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| School safety officer patrolling the hallways. |
A Town of Lloyd police officer is on unpaid suspension as police investigate an incident at Highland High School in which his pistol went off.
Officer Sean McCutcheon, a school resource officer for Highland Central School District, “accidentally discharged” his gun in the hallway of the high school at 1:38 p.m. Tuesday, the school district and police said.
No information has been released about how the gun went off, and the investigation by the Town of Lloyd Police Department into the incident is continuing, Lt. James Janso said.
“He’s suspended pending the investigation,” Janso said. He added the suspension is standard protocol for an investigation like this.
The officer’s weapon, a Glock .45-caliber pistol, was taken as evidence.
The idea of more guns in school classrooms keeping our children safer is mathematically ridiculous. The more guns you have, the more gun accidents you have.
The more gun accidents you have, the more gun injuries and fatalities you have.
It does not take a genius to figure that out, but since it does require somebody with a working brain I guess it is jsut a little too much for some R3epublicna lawmakers, and the NRA.
Update: It looks like this incident has caused the New York town to question the wisdom of putting armed guards in their schools:
A New York town that began assigning an armed police officer to guard a high school in the wake of the Connecticut massacre has suspended the program after an officer accidentally discharged his pistol in a hallway while classes were in session.
Hopefully people will start to think logically and not allow themselves to react impulsively to the emotion they felt after the Newtown shootings.
More guns in the schools, more gun injuries in the schools. Simple math.
O/T
ReplyDeleteNot having known my Nana, I want to be adopted by this one!! She's started my day with a smile, a laugh heard throughout my house and a 'She didn't!!!' - Oh yes she did!! Love her!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP9b_91PHi8&feature=player_embedded
Made my day! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteLove her! "I could dance all fucking day!" LOL
DeleteIt's not just the increased chance of accidental discharge. With all these people walking around with itchy trigger fingers, all wee wee'd up so to speak, how many more people will be hurt or killed by those reacting to the accidental discharge? Might as well put surveyor's symbols on the kids. I guess we have to learn our lesson the hard way on this one. Sad.
ReplyDeleteSee: Law of Unintended Consequences
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of: http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/03/man-beaten-with-own-shotgun-on-seattles-capitol-hill-dies/
DeleteUnfortunately someone is probably going to have to die before they back off this morbidly stupid guns-in-schools idea.
ReplyDeleteI know there are going to be some who slam me for my ownership of handguns, but I am going to ask this anyway.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Why the HELL is this police department using .45 caliber handguns?! One of the prime reasons the 9mm is popular with police departments is its low penetration ability. And by that I mean it doesn't carry as far from room to room. Walls stop them fairly well, which helps reduce collateral damage. So why the .45?
Second, my holster has a tie down strap. It runs across the back of the gun BETWEEN the firing pin and the hammer. (I do that deliberately.) (And yes, I keep the safety on) It is quite literally impossible for the hammer to hit the firing pin to fire the gun as long as the strap is snapped shut. Plus, I make certain there is NO shell in the chamber.
And before someone attempts to slam me for saying that, I CHECK that chamber EVERY time - and I do mean EVERY TIME - I pick up that weapon! I remove the magazine and open the slide far enough it actually locks in place in the "empty" position. I then check the chamber before I allow the slide to close. THEN I replace the magazine.
I realize that isn't necessarily a smart thing to do for police since they need to be able to fire quickly in emergencies, but it works for me and I have NEVER had an "accidental" discharge. (50+ years)
And it doesn't answer the questions of why that caliber and why there was a discharge. I hope Gryphen follows this story and lets us know if there is an answer. Unless the news just forgets about it.
ALL handgun service calibers, 9mm .40 .45, have very close terminal ballistic characteristics. Do your homework.
DeleteAnd they all have much less muzzle energy and are much less powerful than a rifle or shotgun.
Handguns are used because they are convenient to carry, not because they have the most stopping power.
going through walls . . yeah, a 45 caliber bullet was shot from a car two blocks from a building we were working in (robber shooting at a man running away from robbers)
Delete....the 45 bullet came through a huge double glazed picture window (costing thousands), custom wooden blinds (costing over a thousand) then went through two antique heavy carved wood doors on slider (costing thousands). through an antique mirror (costing $$$$).... and then continued through two thick original plaster walls out into the hallway
then the bullet penetrated two more walls of the apartment across the hall through their television..... before pinging off the far wall (left a divet in the plaster) and then dropped to the floor in the middle of the occupied room.
The damages were in the thousands . . .the "cost of freedoms" for people who never pay for the damages they inflict.
For Get Smart:
DeleteI never mentioned anything about terminal ballistic characteristics. In fact, I never mentioned most of what you brought up.
What I DID say was that the 9mm was usually the weapon of choice for police departments because they have less chance of penetrating walls. Of course, I am not talking about cement block walls or concrete. I am (and I suppose should have said this) talking about the most common wall in this country - sheet rock and studs.
As for your comment about them not having anywhere near the muzzle velocity of a rifle or shotgun, I would think THAT was so obvious only an idiot would even bring it up. However, since you DID bring it up, I can EASILY counter your statement: "They all have much less muzzle energy and are much less powerful than a rifle or shotgun."
Flat out WRONG! I will admit that MOST of the time that is true, but it is NOT true of ALL. Ever fired a fifty caliber Desert Eagle? How about one of MY .45 caliber loads? (I can easily say you haven't fired one of my .45's.) You see, I reload my own ammunition. It is considerably cheaper. I can promise you that my .45's are above some rifle power ranges. (And please note I said SOME.)
What does my .45 do? Okay. I use a 300 grain military copper jacketed round nose bullet. I cram enough powder in there (and no, I will NOT specify how much or what type) so that my muzzle velocity is 1350 feet per second. (That's range tested and verified.) Want to get hit with that? Vest or no vest, it will hurt you enough - even without penetration - to take you out of any fire fight.
Do my homework? Yeah, right. Take your flat statements and go home.
But before you do, read the comment immediately following yours.
As usual, Rachel was a must see last night. She did a beautiful job tracing the tobacco growers attempts to deflect any guilt from lung cancer victims..or smokers. This story is exactly the same with the gun makers....it took major yelling by the public, and I sure hope it doesn't take as long. They are funding the NRA to take the blame for their products, I hope her show gets spread all over the media. We don't have C.Everett Koop this time, but I think the ER doctors/hospital owners should be screaming loud at Congress, which BTW passed another stupid law forbidding any lawsuits against their products. That little factoid should be front and center...esp by Gabby & Mark. The push against tobacco worked, just like the drunk driver laws....lets hope one of the brave NRA hating do nothing Congress members introduces that bill.
ReplyDeleteBetween the major coverage of the pope krap (are you kidding..who cares),the Obama dinner/lunch fallout, and the jerk of the year award to Rand Paul, its time for a news blackout.
Thanks for drawing attention to Rachel's excellent takedown of the slimy game the NRA is playing, on behalf of the gun manufacturers...its why I hit the comment button--but you said it better than I could have!
DeleteI wish she would have asked Axelrod about the torture/death squad regime Petraeus oversaw in Iraq, the one organized by James Steele, a true sociopath. He served directly under Petraeus, cut his teeth doing dirty work in El Salvador. Watch the hour long report on the Guardian site. It will ruin your day.
Deletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/06/pentagon-iraqi-torture-centres-link?INTCMP=SRCH
Question...
ReplyDeleteHow long do we think it will be before one of these armed security officers cracks and 'discharges his gun' INTENTIONALLY?
Great plan, GOP. Great plan.
/snark
They are not arming this teacher. I work with teenagers, and I might shoot one or two on any given day.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the shallowness of thought on this issue. Do they really think every single person in our society is stable enough to be entrusted with a deadly weapon?
ReplyDeleteAll you have to do is stand in line at a grocery store to realize that there are people who should never be given access to a gun and ammo. because sometgimes it scares me that they even drive a car.
Think about that - would you want a road rage driver with access to a gun? I don't think so. The NRA and the politcians it has bought don't give a damn about the American people. It truly is all about money and power.
Most of the current Repubes haven't cared about the PEOPLE for DECADES!!!!!!!
DeleteNRA's sponsored headline by irresponsible gun cops say was often used to "horse around":
ReplyDeletein rural Michigan....a 16-year old shot in face playing Russian Roulette
" it wasn't uncommon for Usher to horse around with the gun. Bennett told 24 Hour News 8, the sheriff's department has responded multiple times to that neighborhood on reports of shots fired.
"We've learned through our investigation it was not uncommon for that group of individuals to take that gun out of its storage place and play with the gun," said Bennett. "Obviously in this particular situation, the gun was loaded and had tragic results."
According to authorities, the gun appears to be registered to another family member who lives at the house, and Usher had it in his room for "some time" before last night's incident."
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/ottawa_county/teenager-shot-in-face-after-horseplay?hpt=us_bn9
It's not an "accidental" discharge - it's a NEGLIGENT discharge.
ReplyDeleteI know there is a joke in there somewhere, but for some reason I'm finding armed guards in schools less and less funny.
Delete9:58, I think what you are looking for is "Premature" Discharge!
DeleteSouth Dakota Guv Signs Bill Allowing Armed ‘Sentinels’ In Schools
ReplyDeleteSouth Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) on Friday signed the so-called "school sentinels" bill that will allow local school districts to place armed volunteers on campus, the Argus Leader reported.
The bill emerged as a major point of contention during the current legislative session, but supporters highlighted the fact that the measure will not force any school to accept sentinels on campus. Instead, the law will empower school boards to implement sentinels programs — an option that supporters said is important for small schools that lack a robust law enforcement presence in their communities. But the bill drew opposition from many superintendents and education groups.
Under the law, the armed personnel must be trained by state officials and approved by law enforcement. The New York Times reported that Daugaard's signing of the bill likely makes South Dakota "the first state to pass a law that specifically allows teachers to carry firearms,"although teachers do not necessarily have to serve as the sentinels under the law.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/south-dakota-guv-signs-bill-allowing-armed-sentinels
School Suspends Armed Guard Program After Cop Shoots Gun In Hallway
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/sean-mccutcheon-officer-fired-shot-highland-new-york-high-school-suspended_n_2829636.html
More wacky ballistic hijinks from the World's Freedom-lovingest Police State.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the job description for a "Resource Officer"? Any clown related to someone on the school board or some politician? I'm glad they're re thinking this idea, because having a police state in a school does not foster an environment for learning.
ReplyDeleteConsidering no one got injured or killed, I would hope this guy learned something from this "accident".
A teacher in Texas shot a janitor, accidently. Or is it even an accident when you have a weapon in your hand?
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of weenies
ReplyDelete,