Riverdale Utah Police Chief has Negligent Discharge

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http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3235320


Police chief recovering after accidentally shooting himself
Riverdale's police chief will be out of the hospital tonight after accidentally shooting himself over the weekend. Riverdale Police Chief Dave Hansen will likely be on crutches for weeks.
On Saturday morning, the police chief was teaching a class on concealed weapons permits. His gun erroneously went off, and the bullet went through his ankle. He was using his Glock as a display. He was teaching gun safety to about a dozen citizens at the Riverdale Police Department.

He pulled the clip out of the gun, and then he was making sure the chamber was clear. Neil Hansen, the police chief's brother, said, "He pointed it down, pulled the trigger because he didn't want to give it to a classmate not knowing for sure whether a shell was in there. And at that point, the gun discharged and [the bullet] had gone through his ankle."
It's not the first time a gun training session has gone bad. On the popular site, YouTube, there is a video of a drug enforcement officer who accidentally shot himself in the leg while teaching a class. In the video, the officer is heard saying, "I'm the only one in this room professional enough, that I know of, to carry this Glock 40." The officer continued his presentation as if nothing happened.
That's not what happened for the Riverdale police chief. Neil Hansen said, "After it have gone off, he tried to stand up, and that's when he realized his ankle was so damaged."

The chief's brother, Utah Rep. Neil Hansen, said paramedics were next door. They rushed the chief to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden where he spent the weekend recovering. Neil Hansen said, "It looks like he may have to have a surgery or two. Right now, they have a rod on the outside of his ankle to kinda hold it together."
The police chief and his officers have been told to not make public comment because the incident is an open investigation. But the Steve Brooks, the Ogden City attorney told Eyewitness News there's been an obvious mistake in procedure. He said, "We're not admitting that Chief Hansen did everything correct here. Obviously, something wasn't done correctly, and unfortunately, he's the one who paid the price for it."
The investigation on this incident will last about two weeks. The city attorney said the chief won't be able to return to work for at least a month.





I hope he recovers fully!

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"Pulling the triggerto make sure it wasnt loaded"

I just saw this on KSL too.

I've been taught to physically look inside the chamber to be sure its not loaded, Never everto pull the trigger... Every time a gun is handed to me I check it and ask while doing so if its unloaded. I dont think I have ever pulled the trigger thinkingto dry fire with out checking it first, evenifI dont remember ever loading it. A friend of mine handed me his 10mm not telling me the condition, when I found it was loaded I let him have it for not even telling me that it was.

He knew better but what was he thinking? Badthing to happen to a person in his position. I hope everyone who hears about this learns from his mistake and doesnt make the same kind of mistake hurting someone else or them self.

I hope he makes a full recovery.

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1) Sweet irony that he was teaching a gun safety class to citizens. Ahahhahaha. Sorry that is freakin' funny!

2) Pulled the trigger to make sure it was empty? WTF? Is anyone really that stupid inside, while teaching a safety class? I can see him thinking he had cleared it and pulled the trigger to release the striker (which I think is more likely what really happened). I'm guessing this part was poor reporting.

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More info from witnesses.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3239977

Witness blames accidental shooting on chief's overconfidence Citizens who witnessed a police chief accidentally shoot himself during a concealed weapons training class are talking about it today. They all agree it was a mistake, but some are coming down harder than others on Riverdale Police Chief Dave Hansen.
There were several people in the training class who think this was purely an accident and the public was never really in danger. But Lewis Walker, who also witnessed the accidental shooting, says Riverdale Police Chief Dave Hansen acted carelessly and should be punished.


During the class, Hansen accidentally shot himself with his Glock .40 pistol. "He was trying to disassemble the weapon so he could pass the barrel around and show us the rifling," Walker said.
Walker says the chief appeared to be struggling. "It's like he was totally unfamiliar with the weapon," he said.
Witnesses say they heard the chief yelp, "I'm hit," then saw him fall over, leaving the gun smoking on the table. A bullet went through the chief's ankle.
Luckily, the bullet didn't hit anyone else in the class, but it rattled Walker. He thinks the chief was overconfident. "With him being 20-something years in the police department, I think you get, I don't know if you want to call it a carefree feeling, but you do stuff you don't think about," Walker said.
Randy Mills, who also witnessed the accidental shooting, said, "I believe the chief may have been careless in judgment sense, but I never felt threatened or in danger in the class."
A third witness, Don Campbell, said, "I don't think the chief was careless at all. Every time he handled the weapon, it was pointed up and away from everyone in the room. At the time of the discharge, the only one in danger was himself."

Campbell thinks maybe the chief was a victim of the type of gun he was using. Experts who know the Glock .40 admit to disassemble it you have to pull the trigger. Even if the clip is removed, a bullet could still be in the chamber.
Craig Ball manages Impact Guns in Ogden. He says he never allows live ammo during gun training sessions.
Now Walker says he knows why. "Every one of us, for the hour and a half up ‘till that discharge, were in danger because the gun was loaded," Walker said.
Walker believes Hansen should no longer be allowed to teach gun training classes and that the state should revoke his certification to teach.
Three other students and the Riverdale City Attorney disagree with Walker. They all feel this was an unfortunate accident that some are making a big deal out of.

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jaredbelch wrote:

.....then he was making sure the chamber was clear..... "He pointed it down, pulled the trigger.....

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Where exactly is THIS procedure in the safety manual? :uhoh:

And why is it always a highly trained police officer that you hear about doing these Einsteinian displays of firearm handling? :question:

Doc

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HEY dont blame the officer just causehe probably could have killed a few innocent citizens who were just wanting to get CWP's!

EVERYYYONE has shot themselves at one time or another, especially when the gun jumps out all by itself and randomly fires in random directions

i love sarcasm

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If the reporting on the story is accurate then the victim should be ex-chief!

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Do people unload any other type of firearm be pointing it at body parts and pulling the trigger, or is it just Glocks? And is it a requirement to do it in font of a live audience, like DEA agent Paige?

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lockman wrote:

If the reporting on the story is accurate then the victim should be ex-chief!

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I agree. If this would have been "just" a civilian we would have been charged with, I can't even count that far, AND taken away our permits.

TJ

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lockman wrote:

Do people unload any other type of firearm be pointing it at body parts and pulling the trigger, or is it just Glocks? And is it a requirement to do it in font of a live audience, like DEA agent Paige?

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ROTFLMAO:lol:.

I believe it is:celebrate

At least ask "I am the ONLY one qualified to handle this gun" DEA agent

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I don't know about the Glock manual the police receive, but the ones I received for my Glock 19 and 21 for dismantling and reassemblysay to: remove magazine, check for round in the chamber(guess they need to be more specific here), pull trigger back (pointing in safe direction), remove slide from receiver, remove barrel from slide. Before the slide and/or the receiver are dismantled any further, note the safety and warrenty conditions. Thes are on page 25.

Now, when you get to page 33 of the manual "Preventive Maintenance of the Glock semi-automatic 'safe action' pistol", it is a bit ore specifiic.

Point the pistol in a safe direction (a safe direction is one in which no one can possibly be injured in the event of an unitentional discharge.) KEEP YOUR FINGER OUT OF THE TRIGGER GUARD. <Guess he did not read all of this step.>

Press in on the magazine catch (Figure 1).

Remove the magazine.

With your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard, lock the slide open by pushing up on the slide lock lever while pulling the slide to the rear with your other hand (Figure 2). <Guess he did not readthis step either.>

Once the slide is locked to the rear, both visually and physically (with your little finger) inspect the chamber and the magazine well of the pistol to be sure that no ammunition remains in either place (Figure 3).

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I wonder if he will be charged with firing a firearm within city limits? This would add insult to injury. If one of has done this, you can bet we would and as said before, a whole lot of extra charges too.

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http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3355287

Criminal charges possible in accidental shooting May 21st, 2008 We could see criminal charges against the police chief who shot himself during a gun safety class.
An internal investigation found Riverdale Police Chief Dave Hansen broke multiple, key police safety policies.
He had a loaded gun and live ammo in a training scenario. And he didn't check the chamber of his gun when he was unloading it.
The Standard Examiner reports the Weber County attorney also is reviewing the case, and it's possible criminal charges could come at the end of that review.
Hansen is declining to comment on the shooting. The bullet entered his calf and exited near his ankle. He's expected to return to work next week.

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I thought people in the class had said that he was showing them the rifling on the barrel - which ended up being his loaded firearm. Wouldn't this be "assault with a deadly weapon" seeing as how he pointed his loaded firearm at a number of people in the class? Or does it have to do with demeanor - non-threatening? So if I am just joking around or just want to show someone what a bullet looks like from a bad-guy's perspective than it's OK?!?!

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jaredbelch wrote:

jaredbelch, for posting this.

I'm glad that even a Police Chief is NOT "immune" to CRIMINAL charges. It's about time to not let LEO's "off the hook" so easily.

TJ

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GeneticsDave wrote:

I thought people in the class had said that he was showing them the rifling on the barrel - which ended up being his loaded firearm. Wouldn't this be "assault with a deadly weapon" seeing as how he pointed his loaded firearm at a number of people in the class? Or does it have to do with demeanor - non-threatening? So if I am just joking around or just want to show someone what a bullet looks like from a bad-guy's perspective than it's OK?!?!

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If I remember correctly, he was attempting to disassemble his weapon in order to show the the rifling in the barrel. In doing so he pulled the trigger (without clearing the chamber first) in order to remove the slide. I do not believe he pointed the weapon at anyone.

Still, a negligent discharge in a classroom is certainly dangerous enough. Any weapon intended to be used in a demonstration should be unloaded, examinedprior to the class and examined again when actually performing the demonstration. If he wanted to keep a duty weapon on him,dedicated duty and dedicated demo weapons should have been used.

I am glad they are pursuing this incident, at least investigating it, because this is what they would insist on for a civilian instructor under the same circumstances. While I realize that negligent acts occur from time to time with no malice intent, and unless a second party is harmed no charges are filed, and this will probably be the outcome of this case, but the guy should at least lose any teaching credentials for a reasonable time and face department disciplinary action for using his loaded service weapon in the class.

I actually question whether this is a legitimate investigation or a ruse to appease those calling for punishment. If they perform a staged investigation followed by a mild reprimand or such, then the department and city heads can pass the buck on not disciplining the chief.

Just think out load here.

Doc

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According to the Standard Examiner article he did:

"It's all a bunch of lies, and they're trying to cover up what really happened," said Lewis Walker, who attended the class with his wife and friends.

"The chief's brother (state Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden) was just on TV saying the chief was showing us how to clear a weapon when the gun went off, but that's bull.

"The chief said he was going to show us the rifling in the barrel of the gun, and he was pointing it around at all of us in the class. He was trying to disassemble the gun under the table when it went off.

"Nobody thought anything about the gun being loaded. We were told the gun is the chief's personal sidearm, but it looked to me like he didn't know anything about the gun.

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GeneticsDave wrote:

According to the Standard Examiner article he did:

"It's all a bunch of lies, and they're trying to cover up what really happened," said Lewis Walker, who attended the class with his wife and friends.

"The chief's brother (state Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden) was just on TV saying the chief was showing us how to clear a weapon when the gun went off, but that's bull.

"The chief said he was going to show us the rifling in the barrel of the gun, and he was pointing it around at all of us in the class. He was trying to disassemble the gun under the table when it went off.

"Nobody thought anything about the gun being loaded. We were told the gun is the chief's personal sidearm, but it looked to me like he didn't know anything about the gun.

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OK, I missed that one. Thanks for pointing that out Dave.

I have read several articles on the incident, none of which say this. Of course, I guess it depends on who is telling the story. There does seem to be a big split in the audience present for the class, some backing the chief and others not. In fact, the last article I read quoted one guy as say "no one in the class was ever in danger, he never pointed the weapon at anyone". This is the first story I have read that claims he actually pointed the weapon at anyone.

If this is true, I agree that there should be harsh punishment imposed. Reckless conduct at the very least.

With the accounts of the story varying so widely in the media and not having first hand knowledge, I will leave it to the investigators to sort it out. And havingfirst hand experience with the common workings of local politics, I will leave it to the people present in the class to see that the investigators don't try to scam the people and cover up the facts or forgo proper punishment.

Take care,

Doc