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Pellet gun shooting leads to $100K in damage
By Marty Schladen
The Daily News
Published November 17, 2007
GALVESTON — More than $100,000 in water damage at the new county justice center was caused by a Galveston police officer shooting a pellet gun into the ceiling — and into a sprinkler head.
And, because the city locked off access to a mechanical room in violation of its lease, Galveston taxpayers are left holding the bag for the repairs.
Police Chief Kenneth Mack on Friday wouldn’t say whether the pellet rifle — which apparently has no law-enforcement use — went off by accident or whether officers in the narcotics division were shooting it on purpose Wednesday night.
But as they cleaned up the damage from almost 500 gallons of water, county officials found more than two dozen pellets by Friday. They also found a sprinkler head that had been shot through with one of the pellets.
Mack wouldn’t say whether anyone had been punished.
Firefighters and county officials scrambled to the Justice Center about 9 p.m. Wednesday. They found about four inches of water pouring out of the narcotics division and into other areas, such as the emergency-dispatch center, where dispatchers continued answering calls, said Brian Maxwell, the county’s special projects director.
It took 31 minutes to get into the mechanical room, where the cutoff valve for the sprinkler system is.
That’s because the Galveston Police Department was using the room as a locker for its SWAT equipment and had welded a steel gate onto the entrance.
Under the city’s lease with the county, the city is required to get a written OK from the county before making any physical changes to the Justice Center, said County Judge Jim Yarbrough.
The city has acknowledged that Wednesday’s mishap was the result of “human error” and that it is responsible for the damages, Maxwell said.
City Manager Steve LeBlanc didn’t return a call seeking comment.
To ensure that mold won’t get a foothold in the new building, workers are replacing large portions of sheetrock, carpeting and other materials, Maxwell said.
The total cost of the work is expected to be between $100,000 and $125,000.
Mack was asked Friday what was going on in the narcotics division and whether any police officers would be punished. He didn’t respond other than to send an e-mail:
“While the investigation into what happened has not been concluded, I have determined the following:
“While in the narcotics office, one officer of the narcotics unit was handling an Air-Soft pellet rifle. This type of rifle is commonly used in recreational sports activities, and discharges a small plastic pellet.
“While the officer was handling the weapon he discharged it. The discharged pellet ricocheted off a box at an upward angle and struck the filament in an overhead fire suppression sprinkler head.
“The impact apparently broke the filament, causing that single sprinkler head to begin deploying water.
“The officers who were in the office immediately took actions to prevent the loss of any evidence or records. They also immediately started notifying the appropriate personnel in an effort to shut off the water to the system.
“Unfortunately this was not able to be accomplished for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes, resulting in significant amounts of water being sprayed in the office. The water damaged flooring and walls in several office spaces due to the spread of the water. Upon completion of the formal investigation, the appropriate corrective and or disciplinary action will be initiated with the officer involved.”
Mack didn’t respond to a call with follow-up questions.
-- John D.
P.S. I don't think it likely an "accidental discharge" resulted in a"freak chance ricochet" which just happened to hit the sprinkler filament...seems like he was deliberately aiming at it. Well, I guess boys will be boys...
Pellet gun shooting leads to $100K in damage
By Marty Schladen
The Daily News
Published November 17, 2007
GALVESTON — More than $100,000 in water damage at the new county justice center was caused by a Galveston police officer shooting a pellet gun into the ceiling — and into a sprinkler head.
And, because the city locked off access to a mechanical room in violation of its lease, Galveston taxpayers are left holding the bag for the repairs.
Police Chief Kenneth Mack on Friday wouldn’t say whether the pellet rifle — which apparently has no law-enforcement use — went off by accident or whether officers in the narcotics division were shooting it on purpose Wednesday night.
But as they cleaned up the damage from almost 500 gallons of water, county officials found more than two dozen pellets by Friday. They also found a sprinkler head that had been shot through with one of the pellets.
Mack wouldn’t say whether anyone had been punished.
Firefighters and county officials scrambled to the Justice Center about 9 p.m. Wednesday. They found about four inches of water pouring out of the narcotics division and into other areas, such as the emergency-dispatch center, where dispatchers continued answering calls, said Brian Maxwell, the county’s special projects director.
It took 31 minutes to get into the mechanical room, where the cutoff valve for the sprinkler system is.
That’s because the Galveston Police Department was using the room as a locker for its SWAT equipment and had welded a steel gate onto the entrance.
Under the city’s lease with the county, the city is required to get a written OK from the county before making any physical changes to the Justice Center, said County Judge Jim Yarbrough.
The city has acknowledged that Wednesday’s mishap was the result of “human error” and that it is responsible for the damages, Maxwell said.
City Manager Steve LeBlanc didn’t return a call seeking comment.
To ensure that mold won’t get a foothold in the new building, workers are replacing large portions of sheetrock, carpeting and other materials, Maxwell said.
The total cost of the work is expected to be between $100,000 and $125,000.
Mack was asked Friday what was going on in the narcotics division and whether any police officers would be punished. He didn’t respond other than to send an e-mail:
“While the investigation into what happened has not been concluded, I have determined the following:
“While in the narcotics office, one officer of the narcotics unit was handling an Air-Soft pellet rifle. This type of rifle is commonly used in recreational sports activities, and discharges a small plastic pellet.
“While the officer was handling the weapon he discharged it. The discharged pellet ricocheted off a box at an upward angle and struck the filament in an overhead fire suppression sprinkler head.
“The impact apparently broke the filament, causing that single sprinkler head to begin deploying water.
“The officers who were in the office immediately took actions to prevent the loss of any evidence or records. They also immediately started notifying the appropriate personnel in an effort to shut off the water to the system.
“Unfortunately this was not able to be accomplished for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes, resulting in significant amounts of water being sprayed in the office. The water damaged flooring and walls in several office spaces due to the spread of the water. Upon completion of the formal investigation, the appropriate corrective and or disciplinary action will be initiated with the officer involved.”
Mack didn’t respond to a call with follow-up questions.
-- John D.
P.S. I don't think it likely an "accidental discharge" resulted in a"freak chance ricochet" which just happened to hit the sprinkler filament...seems like he was deliberately aiming at it. Well, I guess boys will be boys...
