This video is exactly why Barney Fife was only issued one bullet, to be kept in his shirt pocket – and which could be confiscated at Andy’s discretion. That one rule alone, saved countless fictional lives in the town of Mayberry, North Carolina.
Elevator surveillance video shows that even the best trained, professional marksmen make mistakes, and I daresay most gun toting Americans are not trained as well as 25-year veteran Erlanger police officer Darryl Jouett. In the clear video, we see the off-duty officer riding in a parking garage elevator on Saturday evening, after having dinner with his wife. Jouett is holding a box in one hand, while he adjusting his belt with the other, somehow causing the service weapon to fire in its holster.
Imagine the deafening roar in the confined space of the elevator, when the .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun accidentally discharged! The officer is standing only a few feet from the steel wall of the car. The bullet ricocheted off the wall and struck him in the stomach. Thanks to the quick thinking of a woman presumed to be his wife, who summoned help and held the elevator door open, Jouett is expected to make a full recovery.
Captain Mike John, a spokesman for the police department said: “It’s very unusual. Obviously you have somebody that’s used to handling firearms,” John said. “It’s very unusual to see somebody discharge a firearm, accidentally, in a confined space like that. It’s very unusual.” . It’s unclear if he had the safety on.
All’s well that ends ‘sort of okay.’ We all know that the bullet could have ricocheted differently and changed the ending of this story radically. After the events of the past month, I assume accidents can happen to anyone. Whether you’re shopping at Walmart, or are off duty having dinner with the wife – it pays to check the safety and carry your one and only round in your pocket.