Lawman shoots himself in the hand at City Hall

**Swarner793** · February 11th, 2009, 09:36 AM

I can not wait to hear how this could happen. I was on the Williamsport Police Shooting Team (yeah, as a ringer) and have always found that they were above average, for Police, in gun handling. It will be interesting to hear his side of things.

Be safe (and observe the rules).

Scott

http://www.sungazette.com/page/conte....html?nav=5011

A veteran city police officer was wounded Tuesday afternoon when his gun accidentally went off while he was cleaning it in the basement of city police headquarters at the back of City Hall, city police Capt. Raymond O. Kontz III said.

The officer, whose identity was not released, suffered a gunshot wound to his left hand about 3:20 p.m., Kontz said.

No one else was injured.

The weapon went off in a room that police specifically use to clean their guns, Kontz said, adding that the public does not have access to the room.

Other officers came to their injured colleague's aid, taking steps immediately to control the bleeding from the wound, Kontz said, which he termed as non-life threatening.

An ambulance was dispatched to police headquarters, but police decided to transport the officer to Williamsport Hospital in a cruiser. The officer was undergoing surgery Tuesday night and was expected to be admitted, Kontz said.

A city police agent has been assigned to investigate the incident.

**mikey** · February 11th, 2009, 06:04 PM

Stacy never told me how talented you were.

**dc dalton** · February 11th, 2009, 06:38 PM

I gotta ask, have they been handing out dumbass pills to the police lately?

**CommonHighrise** · February 11th, 2009, 07:14 PM

Just another example of how dangerous those inanimate objects can be. Look how many cops they tried to kill so far this year!

**ithinkimamedic** · February 11th, 2009, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by dc dalton

I gotta ask, have they been handing out dumbass pills to the police lately?

It's not just police, it's EVERYONE. I think they are putting it in the public water system.

**riverpirate** · February 12th, 2009, 07:34 PM

why? why would anyone attempt to clean their gun while it was loaded? why would anyone not check to see if the gun still had a round in the chamber before doing anything with it but firing it? i learned this when i was 9 years old. you would think a police officer would know this..

**ithinkimamedic** · February 12th, 2009, 08:25 PM

This was in the paper today, it says the officer "was following proper protocol" when cleaning his gun... hum... sounds like it's time to review your "protocol" then because none of the other officers are following it, this is evident by no one else shooting themselves in the hand. On the other hand, he could have NOT followed proper procedure and FAILED to triple check that he gun was unloaded prior to disassembly for cleaning. Ugh that irritates me, I'm glad that no one was seriously injured but this was a negligent discharge and I know negligence in my job can get me into some serious hot water.

City police force at full strength, despite accident

By R.A. WALKER rwalker@sungazette.com

Even though a city patrolman is out of commission due to a gun injury Tuesday, the city police force remains at full strength, with an extra officer on duty beyond the 52 budgeted for 2009.
Mayor Gabriel J. Campana on Wednesday said the officer was injured Tuesday afternoon when his gun discharged in City Hall.
According to Campana, the incident was an accident and an investigation indicated the patrolman "was following proper protocol."
The officer was injured in the basement area of the police department while cleaning his weapon after returning to City Hall from training, and the mayor said the general public was not put in danger because of where the accident occurred.
The mayor said the officer had surgery Tuesday for a hand injury but was not hospitalized.
The mayor said he did not know how long the officer's recovery would take or how long he might be off work.
Campana, however, confirmed that Patrolman Justin Ottaviano, the so-called 53rd officer, "is still employed by the city."
City Council budgeted for only 52 officers this year, but according to Campana, Ottaviano was not laid off when Sgt. Michael Orwig returned this year from active military duty.
The mayor said Ottaviano would remain a member of the police department "as long as we stay within the (police department) budget." Council has been informed of the officer's status, he said.
According to the mayor, the administration is "being creative in keeping" the officer