"Off-duty cop's pistol accidentally fires at gun show, injuring retired officer"

"A retired St. Paul police officer was wounded Saturday when a pistol belonging to an off-duty Minneapolis police officer accidentally discharged at a gun show.

Both men were working security at the Minneapolis Gun Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center when the accident happened about 1:15 p.m., said Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia.

The semi-automatic pistol went off when the holster got caught on a chair that the Minneapolis officer was either leaning back on or getting off of, Garcia said.

One bullet hit the floor and fragmented pieces struck the retired officer in the leg and hand, Garcia said. He was treated for a small wound and released Saturday.

A bullet fragment also grazed the Minneapolis police officer's pant leg. The officer, who has been on the force for more than 20 years, was not injured.

Garcia called the incident a "freak accident."

"You could probably sit in the chair 10,000 times and it will never happen again," he said.

The retired officer was working for a private security firm hired by the gun show, while the off-duty officer was hired by the convention center, Garcia said. Both men were near a check-in table that was set up to make sure guns were inoperable, he said"

Here you see is the perfect example of the illogical idea that the police are safer than the average gun owner, and they and only they should be in charge of seeing to it that an idiot or two or three doesn't shoot up the place because he might very well be as negligent as the average cop.

The Catch-22 to end all Catch-22's.

Cops are less law abiding than the non cops who carry guns on a regular basis. They drink and drive, initiate domestic violence, and even commit suicide more often than their "civilian" counterparts. And yes, they also negligently discharge their firearms at an alarming rate.

Once again for luck: Guns do not go off by themselves. Guns that fire unintended are the result of operator negligence. And society in general would be a lot safer if cops were treated like regular people and expected to obey the law.