Purse goes bang, blows its secret
By Heather Ratcliffe
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Jan. 23 2006

Black sequins rained down in the Dairy Queen after the explosion.

Some thought a car had backfired in the parking lot. But that wouldn't explain
the sequins, or the smoke, or the smell of gunpowder in the south St. Louis
County restaurant.

Then everyone's attention turned to a woman in line - the one with a shredded
sequined purse on the tile floor near her feet.

"She picked up her purse like it was some kind of disease," explained Shelley
White, the store manager on duty.

"I ain't got no gun," was the only thing the stranger told the crowd in the
restaurant before gathering her purse and teenage daughter from a nearby booth
and running out of the place about 1 p.m. Friday.

But she did have a gun, investigators said, apparently a low-quality one that
discharged by accident when she dropped her purse.

She had a secret too, one that she might have kept had White not rushed to the
window and called out the license number for a customer to jot down. The
fleeing woman was an off-duty St. Louis police officer.

The bullet blew a hole in a window and came to a safe landing in front of a
doorway. A fragment struck a van outside. But no one was injured.

"I don't know how that bullet didn't kill anyone," said White, whose family
owns the franchise. "I looked at the people outside, and they were just
standing there with their mouths hanging open."

St. Louis County police tracked down the city officer, who they said first
denied even being at the restaurant, in the 4300 block of Telegraph Road. Then
she told police that she had fled because she thought she was under fire.
Finally she confessed to the accident, police said.

The officer, whose name was not released pending consideration of charges
against her, eventually told police that she had thrown the weapon out her car
window along Interstate 255 because she was afraid she was going to be in
trouble.

County officers spent hours scouring the area along the westbound lanes in the
dark and rain Friday, looking for the weapon; they never found it.

The woman resigned from the force Friday after the St. Louis police internal
affairs unit opened an investigation. She had been on the department for three
years.

Said White, "I just can't believe she's a police officer."


www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/3D6C1BF7256D20148625710000237F40?OpenDocument

IBTPA

I can't beleive that the gun "just went off" in today's in light of today's liability laws etc.  I think there is something missing here that the PD has not released or the news paper did not report.  ONe thing for sure though, I'm glad no one got hurt or killed.

Bye. Bye.

Holy shit! How incompetant can she be? She was a cop for christ's sake! I can't believe she did not own up to it and check on the welfare of those persons in the immediate surroundings, that would have been the responcible thing to do and she would not have been under investigation by IA or needed to quite her job to run from process. She would have probably earned "Dumbass of the year" in her department for carrying a piece of shit for an off duty pistol, but overall, no real heat for it. She might have had to pay for some damages, but ultimately a handslapping.

Quoted: IBTPA

+1

That's pretty funny actually.  Probably her "drop gun"    Didn't want to explain why it had no Serial #

Good riddance.

Quoted: That's pretty funny actually.  Probably her "drop gun"    Didn't want to explain why it had no Serial #

Yeah, probably a real laugh riot for the other patrons at Dairy Queen.  

It was probably one of the new model Glocks that can KB all by themselves.

CO

Quoted: Quoted: IBTPA +1

I think they will be missing from this thread for sure.

cops own ravens too

Quoted: cops own ravens too

I was gonna just tag.......but I'll add a

What a dumb shit - for so many reasons.

I wonder in 3 years how many arrests and tickets have been based on that same high level of integrity

Well, if she ain't got no gun, I don't see why she is catching so much flak over this!

"I ain't got no gun," Said White, "I just can't believe she's a police officer."

Why does this reek of "Work Place Diversification" to me.  

Not unlike the "Gloke Foe-Tay"

or the NOLA WalMart looting incidents.  

Quoted: I can't beleive that the gun "just went off" in today's in light of today's liability laws etc.  I think there is something missing here that the PD has not released or the news paper did not report.  ONe thing for sure though, I'm glad no one got hurt or killed.

Noticew they said she had a "low quality" gun, there are plenty of those that will fire if you drop them, now if it was say a glock or 1911 or a sig oir HK or XD or something along those lines well then no it better not "just go off" when it is dropped as most all have some type of safety to deal with that, but then again a safety is only a mechanical device and that does mean it can fail.


Her handling of the situation I will not say anything about execpt for that it was very poor.

Affirmitive action at it's finest

Quoted: Affirmitive action at it's finest

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but it sounds as if you may be correct.    Also sounds like she may not be that far removed from the people she locks up everyday!

Can her ass. Lying about this situation is unacceptable. She should hold HERSELF at a higher standard. Can you imagine that kind of shit she'd pull on duty?!

Quoted: Quoted: I can't beleive that the gun "just went off" in today's in light of today's liability laws etc.  I think there is something missing here that the PD has not released or the news paper did not report.  ONe thing for sure though, I'm glad no one got hurt or killed. Noticew they said she had a "low quality" gun, there are plenty of those that will fire if you drop them, now if it was say a glock or 1911 or a sig oir HK or XD or something along those lines well then no it better not "just go off" when it is dropped as most all have some type of safety to deal with that, but then again a safety is only a mechanical device and that does mean it can fail. Her handling of the situation I will not say anything about execpt for that it was very poor.

I got news for you.  Calif has one of those laws where the pistol you have must pass a drop test etc, and to the consternation of the anti-gunner, those so-called Sat Nite Spls, such as Ravens etc passed, unless of course they make specific Calif model.

off-duty St. Louis police officer

That's enough right there to know something really stupid happened.

I'm glad she didn't kill anybody.

My depart. she would be shit canned.  Not for the ND but for the BS she told the investigators.

"'I don't know how that bullet didn't kill anyone,' said White"

Cause it didn't hit anyone?!

she threw it  out  her car window?  WTF?

Quoted: Then she told police that she had fled because she thought she was under fire.

Who the hell is she trying to kid? Not only is she extremely irresponsible but she is dumber than a brick.

The sad thing is now the TSA will probably hire her to work at Lambert.

a low-quality one

Ahhh, here we go again with the racist attacks on cheaper pistols that the media loves to call "Saturday Night Specials."  Too many rich whites have worked to pass laws to make guns too expensive for the poor to own and the media follows right along with the hype.  You shouldn't have to be wealthy in order to be allowed to defend yourself.  You'd think that by this time we would have been past this type of bias.z

Well, this just goes to show you that only the Police should be allowed to have guns.

But seriously, sounds like another result of Affirmative Action hiring. I'll bet lots of people knew for a long time that this lady had no business being on the force.

Quoted: "I ain't got no gun," Said White, "I just can't believe she's a police officer." Why does this reek of "Work Place Diversification" to me.   Not unlike the "Gloke Foe-Tay" or the NOLA WalMart looting incidents.

Same thing I was thinking.

And just think, she was so much more responsible and better trained than you or I that she could carry in all 50 states..............

Quoted: a low-quality one Ahhh, here we go again with the racist attacks on cheaper pistols that the media loves to call "Saturday Night Specials."  Too many rich whites have worked to pass laws to make guns too expensive for the poor to own and the media follows right along with the hype.  You shouldn't have to be wealthy in order to be allowed to defend yourself.  You'd think that by this time we would have been past this type of bias.z

Bet you it was a Glock.  (Seriously)  I've seen two ND's from junk in purses getting inside the triggerguard.  One such lady shot out her windshield on I-35.

Quoted: IBTPA

+1

Bwahahahahahahaha!!! What a moron.

Quoted: Quoted: a low-quality one Ahhh, here we go again with the racist attacks on cheaper pistols that the media loves to call "Saturday Night Specials."  Too many rich whites have worked to pass laws to make guns too expensive for the poor to own and the media follows right along with the hype.  You shouldn't have to be wealthy in order to be allowed to defend yourself.  You'd think that by this time we would have been past this type of bias.z Bet you it was a Glock.  (Seriously)  I've seen two ND's from junk in purses getting inside the triggerguard.  One such lady shot out her windshield on I-35.

glock or other similar pistol in the purse. No holster (or bad holster). Lipstick / mascara / keys gets lodged in the trigger guard. Purse gets dropped or jarred and the offending item meets the trigger.

I was about to say unfxxxingbelievable. But on second thought.... I guess I'm not surprised.

Quoted: Quoted: a low-quality one Ahhh, here we go again with the racist attacks on cheaper pistols that the media loves to call "Saturday Night Specials."  Too many rich whites have worked to pass laws to make guns too expensive for the poor to own and the media follows right along with the hype.  You shouldn't have to be wealthy in order to be allowed to defend yourself.  You'd think that by this time we would have been past this type of bias.z Bet you it was a Glock.  (Seriously)  I've seen two ND's from junk in purses getting inside the triggerguard.  One such lady shot out her windshield on I-35.

anyone who carries a glock in their purse without a holster is beyond retarded

Quoted: a low-quality one Ahhh, here we go again with the racist attacks on cheaper pistols that the media loves to call "Saturday Night Specials."  Too many rich whites have worked to pass laws to make guns too expensive for the poor to own and the media follows right along with the hype.  You shouldn't have to be wealthy in order to be allowed to defend yourself.  You'd think that by this time we would have been past this type of bias.z

Straight out of Farrakan/Jackson's book of "How to play the racist card-- and win!" While I agree that guns should be accessable to all tax brackets, it's not racist to promote safe product standards. A $25 pistol that can go off accidentally (without user intervention), is a liabilty to everyone in the area. If higher saftey standards demand higher pricetags for items that pose a danger from non-misuse, then its a needed step.

ETA: This is a step that should be taken in civil courts though. If a manufacturer puts unsafe guns out, sue them. There is some pain in learning.

Also, just to clarify: By unsafe I mean guns that can literally go off without a user operating it. Via by dropping, squeezing, or internal mechanical failure.

-1
Carrying a pistol that isn't in a holster, even if its a pocket holster.

-1
Fleeing the scene of an ND.

-1
Not checking to see if anybody was injured.

-1
Bullshit about being under fire.

-1
Throwing the damn thing out a car window.

And all that x2 for being a LEO.

Her ass should be fired and in jail.  If a non-leo had pulled that shit, there would be a bloody swat team called in.

She was a transfer from New Orleans......

Quoted: Quoted: a low-quality one Ahhh, here we go again with the racist attacks on cheaper pistols that the media loves to call "Saturday Night Specials."  Too many rich whites have worked to pass laws to make guns too expensive for the poor to own and the media follows right along with the hype.  You shouldn't have to be wealthy in order to be allowed to defend yourself.  You'd think that by this time we would have been past this type of bias.z Straight out of Farrakan/Jackson's book of "How to play the racist card-- and win!" While I agree that guns should be accessable to all tax brackets, it's not racist to promote safe product standards. A $25 pistol that can go off accidentally (without user intervention), is a liabilty to everyone in the area. If higher saftey standards demand higher pricetags for items that pose a danger from non-misuse, then its a needed step.

show me which gunes can go off "without user intervention" and you'll get a cookie.

No police appologists yet....

Quoted: IBTPA

There's no apologizing for that. It is inexcusable.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: a low-quality one Ahhh, here we go again with the racist attacks on cheaper pistols that the media loves to call "Saturday Night Specials."  Too many rich whites have worked to pass laws to make guns too expensive for the poor to own and the media follows right along with the hype.  You shouldn't have to be wealthy in order to be allowed to defend yourself.  You'd think that by this time we would have been past this type of bias.z Straight out of Farrakan/Jackson's book of "How to play the racist card-- and win!" While I agree that guns should be accessable to all tax brackets, it's not racist to promote safe product standards. A $25 pistol that can go off accidentally (without user intervention), is a liabilty to everyone in the area. If higher saftey standards demand higher pricetags for items that pose a danger from non-misuse, then its a needed step. show me which gunes can go off "without user intervention" and you'll get a cookie.

There was a story on the history channel recently where they were talking about a copy of a pistol done by the japanese or the germans (can't remember exactly) during WWII that was extremely unsafe. It would discharge if squeezed on the sides of the frame. Given that it could be done with your hands, there is no doubt to me it could discharge inside a holster given enough of a bump.

Point is, of course its possible to make a weapon this unsafe. If a manufacturer produced one, then they need to be taken to court. In this case, the purse fell and the weapon discharged (so the story says). What "user intervention" was there? NONE of my firearms will discharge if dropped from waist high.

The bullet blew a hole in a window and came to a safe landing in front of a doorway.

The way this is written, it sounds like the round just floated to the ground in front of the door.  

Quoted: [ "I ain't got no gun," was the only thing the stranger told the crowd in the restaurant before gathering her purse and teenage daughter from a nearby booth and running out of the place about 1 p.m. Friday. St. Louis County police tracked down the city officer, who they said first denied even being at the restaurant, in the 4300 block of Telegraph Road. Then she told police that she had fled because she thought she was under fire. Finally she confessed to the accident, police said. The officer, whose name was not released pending consideration of charges against her, eventually told police that she had thrown the weapon out her car window along Interstate 255 because she was afraid she was going to be in trouble. "I just can't believe she's a police officer." www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/3D6C1BF7256D20148625710000237F40?OpenDocument

Holy crap how dumb can you get? She should be sent to prison for that kinda bullshit .