Another negligent discharge

Back in July, I observed that members of the protective services routinely muzzle sweep each other, along with civilians. One IATF officer shot himself in the toe while on patrol in a densely populated area of the capital city. I warned that these armed persons were a potential menace. Another member of the public was ‘accidentally’ shot while holding his five-year-old daughter on the roadside, while waiting to cross the street.

From the report, it seems like a police vehicle on patrol was involved. This occurred at a busy intersection, at Charlotte and Duke Streets, in Port of Spain. 

Guard shoots self

Children in TT Cadet Force consistently display better muzzle discipline than many ‘pros’

Allied Security officer Victor Persad, 31, shot himself in the arm and leg on Monday, and was treated at the San Fernando General Hospital hospital.

Read the Express story here.

“…accidentally went off”
“…seated in a parked car outside a fast food outlet”
“…told investigators that he was cleaning his pistol when it went off.”

So, he was in a parked car, cleaning his gun, when it accidentally went off. Cleaning a gun in a car? While loaded? Outside a fast food outlet? So he’s not just a danger to himself, but also the general public. Let’s just see if the Police Commissioner will renew his Firearms User’s Employees Certificate (FUEC).

Who trained this man in handling guns? Has he heard of “muzzle sweep” or “muzzle discipline”? Perhaps we can introduce him to The Four Universal Gun Safety Rules:

Rule 1: Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.

Rule 2: Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy (this includes your own body parts).

Rule 3: Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.

Rule 4: Be sure of your target and what’s in line with your target.


Mr Persad, please pay particular attention to Rule 2.

Should police be trusted with guns?

Asst Supt of Police Junior Copeland charged with murder.

One police officer is caught while renting out his service pistol। Another shoots himself in the toe while on patrol in our busy capital city. The toe-shooter is no ordinary officer, but a jack-booted ninja of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF). Any member of the public could easily have been a victim of this officer, who either doesn’t know, or ignores the
Four Universal Gun Safety Rules.

Many times I (and other airgunners) have witnessed police officers muzzle-sweeping civilians, while on patrol. This is a dangerous practice, as PC Nathaniel has shown. The consequences can be fatal.

Our legislators and successive Police Commissioners don’t seem to trust us -- the very citizens that put them in office -- with gun ownership. I cannot remember the last time I heard of a legal gun owner shooting him/herself, or shooting another person in a fit of rage. A police sergeant (Warner-Paul) is in custody for the shooting death of Pastor Brian Pierre last year, in what has been reported as a love triangle gone sour. Another officer -– an Assistant Superintendent -- shot a woman in her chest, and then her son, over a land encroachment issue.

Let’s not forget police officers Wendell Constantine and Garvin Peterson, charged (in separate incidents) with stealing guns and ammo from their respective stations.

Should we trust police officers with guns, due to these and other incidents of betraying the public trust? Our police service has about 7,000 police officers and a dozen cases of gun crimes -- and those are just the ones brought before the court. We have a national population of around 1,300,000. One cannot get the figures for legal civilian gun ownership, but based on those figures alone (7,000 vs 1,300,000), it seems we have a disproportionate number of gun crimes committed by those entrusted with protecting and serving our interest.

I wish PC Nathaniel a speedy recovery and hope, on his return from injury leave, that he is sent for retraining then transferred to a desk job, where he won’t need to be armed and therefore is of no further danger to the public.

This event begs a question: How much range time do these elite units get? How many rounds downrange per month? Per annum? How many rounds on target?

Perhaps some of the more experienced shooters among us may care to volunteer to help teach gun safety and shooting drills to our police officers. It couldn’t hurt, and may help engender the trust between the public and police that our Acting Police Commissioner is always asking for. Over to you Commissioner Philbert.