Former Florida deputy who says he accidentally shot girlfriend while 'dry-firing' gun arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
nbcnews.com
A former Florida sheriff's deputy was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the accidental shooting death of his girlfriend, authorities said.
Leslie Boileau called 911 on Thursday night to report that he had "accidentally shot his girlfriend" at their home in Ocala. The girlfriend was found with a handgun on her lap "and a rifle was also present at the scene," the Ocala Police Department said in a statement on Facebook.
So, the moron pointed a gun at her head and pulled the trigger?
I mean, uh, yeah, this outcome seems exactly like what you'd expect to happen.
Hopefully he doesn't manage to avoid all the much-deserved consequences because cop.
This is a friend of a friend, so take it for what it's worth, but he told me that the guy died at a party by pointing a gun at his head and pulling the trigger because it wouldn't go off with the safety on. It did.
There are a lot of people who really should know how guns work before being allowed to have one.
I mean, the first thing my grandfather told me about guns - the very first thing - was that you never, ever, under ANY circumstances ever fucking point it at something you do not want to kill. Ever. Period. For any reason.
Now, I might not expect some random person to maybe have any sort of proper handling training, but a fucking ex-cop? C'mon.
First rule of any gun safety thing I've ever been part of, heard of, or seen in action is to always treat the weapon as if it is loaded and ready to go off even if you are absolutely sure it's unloaded and the safety is on.
It wasn't an ex cop, it was a sheriff's deputy. He was fired after he committed the murder.
There is no amount of training, experience, or ability that can prevent gun accidents.
Other activities that are life/death like surgery or airline piloting use checklists because they know that training, experience, and ability are not enough. Making rules like "a gun is always loaded" or "careful where you point that thing", are not sufficient because instead of solving human fallibility, they ignore it.
I'd go further and say that these "rules" are more mantra than procedure. A kind of protection spell that's spoken more than it's followed. These spells are cast in a flurry every time someone has an accident. Not to reinforce the lesson, but to reassure that we're not going to get hurt.
Give me an example of someone following all 4 basic rules of gun safety and accidentally killing someone anyway.
Like the cop in the article...
Where I'm from you are literally required to pass a safety course before being approved for a Firearms License. Why is this basic requirement not a thing everywhere, period?
Probably because Jimbo and Cleetus would be too stupid to pass the test and disallowed their pewpews, and unfortunately these are very reliable voters, despite them not being able to spell republican or their own names, so a particular party keeps the status quo to remain in power.
First day finding out about America?
In most of the US, if you want to get a gun, you go to a store, plop your money on the counter, and as long as the guy behind the counter decides that from a hundred feet away through a dirty glass you don't look like you might shoot up a GOP candidate, you'll have a new gun.
If you're unlucky, you'll have to wait a few days first.
Because regulations are evil and can only mean the next step is "them" taking your guns away. If only more people were as protective of their 1st Amendment rights like some are for their 2nd.
Exactly.
So gun control measures?
What a concept. I wonder if anyone in America is willing to actually try that?
Plenty of people are willing to. Just not enough of the ones with the power to do so.
Sig Sauer has a long-standing known issue of the gun firing without even pulling the trigger; regardless of whether the safety is on or not.
The 320 had a recall earlier in its life for drop safety but they did a redesign of the interior since then. I think today it's more of a poor excuse for negligence.
Sounds to me like he decided to be dry firing post facto.
He wasn't "former" until after he murdered his girlfriend. They fired him because of that. I'm sure he was a perfectly stable and honorable cop and we sure won't find any skeletons in his station reports.
Like, literal skeletons? Or metephorical ones? Either way, I'm pretty sure we'll find both
Just manslaughter eh?
It’s easier to get a warrant for his arrest from a grand jury for manslaughter because it doesn’t require motive, just a dead person. They can always upgrade that too murder if the investigation turns up something.
If you point a firearm at someones head and firearms are one of your professional responsibilities, there are absolutely elevating criterion for higher charges. There is no reasonable doubt he was unaware of the
possibleprobable consequences of pulling a trigger while aiming a firearm at someone.As prosecuting attorney I would have the investigator simply ask 'WTF were you thinking?' and use whatever his response was (even a 5a plead) as prima facie evidence of guilt for a pre-meditated offence.
All guns are loaded, always. It’s never taught any different.
Even if you’ve pulled the trigger and nothing happened, it’s still loaded.
Throw the book at the chump.
This would get you reprimanded in court at best disbarred at worst. Utilizing the right to remain silent can not be used against you in a court of law. If it could it'd defeat the entire purpose of it by making silence become an admittance of guilt.
Worth it :p
You're right, but I was being rhetorical. The video would really not be needed. Expert testimony on proper firearm handling, records of his training contrasted against his actual statements, and the collected evidence would be sufficient. My bet is he'll take a plea if offered.
That seems like good evidence for a manslaughter charge.. It doesn't address motive at all, though, so wouldn't be enough to upgrade the charge.
Motive isn't required for murder charges. Premeditation is.
Premeditation isn't required for murder charges.
Malice aforethought is.
Eh, premeditation is required everywhere, 'malice aforethought' (might want to check the definition of it because even it has premeditation baked into the definition) is an additional component for some states and federal law.
If premeditation was a requirement, 2nd degree murder would not exist.
We're talking about a firearm crime though. Firearms safety training the first thing they tell you is the gun is always loaded so never point it at something unless you intend to kill it. This is my point. If he pointed it at her, he intended to kill her by definition according to his training. His stating it was a 'dry fire' means he says it wasn't a crime of passion, and so he's going for 'it was an accident' defence which as a trained officer he should not have access too.
They have a 1st degree case that will be plead down to 2nd degree/reckless indifference or maybe manslaughter depending on how corrupt the PA is.
What would you have him charged with? So far the facts point to this being done without malice
No, "suspicion" of manslaughter. So, of course, the police literally get away with murder. Again...
He hasn't gotten away with it yet.
Another "responsible" gun owner.
Grade school kids can be suspended and charged with a felony for doing the same thing with their fingers. What ever happened to the basic rule being taught to treat any gun like it's loaded? I'm going to guess fake firing was something he did often, so he knew it would be fine. And then it wasn't.
there are lots of photos of cops lacking trigger discipline.