Kegan30317
01-04-2002, 13:48
I post this to the rookie forum, but it is a lesson for new guys and vet's alike. It just so happened that this very sad story involves a rookie.
Tenn. Cop Killed by 3-Year-Old Son
By KARIN MILLER
Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)--A rookie police officer was shot to death by his
3-year-old son, who had grabbed the man's service weapon from a kitchen table
when the officer turned to talk to his pregnant wife.
Joshua Haffner, 22, was pronounced dead early Friday after several hours of
surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He had been
flown by helicopter from an airport near his home in Smyrna, about 20 miles to
the southeast.
The shooting occurred late Thursday, shortly after Haffner had gotten home
from his shift at Nashville's South Sector Precinct, said Sgt. Ken Hampton of
the Smyrna Police Department.
``He was taking off his duty equipment and laid his gun on the kitchen table.
Apparently while he had his back turned and was talking to his wife, their
3-year-old picked the gun up and shot him,'' Hampton said.
Haffner was shot once in the upper back with the Glock .40-caliber
semiautomatic pistol, Hampton said.
Haffner graduated from Nashville's police academy Nov. 1 and was completing
his field training. His wife, Amy, is eight months pregnant.
``This is something he always talked about, being a police officer,'' said
Hampton, who had known Haffner for several years.
Don Aaron, spokesman for Nashville's police department, said
officers-in-training take a home firearms safety course when they get their
weapons. He said the shooting was a tragic accident that happened in a split
second.
``This officer had just gotten home. He was getting settled, and in the
process took the pistol out of the holster and put it on the table. He did not
leave the gun unattended; there were two adults in the kitchen,'' Aaron said.
AP-NY-01-04-02 1330EST
Tenn. Cop Killed by 3-Year-Old Son
By KARIN MILLER
Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)--A rookie police officer was shot to death by his
3-year-old son, who had grabbed the man's service weapon from a kitchen table
when the officer turned to talk to his pregnant wife.
Joshua Haffner, 22, was pronounced dead early Friday after several hours of
surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He had been
flown by helicopter from an airport near his home in Smyrna, about 20 miles to
the southeast.
The shooting occurred late Thursday, shortly after Haffner had gotten home
from his shift at Nashville's South Sector Precinct, said Sgt. Ken Hampton of
the Smyrna Police Department.
``He was taking off his duty equipment and laid his gun on the kitchen table.
Apparently while he had his back turned and was talking to his wife, their
3-year-old picked the gun up and shot him,'' Hampton said.
Haffner was shot once in the upper back with the Glock .40-caliber
semiautomatic pistol, Hampton said.
Haffner graduated from Nashville's police academy Nov. 1 and was completing
his field training. His wife, Amy, is eight months pregnant.
``This is something he always talked about, being a police officer,'' said
Hampton, who had known Haffner for several years.
Don Aaron, spokesman for Nashville's police department, said
officers-in-training take a home firearms safety course when they get their
weapons. He said the shooting was a tragic accident that happened in a split
second.
``This officer had just gotten home. He was getting settled, and in the
process took the pistol out of the holster and put it on the table. He did not
leave the gun unattended; there were two adults in the kitchen,'' Aaron said.
AP-NY-01-04-02 1330EST