Woman fatally shot by Fla. police officer during gun demonstration – “A 73-year-old woman was shot and killed by a police officer in front of about 34 people Tuesday evening during a live gun demonstration just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday at police headquarters, the department said. Mary Knowlton was one of two Citizen Police Academy students chosen to participate in a ‘shoot/don’t shoot’ role-playing situation, Punta Gorda police said. The demonstration was supposed to instruct the class about making decisions ‘using simulated lethal force,’ according to Chief Thomas Lewis.” So the officer responsible for this travesty not only failed to clear his handgun, but he had his finger on the trigger and pointed it at someone in a room full of people. Three of four safety rules broken. This is what blue guns were made for. But remember, civilians can’t be trusted with the awesome responsibility that is gun ownership.
U.S. Shooting Team Roasts Piers Morgan Over Olympic Shooting Competition Tweet – “The U.S. shooting team fired back at Morgan on Twitter saying that the gun in the shooting event was only a pellet gun. They also added that Thrasher was not a favorite in the competition by any means and that there were also six athletes that took place in the competition that were from his own nation, Great Britain.” Good to see them returning fire, but it’s usually best not to feed the trolls.
RF and his lovely daughters are currently on vacay, driving through the Land of Enchantment. Stopping for dinner last night, they came across this sign at Yellow Brix restaurant in Carlsbad. We’re sure other People of the Gun in the area will want to favor them with their business, too.
Kinda looks like a virtual TAVOR: Striker VR Shows off Working Prototype of ARENA Infinity Haptic VR Gun – “Based on the awesome retro-futuristic design by Edon Guraziu, Striker VR is showing off the first working prototype of the Arena Infinity. Aimed at the Digital Out-of-Home VR sector, the wireless peripheral has on-board haptics based on a linear actuator. The gun is capable of impressively powerful kick, especially for an electronic system, adding a convincing recoil to firing a virtual weapon.”
Our dear friend Shannon Watts wasted no time in jumping on the latest Trumpism to waive her own personal victim flag: Gun Extremists Have Been Coming After Women for Years – We Aren’t Scared & Neither Is Hillary – “You see, as a leader of the nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization, I know what it feels like to be a woman threatened for speaking out in favor of gun safety.” It’s always been all about Shannon. Liberal use of some more of the tired ‘war on women’ narrative only helps keep it that way.
Carlsbad California?
Land of enchantment = New Mexico. Carlsbad Caverns, is an incredible place near the SW border.
“Carlsbad Caverns, is an incredible place near the SW border.”
So much this.
If you haven’t seen it, put it on your bucket list.
Arguably the most impressive cave is Cueva de los Cristales, or Cave of Crystals in Mexico, but touring it is *very* expensive as it is 117 F inside and is in a mine currently in production.
Check these pics out:
http://www.tourismontheedge.com/get-extreme/largest-crystals-in-the-world-giant-crystal-cave-mexico
I don’t blame you for knowing nothing about New Mexico. No one not from NM ever does.
Land of terrible roads and drunk drivers.
^^^This. Can’t wait to get out of this state.
Seriously? We normally cut through Clovis when heading back from our trips to NM, but when we go to Carlsbad we use 285 to 10. You can tell when you’ve crossed into Texas as the road goes from well-maintained to all-potholes-all-the-time.
Granted, ABQ is a dump that nobody would miss if if miraculously fell into the ocean with Tuscon and the CA coast, but northern NM is a pretty place to be.
On a more TTAG related note, I don’t care for their qualify on semi/revolver and caliber requirement and much prefer the TX model of one is good enough.
Katy, agreed re type/caliber, that always struck me as silly.
Then again, my CCP instructor was active in the movement to get concealed carry legal in the state (both times) and he told my class it was part of the “compromise” they needed to do with the dems. Given that, I understand why it seems silly and nonsensical. At least this time it worked in our favor … sort of.
I’ve been to New Mexico one time, and will return as soon as time and finances permit. Terrible roads were sort of the plan all along (prospecting and abandoned mine documentation trip), and we were so far out in the boonies that encountering a drunk driver (or any other driver, for that matter) wasn’t very likely. The Magdalenas are beautiful in late March and early April, and it’s not yet warm enough for the snakes to be active. I still carried a pump shotgun the whole time, because desert.
ExploringAbandonedMines, is that you?
In college the tip two questions I got were as follows:
1: “You’re from Mexico!?!? Wow, your English is good!”
2: “So you speak Spanish?” (Wanting help with Spanish classes).
Someone from Florida asked me, “Do you need a passport to visit New Mexico?”
My reply, “Only if you are from Florida.”
I used to go skiing in New Mexico and Colorado. The small chat that would ensue on the ski lift rides always started with a “where are you from?” I’d tell them that I was from Texas. There would be a brief pause and they’d usually follow up with either “how many horses do you have, ” or “do you ride a horse to work/school?”
Yes, they were generally serious. FFS, last I checked this was the 21st century and Texas is making money is sectors of industry that New Mexico and Colorado can only dream about. Horses, please?
Dude…I was trolling you. Remember when I asked if ski boots were really bigger in Texas?
“… No one not from NM ever does.
I”m from PA. I do.
Walter White.
Glad to see a business supporting the Second Amendment, but…
He is not supporting the Second Amendment. He is in favor of Concealed Carry, and specifically states “the carrying of licensed concealed weapons”, which goes directly against the phrase, “…the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
It is vitally important that we educate people who are at least nominally on our side that the wording needs to be accurate and state that they truly support the 2A. In fact, the sign should state that the business supports the natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, open or concealed, without regard to government permission slips.
This.
Unfortunately most people are so brainwashed they don’t even realize that requiring license for carry of weapons IS infringement on 2A rights.
In movies the good gun owners are always licensed and the gun registered.
Wow, blowing kapo bloomberg has really stoked monsanto momy’s ego.
And she’s a Hiliary fan.
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you
Meanwhile the LA sheriffs finally admit they killed an innocent person after slandering the victim for 6 weeks as a “criminal”
http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/10/six-weeks-later-la-sheriffs-department-a
July 28 was six weeks ago?
The article was on Reason.com not Math.com!:-)
“…women are disproportionately affected by weak gun laws. We represent 50% of victims of mass shootings ”
That is not what disproportionately means.
Actually, it is disproportionate, because women are 51% of the population.
You are a pig
I think what she meant to say was “aspiring rappers about to turn their life around” are disproportionately affected by “democrats who won’t prosecute out of fear of losing their voter base.”
And draconian gun laws work so great for preventing mass shootings! Or any other shootings for that matter. Just ask Charlie Hebdo staff.
My greatest sympathy for the slain lady in Floriduh. And they gave this 2 year “veteran” paid leave. Ass-tounding! Can’t even check his own gat pre-homicide. What’s sadder still is this poor old lady thought she was aiding in “community” po-leecing and public safety. RIP…
He needs to go away for negligent homicide, and the officers above him and responsible for the event should be fired. There should not have been any live ammunition anywhere near the demonstration. Obviously a failure from the top down on this one.
No kidding this is what “blue” guns are for.
This and of course we all know the gun safety failures here. Unfortunately there will be no real discipline here, and when the financial settlement comes (it will, and it will be big) the taxpayers will be on the hook.
Epic failure on soooo many levels.
I live 30 min from where this happened.
Of course, ALL the media is framing it as a tragic accident, and not for what it is: negligence.
Even the police chief news conference today was attempting to frame it as a gun problem! They “used a revolver for which we believed it was difficult to get live ammo for”¿!
He had to be rescued just minutes into the reporters Q&A session by a staffer that said the chief had to leave.
Our region here is very much a good ‘ol boys network and it’s doubtful that anyone will be held accountable for this negligent tragedy.
With all due respect to the officer involved, this would be immediate manslaughter charges for Joe Citizen.
BTW-she was shot 3 times.
Yes, that’s the problem. In live fire demonstrations, you want to make sure to use a weapon whose ammo is not widely available commercially. That way after you accidentally empty the gun into an old lady, you can’t accidentally run out to the store to buy more, return, reload, and resume firing. Much safer that way.
The Star Tribune here in MN reported it to be the dreaded .9mm. If true this woman would still be alive today.
When things such as this happen, I always wonder, why use a gun at all.
If the gun is supposed to be unloaded, it’s a simulation, and you don’t have a training gun, just use a dollar store toy gun or prop.
I’ve demonstrated firearms tactics countless times with just random object simulating the weapon.
The most dangerous phrase in firearms training is, “Don’t worry, it’s unloaded.” Assclownary usually follows (see rule #1.)
Heck, my son would happily turn a pop-tart into a gun for these folks, but he and I would probably be charged with a lot more than what these cops will get.
Tragic all around. Sadly, this will be another woman “victimized” and added to Shannon Watts statistics of deaths due to “gun violence”.
This was a failure on some many levels. Pointing a real gun at someone and pulling the trigger! It’s nuts. The cop who didn’t triple check the revolver, the cop that actually agreed to point a gun at a person and pull the trigger loaded or not. The officer that gave him the gun. The person that loaded the gun, the person that thought it would be a good idea to use a real gun! It all stupidity in action. And the cop that shot the gun has a record of his own for excessive force and unleashing his K9 for s**ts and giggles.
Please, I’m not victim blaming, don’t think that.
But why, in such a scenario, would not both participants check and clear BOTH guns?
Hard to believe that the police don’t know the difference between blank and live rounds.
Clearly he was in the recommended po-leece IQ limit…oh yeah Pierced Organ is still infesting our shores? Go away loser..
Shouldn’t have even been blanks, should have been (at most generous) a thrice-inspected weapon with one snap-cap in it. Procedurally, should have been a plastic sim-gun.
Arrest this idiot for negligent homicide. Figure out charges for who ever was the ringmaster for this drunks-do-better clusterfvck.
Obscene. The only characterization that comes to mind for this pathetic gathering of morons is amateurs, of the rankest nature.
Yeah, they’re the trained ones.
Brandon Lee died during the filming of The Crow because of a blank gun. Shooting blanks at people is a bad idea.
Agreed, blanks (or the shockwave from firing one anyway) can be lethal. Some soap opera dude did the same thing back in the day.
IIRC, Lee was killed by a blank fired from a real gun with a real bullet in the barrel.
Apparently a dummy round in the revolver had a live primer, somebody playing with the thing for no good reason popped the primer, and whoever unloaded the dummies and loaded the blanks didn’t care that one of the dummies didn’t have a bullet in it any more.
If it had been blanks the headline would have read “73yo woman grievously burned by incompetent police officer.” You don’t mess with blanks unless you’ve got a BFA or you’re popping balloons with a revolver, and even then you make sure nothing you don’t want to seriously injure is within like 150m in front of the muzzle.
The blanks are just an excuse. I wonder if like the DEA officer in the infamous video who shot himself in the foot, this person racked the gun with the magazine still in the gun.
They should have been snap caps or worse case an airsoft gun.
You should not have any live ammo in your training class at all unless you are at the range ready line.
I do training with a partner and one of us makes sure that all the ammo including anything in any gun is left in the car.
Revolver, three rounds, no excuse.
I emailed Punta Gorda’s “Finest” to ask why Officer Coel has yet to be arrested. Feel free to do the same:
http://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/government/police
Handled. I’m interested to see if the chief responds to my message.
Same cop, who had been dismissed from a previous job –
https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2016/06/13/florida-cop-allows-dog-maul-man-riding-bicycle-no-lights/
Too bad the ” Yellow Brix restaurant in Carlsbad” is in a state that will vote for Hillary.
I’ve never understood it myself. NM is a light blue state that’s run as if it were a nice shade of deep red, but I don’t complain. I may wind up working out there when metals prices rebound.
The vast majority of the state lives in taxpayer supported ABQ or hippy Santa Fe. You’d be hard pressed to get them to go red.
“Kinda looks like a virtual TAVOR: Striker VR Shows off Working Prototype of ARENA Infinity Haptic VR Gun – “Based on the awesome retro-futuristic design by Edon Guraziu, Striker VR is showing off the first working prototype of the Arena Infinity. Aimed at the Digital Out-of-Home VR sector, the wireless peripheral has on-board haptics based on a linear actuator. The gun is capable of impressively powerful kick, especially for an electronic system, adding a convincing recoil to firing a virtual weapon.””
WTF does that combination of words even mean? Pure. Gibberish.
Pure.
Gibberish. Marketing.Fixed it for you.
Translation:
Gun shaped video game controller, made by that company, with a design ripped off of any other “futuristic” looking gun since the 70’s, that has a mechanism to weakly simulate recoil.
The only thing more absurd than a fat, lazy, entitled, upper-middle class, American child bitching and moaning about how bad they have it, is a pampered, self-important, upper-middle class, American female bitching and moaning about the “war on women.” At least the former is an immature child, though the latter isn’t far from it.
Ladies, I’ve traveled the world, in white, Anglo-Euro cultures, or cultures heavily influenced by white, Anglo-Euro culture, women are treated very well. Every place else on earth, women are only worth what’s between their legs and what’s there is a dime a dozen.
“War on women” my d*ck.
Liberal use of some more of the tired ‘war on women’ narrative only helps keep it that way.
War on women.
War on blacks.
War on gays.
Keeping the hostilities going, ESPECIALLY fictitious hostilities, makes sure that people like Shannon Watts and Al Sharpton keep the checks rolling in.
Piers Morgan is still a thing?
Having previously competed in 10m indoor air rifle, I can honestly say it is the hardest discipline I have ever done.
The 9-ring is only slightly wider than the diameter of a .177″ pellet, and the 10 DOT was 1.5mm across (when I competed, it may have been reduced since). The best score I ever did was 328/400. The Olympic level competitors do a 60-shot match for a score out of 600, plus extras for finals.
And remember, NO BENCHREST and NO SLINGS. It is standing unsupported. If anyone thinks it is easy, I challenge you to give it a try. Shooting service rifle at 300 metres is easy in comparison. The air-rifle really makes you work on the basic fundamentals of marksmanship.
“And remember, NO BENCHREST and NO SLINGS. It is standing unsupported.”
Kinda.
They wear those thick, bulky jackets…
The Punta Gorda officer should face at the minimum a “manslaughter” charge or Florida equivalent. The department itself is clearly in need of a teview and “shake up”. Clearly ‘ the best and brightest’ are not employed there.
Your ability to hit targets accurately is put to the test when using an air gun.
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