Earlier today, we told you about the re-launch of Evolve which wants to be the sine qua non of firearms safety. And who isn’t for firearms safety, right? Though we don’t know what’s on the top of their current to-do list, they may want to consider getting into the business of remedial training of police officers in the four rules of firearms handling safety. It’s pretty obvious that the Chillicothe, Ohio PD has made an utter hash of it. Of course, whatever good Evolve can do in that area will come too late for Krystal Barrows, but we have to start somewhere, right? . . .
According to dailycaller.com,
A police investigation determined that the fatal shot had come from the weapon of Sgt. Brett McKnight. According to a police press release, the news came as a surprise to McKnight, who was allegedly unaware that he had even fired.
The department suspects that McKnight fired his weapon by accident, at the exact moment that the flash grenade was detonated. Flash grenades are used to create confusion for suspects as police initiate a raid, although in this case, the police were just as confused as the inhabitants of the trailer.
The thing about the four rules is, they’re easy to remember, simple to observe and you have to violate at least two of them for something bad to happen. Despite their basic nature, this travesty seems like a clear case of wanton neglect of rules two and three.
Fortunately for responsible firearms owners – i.e., the vast majority of them – this deadly negligent discharge was the fault of a police officer. Otherwise, Barrows’ wrongful death would have been trumpeted across the intertubes by people like Joe Nocera or Shannon Watts as an example of why firearms ownership should be restricted to responsible people like those in law enforcement agencies and the military.
But we won’t be subjected to any of that in this case. No, a story like this will probably make a quick exit from the news pages with relatively little attention given to it. Other than by the taxpayers of Chillicothe, of course, who’ll likely end up paying for the eventual large settlement to the family. Not that that will make this Christmas any happier for Barrows’ four children.
[h/t DrVino]