By Brian Fraga
Standard-Times staff writer
May 20, 2008 6:00 AM
Do as I say, not as I do.
That could be the lesson from Maj. Donald Lamar, a firearms instructor for the Bristol County Sheriff's Department, who was teaching a class on weapons safety last week when he accidentally fired the weapon while placing it into his holster. The bullet ripped through Maj. Lamar's pants leg and lodged in the floor, but amazingly missed his leg and foot.
Just days earlier, a Marshfield police recruit accidentally shot himself in the leg while attempting to holster his weapon during a training session at the New Bedford Police Department's shooting range in Dartmouth. That bullet entered the recruit's upper thigh and lodged in his lower leg, but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Maj. Lamar made reference to the Dartmouth accident in a demonstration to deputy sheriffs last Wednesday. He held his
Glock handgun, showed his students how to put it away, then slid the weapon into his holster — his finger still on the trigger.
BANG!
The weapon discharged, startling the classroom, said Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson.
Maj. Lamar, a certified firearms instructor since 2005, had shown a "gross error in judgment" in not checking to make sure his pistol was empty, Sheriff Hodgson said.
"He didn't clear his weapon before he went in the classroom, which is something he did every day," Sheriff Hodgson said. "In fact, he would often show students while in class that his weapon was clear.
"Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but it was certainly an embarrassment," the sheriff said. "It's a stark reminder that rules have to be followed when handling a weapon."
Sheriff Hodgson said an internal affairs investigation will determine how Maj. Lamar deviated from his normal training procedures.
"I can't surmise what happened for him not to have cleared his weapon. Maybe he might not have been thinking about it, had something else on his mind and didn't realize the weapon was loaded.
"He feels very embarrassed about it."
Sheriff Hodgson said, Maj. Lamar has been transferred to the department's traffic division pending the outcome of the investigation.
He is not carrying a firearm.
Link
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/NEWS/805200357MY COMMENT:
"In fact, he would often show students while in class that his weapon was clear."WRONG, you show them it is clear every time. Set the weapon down and when you pick it back up you clear it. Put it in a holster, pull it back out and clear it. Clearing while handling and instructing is something that should be automatic and constant.
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Topic: Firearms instructor's weapon discharges during safety training (Read 4077 times)