SF rookie cop shoots himself in the neck

[Cross-X]

SF rookie shoots himself in the neck
http://www.examiner.com/a- 879910~I.../> himself.html

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - A rookie San Francisco police officer accidentally shot himself with his service revolver Saturday while demonstrating a police maneuver during a party at his San Mateo apartment, authorities said Monday.

Officer James Gustafson, 23, was wounded in the neck and head by a single shot at 1:40 a.m. Saturday and died an hour later after being transported to Stanford Hospital. San Mateo police called the incident a “terrible accident,” and the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office said the investigation indicated it was an accident and not a suicide or homicide.

Raised in Millbrae, Gustafson graduated from the San Francisco Police Academy one year ago and had just finished the field-officer training program at the Mission Police Station. He was assigned two weeks ago to the Central Police Station, which covers many popular locales in downtown San Francisco, and officials there called him “pleasant” and a “great kid.”

“It was not a purposeful act for him to shoot the weapon,” San Mateo Capt. Kevin Raffaelli said of the “terrible accident.”


According to authorities, roughly 15 people were at the gathering in Gustafson’s apartment on the 100 block of El Camino Real, but only one person witnessed the incident.

Raffaelli would not say whether there was alcohol was involved, nor would he indicate if other police officers attended the gathering.

Standard autopsy tests will reveal whether Gustafson had been drinking at the time, San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said. The general orders manual for San Francisco police officers says officers are prohibited from possessing a firearm while intoxicated, and general firearms training guidelines include instructions to always handle a firearm as if it were loaded.

“The indication is that he was demonstrating some type of move with the gun,” Foucrault said. He added that it was his understanding that the move was perhaps how to disarm someone and the gun was his service weapon.

The single accidental gunshot hit Gustafson in the upper neck and head area, Foucrault added.

“Obviously, this tragedy happened; obviously, something went wrong,” San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Steve Mannina said.

 

[Admin]

“The indication is that he was demonstrating some type of move with the gun,” Foucrault said. He added that it was his understanding that the move was perhaps how to disarm someone and the gun was his service weapon.

Sounds like a great idea to do this while the gun is loaded in a room full of people. He's lucky he isn't being charged with manslaughter.

 

[pdm]

But only cops should have guns...

 

[Fsorrent]

hmmm....Note to self, if I'm drinking and feel absoluetly compelled to do kung fu moves on a guy with a loaded gun someone please stop me! thanks

 

[1903Collector]

Don't he feel like an a**h***...

 

[FeeBear]

Sounds like a great idea to do this while the gun is loaded in a room full of people. He's lucky he isn't being charged with manslaughter.

Hey Derek,

Not to be a smartass but the guy is dead? How in the world is he lucky? I'd rather be charged with manslaughter than dead.

Fee

 

[csharpdev]

What sort of "police maneuver" requires the pointing of your loaded gun at your own head (or neck)?

 

[Admin]

Hey Derek,

Not to be a smartass but the guy is dead? How in the world is he lucky? I'd rather be charged with manslaughter than dead.

Fee

Would you rather kill yourself being stupid or kill a friend by being stupid? He was lucky.

 

[Fsorrent]

I'm assuming Derek was referring to the cops highly intelligent friend.

 

[Fsorrent]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=p_cyPIJBjSE

Had to have been watching this video with his buddies, had a couple brewski's in him, and decided to go Bas Rutten on his friend with a guns ass...which resulted in a bullet in the neck

 

[FeeBear]

Would you rather kill yourself being stupid or kill a friend by being stupid? He was lucky.

Okay when you put it that way, I rather not be responsible for killing someone because of my own stupidity.

Fee

 

[RKG]

Sounds like a great idea to do this while the gun is loaded in a room full of people. He's lucky he isn't being charged with manslaughter.

Hard to get service of process (after an autopsy).

 

[Admin]

Hard to get service of process (after an autopsy).

Read on.

 

[Cuz]

Would you rather kill yourself being stupid or kill a friend by being stupid? He was lucky.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[szaino]

The article said "service revolver". Does SF issue revolvers to its finest?

 

[Cross-X]

CA: Rookie cop who killed himself removed clip, left bullet in chamber
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...eed=rss.bayarea

Rookie cop who killed himself removed clip, left bullet in chamber

Jaxon Van Derbeken,John Coté, Chronicle Staff Writers

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The San Francisco rookie police officer who accidentally shot himself to death fired his weapon while displaying for a female friend how officers are taught to avoid having their guns used against them, law enforcement authorities said Tuesday.

The incident happened at 1:40 a.m. Saturday during a gathering of as many as 15 people at the San Mateo apartment of the 23-year-old officer, James Gustafson Jr.

According to those familiar with the incident, Gustafson was showing his Police Department-issued semiautomatic pistol after removing the clip that stores the rounds. He explained that there are ways an officer can disable a weapon in close proximity to keep it from being fired.

It apparently was part of a demonstration of the department's "weapons retention" procedures. However, there was still a bullet in the chamber.

Gustafson pointed the weapon at his neck and pulled the trigger, shooting himself, according to authorities.

San Francisco Police Department policy is never to point a gun at a target that an officer does not intend to shoot, authorities said.

San Mateo police Capt. Kevin Raffaelli, whose agency is leading the investigation of the incident, declined to comment Tuesday other than to say that police do not believe other officers were present at the time of the shooting.

Some of those at the party apparently were drinking, authorities said. Toxicology results from Gustafson's autopsy will not be available for several weeks.

Gustafson graduated from the San Francisco Police Academy in January and had just finished a six-month stint in the Mission District under a field training officer. He had recently been assigned to the department's Central Station.

 

[csharpdev]

"He explained that there are ways an officer can disable a weapon in close proximity to keep it from being fired." Yup he demonstrated that very well...

 

[Mikey]

Well I guess it is time for SF to take the guns away from the cops like everyone else, hey if it will only save one life....

 

[Riverside]

I attended a Hand Gun Course recently. In one section of the student material there was advice about not showing friends your firearm at parties. No matter how tempting it may be to show off a new firearm or try to entice someone else to our "sport", refrain from doing so until you are in a controlled environment.
I guess this young rookie police officer forgot about the basic rules for hand gun safety.
Everyone who handles a pistol should know that after the magazine is removed, there's always a round left in the barrel. Believe it and check for it.
This young officer would not have killed himself if he just stuck to the basic rules of safety instead of acting like Mr. Big Shot, no pun intended.
Best Regards.

 

[drgrant]

Two things came to mind when I saw this:

And.....

TPIR failure horns

Darwin has christened a new champion. (for today at least. )

 

[JonJ]

A very stupid and totally preventable accident.
Just out of curiosity, anyone know what they carry?

 

[Slim]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=p_cyPIJBjSE

Had to have been watching this video with his buddies, had a couple brewski's in him, and decided to go Bas Rutten on his friend with a guns ass...which resulted in a bullet in the neck

"dangety dangety dang...."

 

[Len-2A Training]

He certainly did NOT "Learn" about SAFE firearm handling from his training.

Seems like he was destined to be "an accident about to happen" so it's best that he offed himself before he injured/killed someone else with his stupidity.

I'm pretty sure I know what he was attempting to demonstrate, but it's just not a safe thing to do with an operational gun. He should have used a "blue gun" (solid plastic) and just talked his way thru how this would work.

I was in ZHA last week and chatting with Jim and a Boston PO who came in to pick up his H&K USPc (Jim had changed the sights for him). Once when the Boston PO handed it to me, he cleared it in front of me and then handed it to me closed. When he saw me check it again, he immediately apologized and said that he goofed and should have handed it to me with the action open.

 

[RKG]

Beyond the obvious, there is another aspect of this story that is worth pausing to consider: the danger of the false reliance upon safeties.

The type of pistol isn't identified, but a dollar to a doughnut says that either (a) the pistol was design with a "magazine disconnect" and it didn't work as designed or (b) the late lamented rookie thought the pistol had a magazine disconnect and it didn't.

I don't like manual safeties. Apart from such designs as the M1 (Garand) and the 1911 (Gov't Model), most safeties inject an additional means of accidental discharge. The record is replete with reports of weapons firing when the safety is released (usually non-Mauser bolt actions, such as the early Remington 700s). In addition, putting a safety "on" tends to trigger a mental response downgrading the potential danger of a loaded (or loaded status unknown or unconfirmed) weapon.

 

[Admin]

In addition, putting a safety "on" tends to trigger a mental response downgrading the potential danger of a loaded (or loaded status unknown or unconfirmed) weapon.

+1!!!!

 

[sksguns]

The San Francisco rookie police officer who accidentally shot himself to death fired his weapon while displaying for a female friend how officers are taught to avoid having their guns used against them, law enforcement authorities said Tuesday.


How ironic....

well, no date for him with that female officer and I guess their training only covered how to not have your gun used against you by anyone else other than yourself....

It's sad what happened but he let his ego and desire to impress a female get in front of safety. Had he remembered his training and safety rules this would never have happened.

 

[dwarven1]

By EOB today the Supervisor or the Mayor of the City of San Francisco will call for a law mandating that all semi-auto pistols sold in CA must have magazine disconnects.

At least, that's what my magic 10002 ball says.

 

[adweisbe]

Tyler Durden? Is that you?

 

[Mikey]

The type of pistol isn't identified,

Well the first article said "service revolver" and the second one mentioned removal of a "clip" so it must have been a S&W 625 with half moonclips, meaning he left one in and well you know what happened next.