Of course Brady Campaign hates LEOs

They have guns.

From our favorite Board Member of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership:

This most recent example of an off-duty police officer shooting a woman when his loaded gun dropped out of the holster is a prime example of why loaded guns carried around in public are not a good idea. Presumably the officer was a "law abiding" gun carrier. He was until he suddenly wasn't. And now an innocent woman is dead. This was senseless, avoidable, stupid and dangerous. Guns are dangerous.

I assume Ms. Peterson was referring to this article, which provided more details:

Police say this 16 year veteran officer had the Smith and Wesson M&P .40 caliber handgun in a soft neoprene holster.  It was on his waist when it somehow accidentally fired.

"It is possible still for the trigger to be manipulated with that type of holster," said Godbee. 

The victim's family members say they just can't make sense of it, and neither can gun expert Rick Ector, who showed us the exact same gun in a neoprene holster. 

"How do you bypass this holster to get at the trigger?" he said while repeatedly tapping on it.  "I haven't figured it out." 

Detroit Police have a lot to figure out.  Internal Affairs is investigating.  One unanswered question is how was the victim shot in the chest when a gun is typically pointed down.

On one hand, I have to blame Sebastian for posting a link to JaPete-land, because I will never get those minutes of my life back.  Still, this ultimately was of interest to me, especially as Heather and I carry S&W M&Ps in .40.

First, it is worth looking at the absurdity of Joan Peterson's views:  she thinks that guns are dangerous, even in the hands of law enforcement officers.  Joan is going beyond the idea of civilian disarmament and demanding total LEO disarmament as well, apparently (even beyond what is admitted by Anchorage's local gun grabber, "Gwen").  Here's what "Gwen" has to say:

The military, guard, and cops can have ‘em, but not everyone. That’s what I advocate.

So Joan Peterson, Brady Board member, has a special brand of crazy that goes beyond even our local Alaskan gun grabber's position.  So, how does Joan suppose that cops should do their jobs?  Should they ask violent scummy criminals nicely to cooperate or comply?  Should they be restricted to less-than-lethal rounds?  Should LEOs just be told to "duck and cover" or flee?  Maybe she just believes that police officers have Special Super Gun Powers when they wear their uniforms on duty, but they suddenly lose those super powers and become Ordinary Citizens at the end of their shift and thus are unworthy of possessing firearms (gosh, probably just too bad if Joe the Crackhead who just got out of jail wants a little revenge, eh?).

If Joan Peterson were allowed to be Queen for a Day, the policies she would demand would undoubtedly lead to the death or serious bodily injury of our law enforcement officers for no appreciable gain in public safety (but perhaps a slight decline in the sales of adult diapers).  While one side of me loves it when the .gov has to play by the same rules as the subjects, and while I don't worship at the altar of "officer safety" to the exclusion of all else, I generally support reasonable efforts to keep LEOs who do dangerous jobs safer by allowing them to have reasonable safety gear like body armor, sidearms, etc.  Apparently Joan Peterson disagrees, because she thinks police officers are dangerous.

So, who exactly is wildly out of the mainstream on this issue?

The second point is more technical.  How the heck does an M&P with the moderate striker fired trigger discharge when in a holster, even a cruddy Uncle Mike's style holster?  And how does it rotate 110 degrees to point from the feet to a chest?  Methinks that somehow a booger hook ended up on a bang switch, and the muzzle pointed at something it wasn't supposed to.  Maybe the LEO couldn't resist showing off his "piece" to his date.  This is why (A) I have good holsters and (B) the sidearm does not come out of the holster unless it is needed or it is being deliberately and safely cleared or (C) I need to administratively handle it due to entering a victim disarmament zone.