QUINCY, Mass. Mass. -
The police department is investigating how a shotgun got
left in a cruiser with its safety lock off and a shell in its chamber, leading
to a sergeant blowing out the cruiser’s window when he accidentally hit the
trigger.
It happened around 7:20 a.m. Monday in the rear of police
headquarters on Sea Street, Capt. John Dougan told the Patriot Ledger. No was
hurt.
Dougan said an administrative investigation determined
that Sgt. David Flaherty accidentally discharged the shotgun. Flaherty was not
disciplined.
“He leaned back and hit the trigger by mistake,” Dougan
said. “There was a round in the chamber and it shot through the window.”
The shotgun discharged as Flaherty returned to the station
at the end of his overnight shift, Dougan said.
Several Quincy police cruisers have shotguns, which are
locked in place in a way that is designed to prevent anyone,other than an
officer, from unhinging them.
At the end of each shift, firearms in cruisers are
supposed to be locked and chambers cleared of shells, Dougan said. They are
then supposed to be checked at the beginning of each shift, he said.
“The gun’s supposed to be unloaded,” Dougan said. “Whoever
had it out last neglected to take the round out of the chamber.”
Dougan said the department will be retraining police
personnel who have access to shotguns while on duty.