Shizamus
06-16-2003, 04:54 PM
Police officer's gun "goes off" during drill inside Manatee High
classroom
Thursday, June 12th
The report says the bullet went into a classroom wall.
Training drills are nothing new for Bradenton police officers, but a
live bullet fired inside a high school is certainly not procedure.
Debra Greene thought it was a car backfiring.
"I was inside cleaning and I heard a loud noise," said Greene. "Pretty
scary."
As it turns out, that noise was a gunshot. During a routine drill on
Tuesday, a Bradenton police officer's gun accidentally went off inside a
Manatee High School classroom.
According to the school board's critical incident response report, the
bullet went into a classroom wall. No one was hurt, but the incident
left some wondering how this could have happened.
Manatee High's principal says police told her the officer accidentally
left a bullet in the chamber of his gun. An internal investigation is
underway at the Bradenton Police Department. Blanton was coaching a
sports camp during the incident.
Manatee High football coach Bruce Blanton was coaching a sports camp
during the incident. He says he didn't hear the gunshot, but believes
this will probably make officers more cautious in the future.
Similar accidents have ended in tragedy in the past. Two years ago in
Arlington, Texas, an officer shot and killed another officer during a
tactical training scenario at a junior high.
classroom
Thursday, June 12th
The report says the bullet went into a classroom wall.
Training drills are nothing new for Bradenton police officers, but a
live bullet fired inside a high school is certainly not procedure.
Debra Greene thought it was a car backfiring.
"I was inside cleaning and I heard a loud noise," said Greene. "Pretty
scary."
As it turns out, that noise was a gunshot. During a routine drill on
Tuesday, a Bradenton police officer's gun accidentally went off inside a
Manatee High School classroom.
According to the school board's critical incident response report, the
bullet went into a classroom wall. No one was hurt, but the incident
left some wondering how this could have happened.
Manatee High's principal says police told her the officer accidentally
left a bullet in the chamber of his gun. An internal investigation is
underway at the Bradenton Police Department. Blanton was coaching a
sports camp during the incident.
Manatee High football coach Bruce Blanton was coaching a sports camp
during the incident. He says he didn't hear the gunshot, but believes
this will probably make officers more cautious in the future.
Similar accidents have ended in tragedy in the past. Two years ago in
Arlington, Texas, an officer shot and killed another officer during a
tactical training scenario at a junior high.