It is not a safety check, really. They want to carry with the gun not cocked. Gotta press the trigger on a shotgun to do that....
Understood. What would you have in mind?I understand all the reasons for pressing the trigger. My point is that it violates the rule of "treating every gun as if it were loaded," function testing after reassembly aside. As we see, the evidence clearly indicates, this is where problems arise.
Understood. What would you have in mind?
Lets say you are on duty and you have a shotgun. I am on the next shift and driving your assigned car. You park and go inside to turn in your shotgun, radio, turn in evidence, several reports, etc. While you are doing that, I am in briefing. When briefing is over, I pick up the keys, my radio and the shotgun. I have no idea what condition the gun is in. A press check shows a round in the chamber. At that point, it matters not why the round is chambered, it is. We carry with a clear chamber and the gun uncocked. So what do I do now?
Lets look at your shift; you made a call at 3am of a burglar alarm at a business. You arrived and found the back door kicked in, and observed a person run by inside to a room. You chamber a round and you and your back up enter and make a felony arrest (good job) . Suspect in custody you are ready to go back on patrol. How do you get your shotgun back to cruiser ready?
So out of all the fumbling with the gun, where are the shells in all this? Are officers not allowed to unload and reload rounds from the gun? If so, the expectation is officers are suppose to handle the gun and it be required to be in certain conditions which vary throughout the day yet they are handicapped from handling the ammo to put the gun in the condition it needs to be in?
In a nutshell, crap would get in the action.Assuming that we are talking about a pump action shot gun, why can't "cruiser ready" be unloaded with the action open?
The "standard" at trap and skeet ranges is that anyone who is walking around with their shotgun (i.e. not at a station actually shooting) must have the action open - whether it is a break, pump or semi-auto action.
The "condition" of the gun is visually obvious to everyone and even if a shell were in the chamber you cannot fire with the bolt open.
The officers must handle the ammo. I was just trying to show that these guns must be maniplated.
OK. Issue the officers an ammo try that only holds 6 or whatever shells. When the tray is full the gun is empty. Plus do the usual check to clear both mag and chamber.
Until that extra round gets in there. Stuff like that happens. It is not foolproof, but procedures can be put into place to mitigate the risk.
Notice i said still check it.
Then lets go with my original clearing rod suggestion.
The trigger HAS to be pressed. A two person check in the field, and a chamber for the muzzle back at the station seems to me to be a safe and workable solution. However, the human factor remains. Whatever policy is chosen, it depends on the individual to comply. Therein lies the possibilty for carelessness.
I don't know much about him.
He was ex-Chief of California Highway Patrol I believe. Career politician who some say has a record of promoting gun control. Can't verify but there was a video on him leading the gun buyback program in Austin. Came off as an arrogant prick...
Why does the trigger have to be pressed?
Because of the way shotguns work. If you clear it and close the slide then load the tube, you cannot just rack the slide to get the gun into action. The action release must be pressed. In a stress situation, that step can be difficult at best. Training can alleviate that, but LE agencies are on thin training budgets, and handgun training is already minimal.