What Happens to Cops Who Mistakenly Fire Service Weapons Instead of Tasers?
In Bucks County, Penn, in March 2019, a deputy accidentally shot a man in a jail holding cell
With the recent police shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021, where it appears a police officer meant to fire her taser but instead fired one shot from her service weapon, killing Wright, we looked around the nation at similar events that have occurred.
In Bucks County, Penn, in March 2019, a deputy accidentally shot a man in a jail holding cell. The officer was ultimately not charged, with the district attorney's office saying the shooting was not justified, but excused, because of the officer's "honest but mistaken" belief that he was deploying his taser when he discharged his service weapon. The victim survived his injuries, and the officer retired after the incident occurred.
BROOKLYN CENTER: Video Shows Officer Mistakes Gun for Taser, Fatally Shoots Man
An Oklahoma reserve police deputy fatally shot an unarmed man in 2015 after mistaking his firearm for a taser
In a 2018 incident in Kansas, a former rookie police officer mistakenly drew her service weapon instead of her taser and shot a suspect during a struggle with another officer. The officer, Brindley Blood, was charged with aggravated battery in the incident. However, a district judge ruled that evidence did not show that Blood acted recklessly during the confrontation. The case was dismissed, and the district attorney did not intend to refile charges. The victim survived their injuries, and the officer resigned from her position after the incident.
An Oklahoma reserve police deputy fatally shot an unarmed man in 2015 after mistaking his firearm for a taser. The reserve deputy, Bob Bates, was involved in a sting operation designed to catch the victim selling a gun. In the video, the deputy yells "taser" before shooting the man. Bates says, "I shot him. I'm sorry." The officer was charged with second-degree Manslaughter and ultimately convicted by a jury. Bates served 18 months of a four-year prison sentence before being released. Tulsa County settled with the family of the victim for $6 million.
