Possible negligent discharge by off duty Upper Darby, PA police officer

[MartinBrody]

It sounds like he will be ok, it will be interesting to see what happened.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news...y_own_gun.html

Upper Darby cop shot in car, possibly by own gun

By WILLIAM BENDER
Philadelphia Daily News

benderw@phillynews.com 215-854-5255
Upper Darby police officers, responding to a car accident yesterday morning, found one of their off-duty patrolmen unconscious behind the wheel - with a gunshot wound that may have been caused by his own weapon.

Jerome Brown, an ex-Marine who joined the force in 2000, was in guarded condition yesterday after undergoing emergency surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, according to police Superintendent Michael Chitwood Sr., but investigators were not searching for a gunman.

Brown, 30, a father of three and former bike cop from Lansdowne, rammed a pole in a bank parking lot at about 6 a.m. after his vehicle struck another driver's SUV.

As medics were extracting him from the vehicle, they discovered "what appeared to be a gunshot wound in his lower-left abdomen area," Chitwood said.

"He apparently will be all right," Chitwood said yesterday morning after Brown underwent surgery.

Police recovered his off-duty 9 mm Glock in a holster on the passenger-side floor. One round had been fired from the gun, but the bullet casing did not eject, Chitwood said.

"We don't know at what point in time the shooting occurred," he said. "Did it occur before? Did it occur after the accident? Did it occur at the accident?"

Brown, who has received three commendations for his police work, is the first and only black officer on the force. In 2004, he clashed with Upper Darby brass, claiming that they had failed to process one of his DUI arrests because the defendant was "a friend" of the department.

Then-Superintendent Vincent J. Ficchi resigned after a no-confidence vote and the defendant was later convicted of drunken driving. But the state Attorney General's Office found insufficient evidence to conclude that the charges had been deliberately quashed.

"They get along with everybody in the neighborhood," Brown's next-door neighbor, Mary Anagnostopoulos, said of Jerome, his wife, Michelle, and three children. "They're great people. If you have groceries, they'll help you bring them in."

The last shooting of an Upper Darby police officer was a friendly fire incident in 2004. Then-Lt. Anthony Paparo was hit by a fellow officer after police opened fire on a distraught gunman who walked into the station. Paparo survived.

Brown was one of the responding officers in that incident. Investigators were unable to determine which round struck Paparo because the bullet was deformed, Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said yesterday. *

[KeithPA]

WTF?

He's was driving and playing with this gun, accidentally shot himself, then ran into an SUV, then into a pole? That doesn't even make sense.

[MartinBrody]

WTF?

He's was driving and playing with this gun, accidentally shot himself, then ran into an SUV, then into a pole? That doesn't even make sense.

2 scenarios crossed my mind.

1) He was placing the Glock in a holster already on him, or the Glock was already holstered and he was securing the holster/Glock to himself and had an ND.

2) Something happened during the crash that caused the holstered Glock to fire. This seems less likely but there are ways it could possibly happen.

[bogey1]

well being how anti gun chitwood is, he should have his service pistol taken away and all of his personal weapons.....because thats what that ass hole chitwood would do to a civilian..

[reels18]

well being how anti gun chitwood is, he should have his service pistol taken away and all of his personal weapons.....because thats what that ass hole chitwood would do to a civilian..

I agree about "ShowTime" Chitwood. This guy never met a camera he did not like.

Whatever politician is responsible for bringing him to town and hiring him should be dunked in the nearest filled to capacity cesspool.

One good thing about the Chitwoods, both junior and senior, they wear out their welcome at an astounding rate.

Upper Darby is but a stepping stone for one who deems himself better suited for bigger and better things.

Lets hope he gets his opportunity sooner rather than later.

[mikepro8]

Sounds almost like the round went off in the holster...
Weapon was found holsterd in passenger seat area, casing did not eject. Strange. Sounds like the round went off, but the action didnt cycle (possibly due to a thumbstap, etc.) which left the casing in the chamber.
Anyone else?

[KeithPA]

Ya know what? I wasn't even thinking.

I bet he was carrying it in a SERPA! Damn it where's MarcS when we need him

[XD45]

be interested to see the full story

[MartinBrody]

MikePro8,
I thought about that, on a Glock something had to move the trigger for it to go off. I guess it depends on the holster type, but I don't know how it could have fired if it was just sitting there secured in the holster, even during an accident. I was thinking the slide was pressed against his body or something while he was holstering it and that stopped the slide, he then quickly put it in the holster and tossed it down.

[MartinBrody]

Slightly more info from this story...

http://cbs3.com/local/Off.Duty.Police.2.660371.html

Authorities said they believe the officer's gun may have discharged during the impact of the crash. His off duty weapon was found on the passenger seat and had been fired one time.

"We are not looking for a gunman at this time; we are trying to determine what caused his weapon to fire," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.