Ferguson and Fire Arms

[Ufatz]

If you have read the direct testimony of the officer involved in the shooting in Ferguson MO you will note that he TWICE mentions that his weapon "misfired" or "failed to fire."

It seems surprising that a (presumably) trained and practiced officer would be carrying a weapon that is so undependable!! I'd sure like to know what the man was carrying and the last time he did any cleaning or maintenance on it.

Personally, I think the weapon worked fine: I think the officer, as so often happens, lost all sense of time and his own actions. The few officers I have talked with who have been involved in on duty shootings say it is nothing like you expect; time seems to stand still and you are often unaware of some of your actions. THAT is why you depend on training to take over-you don't HAVE to think much.

What was the weapon?

[bmc]

Well, if the weapon was a semi auto, which 99% of officer's carry now, there's a couple different reasons it might not have fired.

If the officer and suspect were fighting over control of the gun, the safety, if there was one, could have been switched from fire to safe or half way in between. In a struggle for the gun, if the slide gets pushed back just enough, the firing pin won't make contact w/ the primer on the bullet, so the gun won't fire. Possibly the officer's or suspect's finger was caught in behind the trigger and the trigger guard, preventing the tigger from being squeezed enough to make the gun fire.

So, as you can see, the weapon not firing doesn't necessarily mean the weapon was undependable or the officer wasn't properly trained. Sometimes in the heat of battle stuff happens and just because a gun is supposed to go BOOM when you pull the trigger, doesn't mean it always will.

Personally, I carry a Glock 21 Gen 4 in 45 auto.

Brian

[LMITOUT]

What was the weapon?

SIG P229

[Ufatz]

If the officers recollections are accurate that makes things all the more confusing, as that weapon is a highly regarded and dependable pistol. He refers to "click click" implying the pistol has double strike capability. I am not that familiar with it to know that for a fact.

All more or less moot now but curious.

Maybe research FTF on that pistol.