It can’t be easy being a police officer in the City of Broad Shoulders in the County of Cook. You’re held up to such high standards, after all. Coppers there are – to hear the ward healers and palm greasers tell it – the only people who are qualified to own and carry the means of deadly force. Not that you’d expect they’d have to use their guns much, what with all the laws on the books making sure that so few people own them. But that being the case, Chicago residents who are told asked by their betters to forego the right to armed self defense and allow the men and women in blue to handle that dangerous job for them might expect better training on the part of their town’s police officers . . .
An unidentified CPD officer – her name was thoughtfully withheld, no doubt to spare her any undue embarrassment – was in a local nail salon getting her digits done Thursday evening when her duty gun went bang. Accounts vary, but suntimes.com tries to sort out what actually happened:
Witnesses gave varying accounts. Some said the 22-year veteran dropped her purse. Others said the gun went off when she put in on a counter. Police said the gun went off when the officer picked it up from under a chair.
One thing seems clear, though. The officer in question (not pictured above, we don’t think) tossed her heater in her bag without benefit of a holster. As a result, she now has a new orifice in her leg.
Some customers wondered why the “safety” was not on — but most department-approved handguns don’t have them, officials say.
No, those twelve pound triggers are usually all the safety a cop needs for normal duty purposes. Of course, that doesn’t include letting your Glock rattle around unprotected in your Coach bag along with your badge, a wallet, the car keys, some ChapStick, a cell phone and fifty-three cents in change. That makes it a little too easy for something – other than a finger – to come in contact with the trigger.
The no-name officer will evidently make a full recovery, of which we’re certainly happy. In the mean time, since we don’t know her name, we’ll be forwarding her IGOTD statuette to CPD HQ ASAP so it can be admired and enjoyed by the Windy City’s finest as a whole. Seems only fair, doesn’t it?
My P6 practically requires hydraulic assist to get the first shot off. I do not understand how the ND’s happen. Anyone know or care to speculate what type of gun was involved?
I can understand that. Mine has it’s original twenty pound trigger in it from its days as a west German police issue. Still shoots great in single action though. First shot is kind of iffy at best.
How about an old revolver with no transfer bar?
Country of Cook
fixed it
Aw, the poor dear messed up her purse. Sad.
Apparently she also messed up her leg.
I wonder if she learned anything in the process.
Yes, she learned that a LEO can get away with sh!t that a “common” citizen cannot.
If she’s been an officer for 22 years, I’ll bet she’s known that at least 21.5 years.
I was thinking more along the line of a dedicated holster purse.
Once again I see I made the right decision with my XD purchase.
No design is a match for an idiot.
Like the old saying. You make something idiot proof and I’ll find a bigger idiot
careful… praising a grip safety is fighting words nowadays. you might get called a socialist or worse.
I agree with you. Forget about Geneva. We have to reconcile with Sinhalese and Muslims erbofe power-sharing in Sri Lanka. I accept we have conflict among us but Indian made it worse in 1987 and now American making the situation lot more muddy.I will place my view soon. we are idiots chasing the mirage in intellectual Sahara desert.kind regards
I would speculate that she was trying to catch an unholstered gun that she had dropped. Either way, it’s certainly embarrassing for her and her department.
“Others said the gun went off when she put it on the counter.” My God.
The CPD should use this as a training incident to discourage other unsafe gun practices.
So, a pet peeve of mine: I’ll bet if this IGOTD recipient had been male, he would have been identified without a second thought.
Not necessarily, she is a cop. There have been a number of IGOTD, both male and female, who were “unnamed” police officers using the toilet and what not.
So off-duty cops can concealed carry? I thought CC was prohibited in Illinois? If she’s off-duty, isn’t she acting as a civilian at that time, and should have to abide by the laws as other civvies do?? The double standards never cease to amaze me…
Some pigs more equal and all that…
” If she’s off-duty, isn’t she acting as a civilian at that time, and should have to abide by the laws as other civvies do??”
No. If a police officer is full-time sworn, then they are police officers 24/7/357. Exceptions are reserve officers, and several types of niche special or provisional officers, like certain college cops, certain transit cops, etc.
People here should be more cautious about how quickly they judge police actions, considering how little they seem to know about police practices.
357? What are they doing those nine days of the year that don’t count?
And 24/7/366 in a leap year!
(I can’t say that I’m familiar with the 357 day year, though.)
That 357 day year is probably the metric system….
“That makes it a little too easy for something – other than a finger – to come in contact with the trigger.”
Hence why I hate the lack of a safety on most striker fired pistols. My friend (owns a Glock) and I (Steyr M9-A1 owner) argued about it the other day. He claimed that the “trigger safety” is a safety because it makes it hard to accidentally pull it – I pointed out that it’s not a safety because if you pull the trigger (or some other object gets inside the trigger guard and pulls it), the gun still goes bang.
That’s why, despite how much I love my Steyr, I wish it had a manual safety or at least a grip safety like an XD.
The public has the right to know her name just as it hears about all other dumb ass accidents. She is not special or is she? Can it be that the police are somehow a special class and not held to the same standards as other people? I’m thinking about the recent child of a cop who got hold of a gun and ended a life. No prosecution of the parent. Not surprising is it? Does she still get paid, by the taxpayer, for being unable to work do to her own stupidity? Of course! If I am ever going to carry a loaded revolver (in my messenger-bag or man-bag) around town then I would still have it further secured inside a holster.
Details are certainly unclear… probably because the police (understandably) doesn’t want the bad PR.
The gun enthusiast in me is curious what the make and model of the gun was, though. Any wise TTAG readers know what the standard duty pistol of the CPD is?
Yup, there is none. CPD must buy their own uniforms, gear and guns. The requirements for a duty gun are:
Be manufactured by Beretta, Glock, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, or Springfield Armory.
Be chambered in 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP.
Be Double-Action Only, Hammer or Striker-Fired.
However you can carry whatever you want off duty.
I have an early first generation Glock that has a trigger pull maybe a little over 5 pounds (pretty light). I could see a light trigger with the speculated chapstick or lipstick poked in the trigger guard making the gun go BANG! The tupperware type box mine came in from the factory actually had a post in the center that you were supposed to insert thru the trigger guard to store the pistol. Some folks stupidly stored loaded Glocks in the plastic Glock box and when jostled, they went BANG! because the post depressed the little trigger safety and defeated the only safety on the gun. I got a warning letter soon after my purchase telling me to NOT store my pistol loaded in the factory box. I am sure the box got redesigned afterwards……. hey maybe that makes my box a valuable limited edition collector’s piece???? Especially since I have no bullet holes thru the side of it????
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