Maybe praise should replace anger at cop in bad spot

by Jim Irvine

WDTN channel 2 news reported last week that an officer is under investigation after allegedly handing his gun to a citizen.

From the article:

Jerry and Josie Anderson are shocked at what they say they witnessed on Saturday morning outside their home on Chester Boulevard.

They say the officer who was responding to simple accident, stepped out of line when he handed his loaded weapon to a random citizen.

"I saw the officer hand over the pistol," said Josie Anderson.

The Andersons claim the officer gave his loaded gun to a man in the crowd who claimed he had an Ohio gun permit. They say that man shot the deer.

At first this does seem rather shocking, but in this case it may have been for the best. First, let us dispel this idea that police are super-heroes with Jedi-like firearm skills. Police are people, just like the rest of us. Only about one-half of those entering the police academy have ever used a firearm. While police are given extensive training on a wide range of topics and are experts in many ways, firearms training is minimal. Many police only shoot a couple times of year to re-qualify. Many police officers are excellent with a gun, but there are probably more whose firearms skills are lacking.

What was this particular officer's skill set with firearms? We have no idea, and neither do the Andersons.

He reportedly handed the gun to a person claiming to have a concealed handgun license (CHL) to shoot an injured deer. We have no idea if they knew each other or what other information was exchanged between the officer and the citizen.

Many CHL's shoot regularly. Some go to the range monthly, others on a weekly basis. Many partake in competitive events or hunt. While there are certainly CHL's with minimal skill and training, there are many more who are experts with a firearm.

Jerry is quoted as saying, "My issue is that officer handing over his personal police weapon loaded to a stranger in a crowd who's all excited, nervous. Who knows what he is going to do." Apparently Jerry does not know that police get nervous too. Maybe the other person was experienced in such situations and was not at all nervous.

Killing is different than shooting. Deer hunters know that "buck fever" is real. There is a stress involved in taking a life, human or animal, that does not exist when shooting at targets. There are many people with extensive shooting experience, but zero killing experience. Maybe the officer decided this was not the best situation for his first killing?

What kind of person is going to take a gun to put down an injured deer in front of police and a crowd of people? Probably one with a skill set to be confident in his abilities. What kind of an officer would hand his gun to such a person? Probably one who knew is own limitations, and was confident enough in his judgment of people to know he was making a good decision.

Had the killing of an injured deer gone wrong and prolonged or worsened the suffering, people would be outraged, but that didn't happen. Had a bystander been injured by an errant shot, there would be outrage and lawsuits, but that didn't happen either. The deer was quickly, professionally, safely and humanely destroyed. Isn't that the desired outcome?

In aviation, everyone assumes the captain is the best pilot. Not so. In fact, a person with ordinary piloting skills can be an exceptional captain, and one with great flying skills can be a weak captain. The same is true of police and shooting skills. It takes a strong man (or women) to admit a weakness, and seek help from someone else. For a uniformed officer to do this in front of a group of people takes real courage.

My guess is the officer in question is a great police officer. I know there are reasons why police are not permitted to hand their duty weapon to others, but there are also laws that prohibit people from using their personal weapons to kill deer out of season. Laws and regulations can't possibly take into account every possible situation that might exist. We need to trust good people to make good decisions to solve the actual problem they are facing. It seems we have reached a point where blindly following policy is more important than using your brain and common sense to "do what's right" for everyone involved. That is something that we should cause us all concern.

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman, and recipient of the NRA-ILA's 2011 "Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award" and the CCRKBA's 2012 "Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award."