I recently heard the unbelievably tragic story of police officer John Thompson . He left his duty weapon unattended in the house and his 5 yr. old accidentally shot himself and died . Testimony from friends and relatives say , both are loving parents without doubt . Not only is Thompson an officer , but also holds down 2 other jobs to provide for his family . Along with his weapon being left loaded & unattended , there were also many rounds of ammunition laying near by . That being said for the love of his children and being a loving father that provides for his family , what should be the juries call when this case goes to trial ? He also ( refused ) a plea bargin that would require him to no longer be an officer .


http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/01/23/former-officer-rejects-plea-deal-in-sons-death/

I don't have any rifles or pistols, mostly cause of my kids. How can a weapon protect a family all locked up? Seconds count and if it were me I would want my duty weapon ready to rock at a seconds notice. You never know when a bad guy might want vengence and come to your home. But on the other hand with children the duty weapon should have never left his side, it wasn't protecting him and his family left unattended. Complacency kills is what I always heard in the Army. His only mistake was leaving the weapon unattended is how I see it. Its a shame what happened.

Such a tragic story, I have 2 guns, shotgun by the bed and a AK47 downstairs, both are loaded with safety on. Having a gun in one room and ammo in another or locked up to me makes no sense. I have 2 girls, 4 and 8. From the time they could understand I explained to them what the gun is, used for and what it can do. They were told never to touch, go near or even look at the gun. They do not. If I ask them to get me the gun, they refuse, If I tell them to look at the gun, they look away. Like anything else education is key. I explain to my kids several times a year this.

I don't understand the need to prosecute this guy. His son is dead and yes it's part his fault, but he'll pay an the awful price in mental anguish for the rest of his life.He made mistakes and probably wishes the bullet hit him, but should he go to jail for it ? If the guy has an otherwise spotless record as a father and officer, then I think not.
This is a sad situation indeed, but enough already with the government legislating our personal lives.

Stinkfoot,I agree with you 100%.
There are also many ways to keep a loaded handgun safe and accessable. One is the Biometric Pistol Vault. They can store your loaded pistol and can be opened quickly with one hand when needed.

That poor man probably thinks about it everyday, and that is worse than any sentence they could give to him.

Exactly what I have Rudz. http://www.gunvault.com/handgun-safes/minivault.html?cat=5 Stores a fully loaded Springfield XD 45 thats ready to rock. Access is literally seconds. The only finger that opens that safe are mine and my wifes.

The safe downstairs has "stuff" in it, and the only one that knows the combo is me. I have it written on a piece of paper and it is taped to the roof of the biometric safe should something ever happen to me and the wife needs access.

The above mentioned, is an irresponsible gun owner, even if he is a police officer.

When my kids were growing up I had the guns locked in a safe, the ammo locked up in a second safe, and the actions locked up in a third safe.

This certainly protected them from harming themselves, but would have been useless as far as protecting my family against an outside intruder.

I dont know what they are prosecuting him for, I would probably be able to comprehend Involuntary Manslaughter, if it made any sense at all. Should the man lose his position on the Force, thats debatable, and should he be denied a carry permit as well?

My kids are used to guns, have shot them, and know how to operate them. There is one hidden where only Linda and I know where it is, and there is another that only I know about. I figure with 200 pounds of German Shepherd here, Ill have a few seconds to get to either one, no matter where I am in the house.

I have caught myself removing my holster after a day out, and placing it on the table when no one was home and then sitting down for a minute, only to wake up half an hour after the Family got home. Linda had immediately put the gun out of sight. What if she had stayed outside to play with the dogs or straighten her car, and one of the kids came in and started playing with the gun? Its one of my greatest fears, which is why I put it away as soon as I get in the house, and keep it very clear in my head to do so. That fear from that incident keeps it very fresh in my mind.

I cant imagine the anguish he is suffering through, and what it will do to him in the course of his lifetime. But how much different is it, honestly, than the Families we have heard about who accidentally let their toddler out of sight "just for a minute" and then found them floating in a pool? Do those parents get a Manslaughter trial? Or is it just an accident?

The facts are he made a mistake, the weapon was legally owned, and carried as required by his employment. An accident happened, and he will pay for it the rest of his life, no matter what the Judge decides.

Good insight Irish. That poor man and family will be punished for the rest of their lives. No judge or jury could inflict more pain then they already have. If anything I hope we all learn from it. One second of carelessness can't be a lifetime of pain.

A tragic story.

I have always had guns in the house. I taught my kids gun safety very early on, and continue to do so. They have a great deal of respect for firearms, and treat everyone they see as if it were loaded until proven otherwise.

Story says he kept his gun in a closet. I'm not sure what good would come of prosecuting this guy. He's gonna live with this every day of his life. Him being a cop isn't even relevant to the story. Prosecuter says "he's a cop he should know better" REALLY? Does that extend to our government? How about to Eric Holder?

If his mother left a knife on the table while making dinner, and went to answer the phone and had the same tragic result, I don't think anyone would be talking about prosecuting her.

I think its a very sad tragic accident. Prayers sent to those involved.

What if he didn't shoot himself? What if he shot someone else? Then who should be punished?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/21/jordan-brown-killed-fathe_n_168862.html
I went to school with this kids dad and he was taught every aspect of gun safety, he was an avid hunter with his father, but he is still just a kid. If his father would have been responsible enough to secure his shotgun and shells this would have not happened. This poor kid is on trial and yet the adult who let this happen will face no cosequences for his in-actions. Kids will be kids, and you can teach them things a million times but they will still make mistakes....

A tragic story, The pain he will feel for the rest of his life will be far more then any sentence he gets. It was an accident and should be treated as such. The analogy above about an accidental drowning puts it into perspective.

Mike

Big Jim, thats a tough one. There are some differences in the Childs ages and according to the story you posted, that Child was actually planning it, and had alledgedly spoken about it to a peer. At that point I would imagine if he didnt have access to a gun, once the frustration of emotion or sickness he was dealing with got to be enough, he would have found another weapon to fit the bill. Cant say for sure, either way that man will know that his pregnant girlfriend is forever gone, and his son did it. That effectively takes out 3 of the most important things in his life, and leaves two young girls Motherless due to his error. You can argue about semantics regarding culture of the area, and how many kids hunt and have guns, you can argue about all kinds of things, but according to the story, he planned it, and as I said, if your inclined enough, a steak knife would do it.

I can understand your point exactly Irish. My concern is though, what if it wasn't his step mother, what if it were another child, or even worse what if it were one of our own children he shot? What would be your thoughts on the Fathers irresponsibility then? I feel as an adult, it was his responsibility to properly secure his guns & ammo. I'm not trying to sway anyones oppinion just my 2 cents.

Such a very amazing link!
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