Cop Mixes Up Gun and Tazer

MMiz

MMiz

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Man Gets $900K After Cop Accidentally Shoots Him

(AP) Rochester, Minn. A man accidentally shot by a Rochester police officer who thought he was reaching for a stun-gun will receive $900,000 in a settlement reached in U.S. District Court.

On Sept. 2, 2002, two Rochester police officers were responding to a call involving Christofar Atak, a refugee from Sudan, who had been drinking and jumped in front of a police car.

Investigators said during a struggle an officer thought he was pulling the trigger of his Taser against Atak's back -- but instead of a Taser, it was his .40-caliber Glock handgun.

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Oops.

What if the cop didn't have the Taser??? could this altrication have progressed to deadly force...probably...

Jon
 
Any altercation COULD progress to the use of deadly force, but it doesn't seem to be the case at the time the officer pulled the trigger. The actor's back was to the officer and that does not constitute an immediate threat.
 
Since the mix-up, the Police Department has purchased new stun guns that are much smaller and a different color than their service pistols. The Tasers are also positioned on the other side of the holster from the handgun.
Click to expand...

iirc there was a big drive to get black squirt guns that looked a tad too real off the market, maybe the taser people should subscribe to the same philosophy ?

~S~
 
Maybe even a different color? Like Neon yellow...

Hell, if he was going to shoot him anyway, may as well had just ran over him.


*spelling
 
Ummm....the Taser is availible in Fire Truck Yellow. Parts of the "black" ones are a black/yellow stripe.

Jon
 
Yeah, it was my understanding that there's specific design features (at least of the newer ones) to make Tasers both visually and tactilely distinguishable from service weapon. Also, all the officers I've seen that carry the Taser carry it in a very seperate location from their service weapon (most I've seen have been on their left hip).
 
Originally posted by SafetyPro@Oct 24 2005, 11:24 AM
Yeah, it was my understanding that there's specific design features (at least of the newer ones) to make Tasers both visually and tactilely distinguishable from service weapon. Also, all the officers I've seen that carry the Taser carry it in a very seperate location from their service weapon (most I've seen have been on their left hip).
Click to expand...
That is correct. The newer model X-26 is much smaller and has a different feel than the M-26.

There are several cases where the M-26 was mistaken for the Glock under stress.

We carry our X-26's on the opposite hip and in reverse, so that it doesn't appear like a "Wild West" gunslinger.

It is also handy the X-26 has a LASER, LIGHT and LED DISPLAY. All things my dept issued Glock does not have.
 
Most tasers are designed to look and even shoot different than the officer's handgun to preven this. They should also be worn on a different part of the belt, so there's less confusion in a struggle.

This isn't the first time this has happened...though I can see how it might in an intense struggle with contorted body positions and flyings arms and legs. Departments should provide adequate training for minimizing chances of these kinds of mistakes, though.
 
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