Goofy question

[tyrist]

It's happened before and you get a sustained negligent discharge and some time off. The shotgun is suppose to be stored with the safety on and the chamber empty. When you deal with a enough people over a long enough period anything can happen.

[biochembruin]

Racking the shotgun when you arrive at scene is a real crowd pleaser. I have broken a few computer screens deploying the shotgun when responding to backups. It happens.

[eltee]

Yes, my uncle did that decades ago in LAPD and my former roomate did it as a member of the SWAT team (another dept.). Being a counter sniper and all around gun-ghuru this led to a constant barrage of jokes and insults i.e., nicknaming him the "sunroof installer for the dept.", etc. So, two that I personally know about.

The other issue was that in the OLD days, when officers were allowed (formally or informally) to smoke on patrol, the barrel made a convenient ashtray as the real ashtray was blocked off by equipment. Old timers would flick ashes and throw cigarette butts and even stogie butts into the upturned barrel.

At the CSI / Medical Examiner's exam of a suspect shot by the police: "Upon initial examination of the decedent there is a mid-torso GSW which appears to be made by a large caliber, multi projectile firearm. Note, the police report states that the decedent was shot by a police shotgun. Close examination of the entry wound reveals the presence of GSR tattooing surrounding the damaged tissue, and the presence within the wound cavity of lead pellets of approximately 32 caliber, some material suggesting a shotgun wad and a 2 inch length a moderately chewed cigar wrapped with a printed label wth the words, "Romeo et Juliette, Made in Cuba." There also appears to be a substantial quantity of ash material and the remnants of cigarette filters."

[Notorious]

I remember the good ole days when we were allowed to smoke in the units. It really helped pass some of those nights when you are on babysitting detail and you're alone in the squad just watching stuff.

We just ashed in the ashtray though. The shotgun tube was reserved for sunflower seeds.

[1911su16b870]

... The shotgun tube was reserved for sunflower seeds.

it is funny how many times I have cleaned sunflower seeds up out of the unit and shotgun

[Notorious]

it is funny how many times I have cleaned sunflower seeds up out of the unit and shotgun

Exactly. You can't ash in the shotgun tube when you have sunflower seeds in there. That's just gross!

[TRICKSTER]

Seems like we have many pre-airbag old timers here.
It was much easier to access the shotgun when it was mounted next to the dash instead of between the seats. As mentioned, the only problem was having to clean the cigarette butts out of the barrel at the beginning of the shift.

[BigDogatPlay]

Saw / heard it happen once, ~ 30+ years ago when I was dispatching. Officer pre-flighting his unit in the back parking lot one morning after briefing. His story was that he tripped the gun lock, grabbed the 870 (mounted muzzle up, fore end facing forward to the dashboard) by the fore end to take it out and inspect it. As he yanked, it went boom.

Scared the pee water out of all of us in the briefing room and all the LEO responded outside, guns drawn figuring we might be getting attacked. Found the officer out of the car holding his ears and a good sized hole in the roof of the unit. The gun was found resting with it's muzzle almost against the back of the front seat.

Gun went to a local gunsmith / armorer, who found it was an accident looking for a place to happen. The gun had been badly abused and people were not checking it. It had been left in the lock with a round in the chamber and three in the tube, which was totally outside of policy.

Admin never was able to prove / figure out who left the gun like that, but it was very sobering for everyone who had driven that unit as the gun could have easily have discharged when the car went over a bump.

ETA: The department went with mounting the shotgun muzzle facing the engine on the passenger side of the console after that happened. They mount vertically on the cage now, shotgun and patrol rifle.

FWIW... a CHP officer in the Weaverville office was lost in 2003 putting a shotgun into a cage mounted rack, so it can and does happen.

[Notorious]

Seems like we have many pre-airbag old timers here.
It was much easier to access the shotgun when it was mounted next to the dash instead of between the seats. As mentioned, the only problem was having to clean the cigarette butts out of the barrel at the beginning of the shift.

Yep, remember that vertical mounting position right on the dash or against the cage, then the headliner mount where it rode parallel to the top of the cage, then some had the muzzle down toward the passenger side floor mount, but all to keep the public from seeing the mean looking barrel in the police car.

The above story was scary but that's exactly why we had our protocol to always inspect the shotgun prior to putting it in the rack.

[gorn5150]

Back in, I think, 1976 I was loading up the car I was assigned to. The Officer next to me checked his 870 and forgot to empty it. When he put it in the rack it discharged putting a nice hole in the roof of the car. That made for the start of a good shift.

The 70's had some good times working for a central Contra Costa agency. Even though that was dangerous it made for some excellent fun jacking with that guy. Too bad I forget his name now.

[psango]

ours too!

Policy was empty chamber, cocked, safety on, 4 in the magazine tube. All you had to do was hit the slide release and rack the slide. If Yu had your finger on the trigger when racking said slide.......boom

Our agency policy too. That's what I did my whole career, lucky no AD's in my unit. Sure somebody did.

[HowardW56]

I know a police officer who blew the siren off the roof on an old LAPD car (Adam-12) vintage....

They were running from one call to another, he was holding the shotgun upright, but he hadn't cleared the chamber. Hit one dip hard and instead of hearing the siren, all he and his partner could hear was ringing....

[epilepticninja]

One of my former co-workers (who's now a sergeant) took out his entire front windshield with his 870. Said he was removing it from the dash rack. The only hole (no pun intended) in his story is that the release button and clamp were at the end of forend. His hands/fingers would have had no business being near the trigger. After that, the brass changed the policy to safety on, no round in the chamber, mag tube full.

[Ron-Solo]

We, LASD, use to carry the shotgun in a horizontal position in front of the bench seat in the old Novas and Malibus. This was because too many deputies were getting torn up by the shotgun in crashes. Yep, the days of two man units, no airbags and bench seats in front.

Sadly, we lost Reserve Deputy Constance Worland On May 2, 1981, when her partner had an improperly loaded shotgun and it discharged when he was pulling it from the rack on a 245 in progress. I don't think they ever determined if the safety got bumped off and the trigger caught on something, or if her partner (a regular deputy) accidentally hit the trigger. They worked together often, and he never recovered from the incident. He left LE after the incident.

http://camemorial.org/1981-1990/worland.php. Rest in Peace Connie.

We carry it cocked, empty chamber because if someone is able to get control of the gun, they have to figure out how to work the slide release or pull the trigger on an empty chamber before firing the gun. A split second can make a difference.

[CapnHawk]

I recall my uncle telling me of a rookie deputy accidently discharging a shotgun in the patrol car at shift change. Mid-1960's at Firestone.