Police Officer Accidentally Blows His Finger Off in a Gun Shop [VIDEO]

Kentucky police officer Darrell Smith accidentally shot himself in the hand blowing off a portion of his right index finger while handling a loaded .380 handgun at Barren Outdoors in Glasgow, KY last March. Now before anyone asks the obvious "Why was the handgun loaded" which is a reasonable question. You also have to ask "Why was officer Smith not following proper firearm safety and good handling practices?"

Luckily for officer Smith his injuries weren't more severe. Also if you watch the video you can clearly see him unintentionally pointing the gun at the clerk behind the counter and a customer at the end of the display case. Again there are no accidental discharges, only negligent discharges. Guns don't just go off for no reason, poor handling and not following proper gun safety rules cause discharges like these.

Obviously the firearm should have NEVER been loaded. So why was it loaded and in a display case? Well I have no idea, maybe it was a used gun and no one cleared and unloaded it before putting a price tag on it and placing it in the display case. The point is even at a gun store or any place where you would handle a firearm you ALWAYS follow the 4 gun safety rules:

1. All guns are always loaded.

2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.

4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

Had officer Smith followed these rules he'd still have all of his index finger and this terrible incident would have never happened. I know it sounds bad, maybe even cruel to say. I'm certainly not making fun of him, however I am using it as an example of what not to do. There are two types of people you can learn from. Those who are doing it right, and those who aren't. By watching this, learning gun safety and knowing how to properly handle firearms this won't happen to you.

Sure I feel bad for the guy and I'm sure he'll be suing the hell out of this store for what happened. It was a gross safety violation to put a loaded firearm in a display case. On the other hand I do hope Officer Smith realizes it's his fault as well. ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED!