A Washington, D.C., police officer unloaded his gun before walking into a room of fellow officers and “dry-fired” the weapon at another officer’s head, allegedly on orders to pretend to be an active shooter in what was apparently an unauthorized training exercise.
A sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) allegedly ordered the officer to dry fire his weapon at the other police officers, who had no idea what was going on. There were roughly 10 to 20 cops gathered in the room for roll call, with fully loaded pistols, at the first district station in Southwest D.C., reports NBC Washington.
“That officer is lucky to be alive,” Katie Meyers, a former police officer and firearms instructor told NBC Washington. “If you’re going to go into a room with armed people for a training exercise, to me that’s a recipe for disaster. The only time you ever point a firearm at something is when you’re willing to destroy that something.”
The use of real guns in police training exercises is strictly forbidden. The sergeant who ordered the “active shooter” fake-out allegedly said it was intended as an exercise in situational awareness. The officers involved are not facing penalties for their actions yet, pending an internal investigation of the incident by the MPD, reports WUSA9.
“I can tell you there are about seven different versions of the incident that are out there,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier told reporters Monday evening. “I’m not sure which or how many of those that you’ve heard, but I prefer to wait until I see some facts and some direct statements of what happened before I make a judgment.”
Accounts of the Saturday incident vary, but many agree fellow officers could have easily pulled their loaded weapons and fired, because they didn’t know it was a training drill. According to sources who spoke with WUSA9, at least one officer in the room did draw his firearm.
No one was injured in the bizarre incident, however one officer is on medical leave due to stress. The sergeant involved is reportedly a 30-year veteran of the police force.
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