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Police Officer's Firearm Discharged While Receiving a Hug, Female hugger dead.

T

TWG2A

Guest
Wow. Some 'splainin' to do here:
http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-woman...scharging-155421250--abc-news-topstories.html

A friendly hug at a Detroit house party proved fatal for a woman after she accidentally discharged an off-duty cop's handgun.

Adaisha Miller, 24, attended a fish fry at the home of an off-duty Detroit police officer on Saturday and, at around midnight, began to hug or dance with the officer from behind and accidentally set off his gun, according to Detroit police chief Ralph Godbee, Jr.

The police department didn't release the name of the officer but said that he has been cooperative with an internal investigation launched in the wake of the shooting and is shocked at what happened.

Godbee said that the officer had been concealing his department-issued .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic hand gun in a holster in his waistband when Miller placed her hands on his waist. Godbee indicated that Miller had seemingly touched the gun in some way, causing it to fire. There is no safety switch on the weapon, he said.

"I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying this but for the sake of transparency, it is possible for the trigger to be manipulated with that type of holster," Godbee said. "Typically the barrel is facing down, but the preliminary investigation indicates that there was some manipulation along the officer's waistline that he did not control and subsequently the weapon discharged."

Godbee said that there was no indication from evidence or witnesses that the officer had placed his hand on the weapon. The investigation will include forensic analysis by the Detroit State Police and a medical examiner's report.

"He is very remorseful of the incident and the tragic nature of this young lady losing her life in the manner she did," Godbee said.

Miller's mother, Yolanda McNair, told the Detroit Free Press that she has been told different versions of the events leading up to her daughter's death and can't udnerstand why the officer was armed at his own party.

"The story keeps changing. There's no logical reason," she said. "Why do you need a weapon with a round in the chamber?"

Police department spokeswoman Cassandra Lewis said that the prosecutor's office would decide whether any charges would be pressed in the case.

Amy Driver, a gun safety expert, said that it was "entirely possible" that if someone was placing their hands on the officer's waistband that the weapon could become loose from the holster and then discharge if it were pressed back down toward the holster.

"It sounds like she pulled on his waistband, and if that shifted his waistband, the gun could have come up out of the holster a little bit, and his instinct could be to push the gun back in holster. If something got caught on trigger, it could have fired," she said.

Driver said that investigators would likely find a hole in the side of the officer's pants, where the bullet left the gun and traveled to Miller.
 
T

TWG2A

Guest
I can't imagine how on earth a holstered firearm in someone's waistband could be discharged to shoot said hugger. It just doesn't make sense. How did the barrel get pointed to the woman doing the hugging? Firearm in waistband would be pointed downward......

I just don't see it happening the way they've described here. Anyone else?
 

FireStar M40

Regular Member
Joined
May 3, 2011
Messages
63
Location
U.S.A.
Part of the story stated..

"There is no 'Safety Switch' on the weapon, he said."

:confused: "Safety Switch" :question:

No response is needed for anyone who would make a comment such as the above. :rolleyes:

FireStar M40
 

zack991

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
Messages
1,535
Location
Ohio, USA
I have been following this for the last several days and from other reports he was carrying a S&W M&P pistol in a waist holster. The whole thing screams fishy to me from the obvious facts of all the "saftys" to have to be engaged for the weapon to discharge and the angle of the firearm for her to be shot where she was, not to mention it was in Detroit.

Police said Adaisha Miller was dancing with the officer early Sunday when she hugged him from behind. His gun, which was in a waist holster, went off, and the bullet punctured Milleras lung and hit her heart. She died at a hospital.

Detroit police officers have the option of carrying their weapons while off-duty. The model issued by the department has a safety mechanism built into the trigger.

The Smith & Wesson M&P primarily was designed for police and military use. It does not have a safety switch, but the trigger has to be pulled back completely for the gun to fire, certified firearms instructor Rick Ector said.

Ector said that if properly holstered, the gun cannot be fired accidentally.

David Balash, a former Michigan State Police firearms examiner, said the investigation also should look at the guns angle given that Miller was shot in the chest.

Whats going to be very important here is the angle of the entry of the wound to the victim [and] if there is in fact any gunpowder residue, Balash said. I am having a great deal of difficulty understanding how a weapon that is pointed at the ground can be turned literally 110 degrees minimum to be in an upward position to strike someone.

But Godbee said Parrishs waist holster was made of a soft, neoprene-type material, and it would be possible for the trigger to be pulled while the gun was in it. He also said the barrel direction typically would have been pointing down while holstered.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/jul/10/detroit-shooting-mom-questions-daughters/?newswatch
 
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Glock9mmOldStyle

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Messages
2,038
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Taylor, Wayne County, Michigan, USA
What no one from DPD is talking about is toxicology - what was the BAC of the officer? This was a party after all. A citizens gun discharges at a party you better believe you will have to take every test available to prove you were fit to be carrying the weapon to start with. This reeks of typical DPD cover up.

Giving up civil rights for security is a certain way to lose both! :eek:
 

Dreamer

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Sep 23, 2009
Messages
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Location
Grennsboro NC
As dubious as the "official story" is, the remarks of the victims mother pretty much sum up the brain-dead anti-gun attitude of many of Detroit's more "urban" inhabitants...

Miller's mother, Yolanda McNair, told the Detroit Free Press that she has been told different versions of the events leading up to her daughter's death and can't udnerstand why the officer was armed at his own party.


"The story keeps changing. There's no logical reason," she said. "Why do you need a weapon with a round in the chamber?"

Appaarently, Ms. McNair thinks that carrying an unloaded firearm is somehow a safer method of self-defense (safer for criminals, thugs and attackers, maybe...)

And apparently, Ms. McNair doesn't spend too much time reading the papers either, or she'd know why someone might want to carry a gun in their own home in Detroit...

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/05/09/news/doc4faa5a44031a8955088129.txt

http://www.freep.com/article/20120710/NEWS02/120710061/Elmore-Nichols-Jr-arraigned-Lincoln-Park

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...everal-armed-men-while-younger-children-slept

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120629/METRO/206290348

http://www.freep.com/article/20120628/SPORTS08/120628091/central-michigan-austin-white
 
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Bowesmobile

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Mar 30, 2012
Messages
204
Location
Powhatan, Va
As dubious as the "official story" is, the remarks of the victims mother pretty much sum up the brain-dead anti-gun attitude of many of Detroit's more "urban" inhabitants...



Appaarently, Ms. McNair thinks that carrying an unloaded firearm is somehow a safer method of self-defense (safer for criminals, thugs and attackers, maybe...)

And apparently, Ms. McNair doesn't spend too much time reading the papers either, or she'd know why someone might want to carry a gun in their own home in Detroit...

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/05/09/news/doc4faa5a44031a8955088129.txt

http://www.freep.com/article/20120710/NEWS02/120710061/Elmore-Nichols-Jr-arraigned-Lincoln-Park

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...everal-armed-men-while-younger-children-slept

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120629/METRO/206290348

http://www.freep.com/article/20120628/SPORTS08/120628091/central-michigan-austin-white

Having lived in the Detroit area. I'm surprised the list is that short. There is such anti-gun sentiment in Detroit its almost stupid. You really only need one neuron firing to know that self defense is necessary in Detroit and anywhere for that matter.
 

ComradeV

Campaign Veteran
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Feb 17, 2009
Messages
428
Location
Maple Hill, North Carolina, USA
This story sounds very dubious in veracity.

If he were using a quality leather or heavy nylon holster I don't see how the weapon could shift that way.

This could be an accident, though. I just don't trust the DPD to competently investigate their own member.
 

Gil223

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Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Messages
1,392
Location
Weber County Utah
Wow. Some 'splainin' to do here:
Driver said that investigators would likely find a hole in the side of the officer's pants, where the bullet left the gun and traveled to Miller.

The official story should begin with the phrase "Once upon a time..." it's obviously a fairy tale! The vast majority of today's clothing is made of artificial materials, so the MI State Police investigators should find - not just a .40cal hole in his pants where the projectile passed through - but a rather large area of melted fabric from the muzzle flash. The officer is lucky he didn't go up like a Tiki torch!

As for the reaction of Adaisha's mother, it's understandable... her daughter had just been shot to death, and she was grieving that loss. It isn't like Mrs. McNair was one of those rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth, anti-gun activists, intentionally trying to fix blame on guns and those who carry them. She just blurted out whatever was passing through her confused and distressed mind. (Hell, in Detroit the smart people - assuming there are any of those still living in Detroit - should even carry inside their domicile while bathing!) Just sayin'. Pax...
 

GLADad

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Location
Canon City
This sounds like a poorly planned story to cover up what really happened, I don't think anyone's luck is that bad, and there is no mention of anyone's BAC. I also don't know that any decent holster such as one a LEO would use would allow a negligent discharge if the firearm was still holstered.
 

twoskinsonemanns

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Apr 12, 2012
Messages
2,326
Location
WV
Not all holsters are made equal. This one time I was carry a very heavy, awkward thing-a-ma-jig, and my gun slipped out of my leather IWB holster and fell into the gravel. I said "Hey! XXXXX pick up this gun! And if you shoot me you won't get your allowance next Friday!" It ended being cool, he didn't shoot me and I gave him his allowance. The circle of life you know?
 

Jbale22

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Dec 20, 2011
Messages
45
Location
Louisville, KY
I'm sorry but I carry IWB and the only possible way this happens is when she grabbed his waist she pulled on his pants or something to that effect causing the firearm to shift up out of the holster(I'm assuming since practically all IWB holsters have them, that the holster he wears covers the trigger guard) and from there either his reaction to keep the firearm from coming out or her finger got inside the trigger guard.
 

px4guy

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Jul 16, 2012
Messages
11
Location
Indiana
Hmmm... the police chief says that the investigation points to manipulation of the gun which the guy did not control, yet the article places the blame on the woman by saying she caused the gun to discharge. Must be nice to be given the benefit of the doubt. If that was Joe Citizen's gun that went off, whether it killed her or not, he would most likely be crucified by the press until criminal charges were filed and he was convicted. The whole thing sounds kind of fishy to me though. I still can't quite wrap my head around how the gun got angled enough to shoot her where it did, all while still in the holster. The only "accidental" scenario I can think of which would allow for the gun being pointed at her chest and trigger manipulation involves an act considerably more intimate than just a hug and the guy carrying in the waistband of his pants.
 

jbone

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WA
Detroit police are still investigating the incident, but according to police officials, off-duty Officer Isaac Parrish was holding a fish fry at his Detroit home July 8, and while he and Adaisha Miller were dancing, his department-issued gun went off, striking her in the chest. Her death was ruled a homicide.http://www.freep.com/article/20120715/NEWS01/207150542/?searchoption=OPTION1

Did I miss something, charges file, trial completed? I the same sentence media say’s under investigation, and ruled a homicide?
 

jbone

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WA
...The whole thing sounds kind of fishy to me though. I still can't quite wrap my head around how the gun got angled enough to shoot her where it did, all while still in the holster.


The official said the angle of the gunshot is possible because Miller was not standing and described it as some type of "exotic dance" where Miller, 24, was tugging at Parrish’s waist. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20120710&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=120710037&Ref=AR

Seems resaonable to me know knowing she was on her knees.
 

px4guy

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Messages
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Indiana
Seems resaonable to me know knowing she was on her knees.

So say the police. The whole thing seems kind of fishy to me still, considering the two grossly different accounts of the incident. Either the witnesses are lying or the police department is trying to cover it up.... too early to tell.
 

Glock9mmOldStyle

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So say the police. The whole thing seems kind of fishy to me still, considering the two grossly different accounts of the incident. Either the witnesses are lying or the police department is trying to cover it up.... too early to tell.

If it has to do with DPD it is the latter. Hell - they have been under FBI/DOJ sanctions for over ten years now & still cannot get their act together. :rolleyes: "Stupid is as stupid does" ...no insult meant to Gump - that is the unofficial credo of DPD. Here are but a few examples of their buffoonery: Been a rotten Department from the top down for decades... I do not see them changing anytime soon.

http://www.freep.com/article/201109...olice-officer-punches-MGM-Grand-casino-patron

http://bossip.com/275815/another-one-detroit-police-chief-73373/

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/a...troit-police-scandal-as-8-are-indicted-i.html

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-12-19/news/mn-565_1_detroit-police
 
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