This is in NO WAY meant to be a bash at any LEO.

I heard a story from a co-worker today and on the way home I ran into a local SO deputy I know who confirmed the story.

Seems one of our local LEO was in a business establishment and ran into someone he knew. The civilian was talking to the LEO about his sidearm, and asked the LEO if he could take a look at it. The LEO removed his sidearm, dropped the mag, and handed it to his friend (the civilian). Of course the civilian has to look down the sights, try the trigger, and....[b]BANG![/b]

Fortunately nothing was injured but the floor. My SO friend said the officer has been on the force a long time and was not knew to the job. He has of course received plenty of hazing from the other deputies. This is just an example of what can happen when both people handling a gun fail to observe proper safety procedures. Amazing that BOTH failed to think about the fact there was still one in the chamber. IIRC the sidearm was a Glock, but don't quote me on that.

FWIW, my SO friend says it is dept. policy that a deputy is not to remove his sidearm unless he has reason to believe he may need to use it.

Pthfndr, I believe this story.  I have been in police work for 7 years.  I have seen many cops, probably about 90% handle a weapon with great safety.  There are a few who I don't want to even back me up due to their lack of safety when it comes to a firearm.  Not all cops are interested in guns, so you will always have some who are not so safety conscience.

I figure that it's a good idea for cops to OWN the guns that they carry for their jobs.

If you own something, you are much more likely to take care of and become proficient with it.

There was a story in Hartford about a cop's sidearm that was not fired or used for a few months.  When he finally drew it to qualify a spider (who had taken up residence there) crawled out of the barrel and scuttled away.