition was not in the classroom, and he should have checked all the weapons prior to starting the lesson.
Robin has missed the point, though (it's a picture for demonstration purposes, Robin, not a clip from the lesson...and the gun isn't a Glock, it's a Browning).
The officer should be sacked and charged with assault.
- Bill S, London
Being a control room operator I have been on this course, but at no point did the firearms trainers point the weapon at any member of the classroom and the weapons were checked to be empty and safe before anyone touched them. We were even allowed to handle them ourselves but warned under no circumstances were the weapons to be pointed at anyone.
This course is an important part of the control room staff's training as it gives them an insight into exactly what happens and what the officers are having to deal with while in the situation of a firearms incident.
I have even attended firearms training programmes as a stooge to give myself a better insight into what these officers deal with on a daily basis as firearms incidents are on an increase. Obviously something has gone badly wrong with this training session.
- Anon, Manchester, England
This shows what happens when you violate the rules of Firearms Safety.
1) The weapon should have been unloaded in the classroom!
2) The weapon should be pointed in a safe direction and not pointed in the direction of a class participant!
This reminds me of an American Federal Agent who shot himself in the foot while lecturing a classroom full of grade school children about firearms safety.
Even though the officer may have been a "marksman" it doesn't mean that he was qualified to instruct others regarding firearms.
- Leopold Altman, Instructor - Sykes Group (Www.Sykesgroups.Com), New York City, NY - USA
Guns don't just "go off." They fire because someone applied pressure to the trigger. One of the basic rules of firearm safety is to keep you finger off the trigger until your sights are on a target you are willing to shoot.
Look at the picture above. The guy clearly has his finger wrapped around the trigger. If he's a cop, he should be fired or re-trained.
- Robin Juhl, San Antonio, TX, USA
I thought these so called marksmen were experts when handling weapons. Not quite as good as they try to let on by the looks of things.
- Stephen D., London, England
I wonder how much money and how many investigations will be needed to to find out this indeed a bizarre accident?
- Brandon Thomas, London, UK
