Here we go again. Sgt. Rod Lucas is dead. Killed by a colleague during a careless demonstration of a loaded firearm. Another police officer shot and killed by some careless gun handling by yet another well intentioned person. I don’t care how short a demonstration of a technique is going to be. There is NO RIGHT WAY TO DO THE WRONG THING. And what this officer did to the other officer is criminal. And now he is facing all of the weight of the criminal justice system because he inadvertently killed a colleague.
I could really care less about any heat that I or this organization takes because we don’t “back the badge” in situations like this. Every single one of these horrible tragedies are 100% avoidable if simple safety protocols are in place and enforced. But no. People think that because they have some measure of time on the job, or some longevity handling firearms that they are somehow immune to the consequences of their negligence. They are not. And now you have a dead officer and another that is heading for prison. Lives irreparably altered or lost and the head shakes can be felt around the globe.
Stop. Doing. This. Stupid. Shit.
I am enraged by things like this, and will likely modify the language in this post as I calm down a little. But for right now, I really don’t care how sad the person who shot his colleague is … he was careless and he killed somebody. Good. Be sad. Tell the world how sad you are. Become the cautionary tale. Sadly, it won’t stop the next idiot from doing the next idiotic thing.
Read the following story, and weep along with me. My heart goes out to the family of the fallen and the colleagues who are as mad as I am.