Officer hurt in accidental shooting (by 3yr old son) sues gun maker

[doobie]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080709-2237-ca-officershot-lawsuit.html

I'm telling you GLOCK (and every other firearm manufacturer) needs to just stop selling guns and supporting firearms in Cali, it'll make it much safer.

LOS ANGELES – An off-duty Los Angeles police officer who was paralyzed after his young son accidentally shot him in 2006 filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the manufacturer of the gun involved in the accident.

Enrique Chavez of Anaheim was shot in the back by his 3-year-old son after the boy grabbed his father's Glock 21 – a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol – from the back seat of his pickup truck.

The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court, alleges that Glock Inc.'s gun was dangerous because its safety device was “non-existent or ineffective” at preventing an accidental shot.

Chavez, 35, is also suing the manufacturer of the gun's holster and the retail stores that sold him the gun and the holster. He bought the gun at the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club and purchased a holster made by Uncle Mike's and Bushnell Outdoor Products from Turner's Outdoorsman.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants knew the safety device was defective and that 5.5 pounds of pressure on the trigger frequently results in accidental discharges.

The lawsuit alleges product liability, breach of warranty and loss of consortium, and seeks general, special and punitive damages, and attorneys fees.

Calls made after business hours to the defendants were not immediately returned Wednesday night.

 

[Blitz1]

What an idiot.

 

[atmay]

wait....so the gun ISNT supposed to go off when you pull the trigger?


maybe thats what ive been doing wrong.....

 

[Big_Red]

Oh yeah...he was too stupid to secure his gun and now that he is paralyzed due to his stupidity he wants money...NICE!

 

[Dench]

I'm telling you GLOCK (and every other firearm manufacturer) needs to just stop selling guns and supporting firearms in Cali, it'll make it much safer.

barret already stoped selling and servicing their rifles to that state.

 

[Riverside]

Too bad he can't sue himself! He's the at fault party. LAPD should be the secondary defendent in his suit. They were stupid enough to hire this fool who didn't know enough to secure his firearm.
IMHO, all the other named parties have no liability.
Best Regards.

 

[M1911]

barret already stoped selling and servicing their rifles to that state.

Yeah, but Ronnie B.'s got a pair of b*lls. Apparently the other manufacturers do not.

 

[Admin]

The lawsuit alleges the defendants knew the safety device was defective and that 5.5 pounds of pressure on the trigger frequently results in accidental discharges.

The lawsuit alleges product liability, breach of warranty and loss of consortium, and seeks general, special and punitive damages, and attorneys fees.

I've had 4.5 lbs in my match guns and have shot thousands upon thousands of rounds with NOT ONE ND or AD.

This guy is a perfect example of why America is going down the toilet.

 

[Dman]

Why is it titled "Officer Hurt"?

The fact that he was a cop had nothing to do with him leaving his gun on the seat and his kid shooting him.

 

[Pete85]

Unless this child is huge for his age, he would have, by law, been in a booster seat. So this cop stores his handgun, completely loaded, with a trigger that he obviously knows only takes a few pounds of pressure to fire, within a couple feet of his 3 year old child. If that isn't the definition of irresponsibility then there is no such thing.

 

[jdubois]

I've had 4.5 lbs in my match guns and have shot thousands upon thousands of rounds with NOT ONE ND or AD.

Yeah, but you never can be too sure. I got trigger jobs for all my guns, and now they've all got a 500 lb pull. Now when I let my toddler screw around with my loaded guns, there's no problem!

 

[pdm]

Never give a loaded gun to a monkey, no matter how responsible he seems.

 

[tuna]

barret already stoped selling and servicing their rifles to that state.

Actually, CA state law prevented him from selling his rifles. He just made sure not to exempt LEOs and other CA state agencies from their own laws.



IIRC, didn't he rechamber his rifles to just a bit under .50 to be Kali-legal?

 

[doobie]

wait....so the gun ISNT supposed to go off when you pull the trigger?


maybe thats what ive been doing wrong.....

Saves you money!!!

 

[PSS]

what a knob! it's always the guns fault.i'm so tired of hearing that the gun is to blame.

 

[drgrant]

IIRC, didn't he rechamber his rifles to just a bit under .50 to be Kali-legal?

Mark Serbu, IIRC, chambered a bunch of stuff in .50 DTC as a way to get
around the ban. Might be some other rifles that use it as well. The whole
ban is really stupid- you can get something that's just as terminally effective
or even more, it just can't be a .50 BMG.

I think a bunch of .50 BMG manufacturers sold a shitload of receivers to CA
before the ban went into effect. For awhile there a lot of the builders
were diverting all production capability to fill the CA orders!

-Mike

 

[Ray-500]

I've had 4.5 lbs in my match guns and have shot thousands upon thousands of rounds with NOT ONE ND or AD.

This guy is a perfect example of why America is going down the toilet.

Amen. Just another example of the increasing "gimmee" attitude rather than taking personal responsibility for one's own stupidity.

 

[Ray-500]

Yeah, but you never can be too sure. I got trigger jobs for all my guns, and now they've all got a 500 lb pull. Now when I let my toddler screw around with my loaded guns, there's no problem!

That trigger finger has got to be classified as a deadly weapon.

 

[Garys]

This wasn't an accidental shooting. I don't think negligent is a strong enough word either. "Stupidity induced" is probably a better term. The guy should sue himself because he is the only one responsible for this.

 

[bggsp]

Why can't anyone ever take responsibilty for their actions anymore? Sounds to me like he was asking for it. Maybe he'll sue the Supreme Court now.

 

[JonJ]

This wasn't an accidental shooting. I don't think negligent is a strong enough word either. "Stupidity induced" is probably a better term. The guy should sue himself because he is the only one responsible for this.

Ya but no lawyer would ever take that suit on a contingency.

 

[doobie]

Why can't anyone ever take responsibilty for their actions anymore? Sounds to me like he was asking for it. Maybe he'll sue the Supreme Court now.

He will after he loses his case.

 

[rscalzo]

This is no different then every other person who is injured by a inanimate object. Crash the car, sue the auto manufacture. Cut your arm off with a chain saw...sue the manufacturer. Every lawyer is going after the guy with the deep pockets. This isn't the first time a firearm's manufacturer has been sued by someone who was injured or killed by one of their products. The lawyers will go back and forth. Then a settlement will be made. It's all a game.

 

[Ray-500]

This is no different then every other person who is injured by a inanimate object. Crash the car, sue the auto manufacture. Cut your arm off with a chain saw...sue the manufacturer. Every lawyer is going after the guy with the deep pockets. This isn't the first time a firearm's manufacturer has been sued by someone who was injured or killed by one of their products. The lawyers will go back and forth. Then a settlement will be made. It's all a game.

It is a very expensive game that ends up costing each and every one of us in the price of products.

 

[Palladin]

what an a**h*** this guy is.
Should have been charged for not securing the weapon.

 

[Raoul Duke]

That's why you're supposed to have a gun-proof baby lock on kids under 12.

 

[jdubois]

That's why you're supposed to have a gun-proof baby lock on kids under 12.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Man, that was fast! Talk about rushed into production. Still, I bet you'll make a mint in this state alone.

 

[dreppucci007]

Unless this child is huge for his age, he would have, by law, been in a booster seat. So this cop stores his handgun, completely loaded, with a trigger that he obviously knows only takes a few pounds of pressure to fire, within a couple feet of his 3 year old child. If that isn't the definition of irresponsibility then there is no such thing.

+1 That's the first thing that ran through my mind, too. What a douche.

The a**h*** probably reached back for his gun and shot himself, but had to blame it on the baby so nobody knows he shot himself.

 

[Scrivener]

Enrique Chavez of Anaheim was shot in the back by his 3-year-old son after the boy grabbed his father's Glock 21 – a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol – from the back seat of his pickup truck.

I'm surprised the child could even fire the gun and suspect there may be more to this story. I would love to see the results of a test of the baby's hands for gunshot residue and/or its prints on the gun.

Assuming, of course, that LAPD had the intelligence to actually check.