There was a weird, fatal, accidental handgun discharge in Detroit that got instant national news coverage. The AP tells us Detroit police: Woman hugs off-duty officer during dance; his service weapon fires, kills her. Excerpt:
According to [police Sgt. Eren] Stephens, the woman “embraced the officer from behind, causing the holstered weapon to accidently discharge.” The bullet punctured Miller’s lung and hit her heart, and she died at a hospital.
Let's skip over to the Detroit Free Press which says this:
The weapon, a department-issued, 40-caliber Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol, was in a holster worn inside the officer’s waistband and was covered by his shirt, Goldpaugh said.
So let's try to generate a mental picture of how it happened.
Now, I'm not a dancer. But I have seen some dancing on TV. And the type dancing they do these days would make Fred and Ginger blush. It's not dancing cheek to cheek. It's not even face to face. Some body parts are aligned, though, and it might more accurately be described as the bump 'n grind.
And if, in fact, the gun was in the officer's waistband, the victim's chest must have been on the level of the police officer's thighs. Here's where my mental picture gets very fuzzy, so let's just stop here.
Since it was such a tragic event our sensitive nature prevents us from making a joke about this. You know, something like this alternate headline: "She though he was just happy to see her, but that really was a gun in his pocket."
Instead, let's just remember that if any carried weapon doesn't have a manual safety it should be contained in a holster that covers the trigger for the safety of all those ladies who like to do the sneak up 'n hug.
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