Accidental Law
Enforcement
Shootings
Tim Snyder
APS-400-OL009

Introduction
 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the
U.S., which is the highest in recorded history

 Most law enforcement officers carry firearm to protect themselves.

 Accidents happen in all professions.
 When accidents happen during law enforcement, they are highly scrutinized.

Equipment & Lack of
Training
 In March 2014, Denver Colorado Police Dept. had two accidental shootings because of equipment being used with firearms.

 In both instances, weapon mounted flashlights were used and contributed to the shootings.

 Denver police has instituted an immediate ban on all weapon mounted lights until a safety review is conducted.

 In both instances, the weapons were fired as officers attempted to turn on their weapon mounted lights

 Obviously, not enough training had been conducted to prevent these issues.

 A design flaw in the weapon mounted light may also have contributed to the issues.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= eP6UvNgbqIA
 Above is a famous YouTube video of a DEA agent accidentally shooting himself in the foot.
SUMMARY OF VIDEO

 DEA agent giving a weapon safety seminar to inner city youth.

 Agent improperly clears his weapon.
 Co-worker does not check that the weapon is unloaded.  Agent shoots himself in the foot.
 Heroically continues seminar.

Human Error
 Agent fails to remove the weapons’ magazine prior to locking the slide to the rear.

 Coworker does not visually and physically inspect that the weapon is clear.

 Agent does not keep the weapon slide to the rear while giving presentation.

 Most importantly, the agent did not keep his