Glock Failure Results In Blessing

[PawDaddy]

Fayette | News
Juvenile, 16, pulls trigger on F’ville cop, lives to tell about it
Tue, 09/02/2008 - 5:03pmBy: Ben Nelms
Sometimes a cop is fortunate just to be able to go home at the end of the work day. Fayetteville Police Officer Todd Chitwood is living proof of that after a 16-year-old male took aim at him and pulled the trigger of a 9mm Glock handgun as Chitwood gave chase in an Aug. 30 incident that began behind Tinseltown Theater at Fayette Pavilion.

The College Park juvenile was one of two males Chitwood saw hanging around a vehicle in the rear of Tinseltown, said Fayetteville Police spokesperson Glenn Askew. The officer made contact and was checking their identification when one the males jumped up and began running toward the rear of the nearby Best Buy store, Askew said. The 16-year-old had apparently given a false name, said Askew.

Chitwood ran after the juvenile and, during the chase, the 16-year-old stopped, turned around, pointed a 9mm Glock handgun at the officer and pulled the trigger from approximately 20-25 feet away, Askew said.

The gun malfunctioned and did not fire, said Askew. Chitwood had pulled his weapon upon seeing the juvenile brandish the handgun, but did not fire at the 16-year-old, said Askew. Chitwood apprehended the male and placed him in custody.

The 16-year-old was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, obstruction, carrying a weapon without a license and giving a false name, said Askew.

Also over the weekend, a traffic stop Aug. 31 for speeding along Ga. Highway 85 and North 85 Parkway resulted in the arrest of three men on drug and weapons charges.

Dereck Jackson, 20 of East Point and 17-year-old Michael Wells of Atlanta were charged with possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, Askew said.

Wells, along with the vehicle’s driver, 20-year-old Riverdale man Rodrequs Wells, was charged with weapons violations relating to the three handguns found in the vehicle, Askew added. One of the handguns was stolen, Askew added.

The three men and the vehicle were searched when officers smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, said Askew.

The quantities of drugs found at the scene were not immediately available.

[David the Gnome]

Must have been messed up pretty bad not to fire at least the first round. My guess is there wasn't a round in the chamber or it was some very bad ammunition.

[Stevie-Ray]

Chitwood ran after the juvenile and, during the chase, the 16-year-old stopped, turned around, pointed a 9mm Glock handgun at the officer and pulled the trigger from approximately 20-25 feet away, Askew said.

The 16-year-old was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, obstruction, carrying a weapon without a license and giving a false name, said Askew.Maybe I'm just thick-headed, but why wasn't he charged with attempted murder of a police officer? The gun didn't fire, but the kid expected it to.

[okmic1]

I wondered too, then I wondered how much the article actually matched what happened. If they could charge him with attempted murder they would. Or they could add it later.

[Sigma 40 Blaster]

...pulled his weapon upon seeing the juvenile brandish the handgun, but did not fire at the 16-year-old...

All I thought to myself when reading that article is WHY? I can see using restraint if the gun isn't leveled at you (honestly...no I really can't, not from my perspective as a civilian) but point, trigger finger flexes, CLICK. This officer was very lucky, either the chamber was empty or the gun was seriously broken.

The title of the thread should be "A Blessing (or maybe incompetence) Results in Good Luck".

[astromanluca]

We weren't there. It's possible that when the kid's gun wouldn't fire, he dropped it and surrendered right away. That would be a pretty intelligent bit of foresight from someone who is apparently lacking in that regard (to pull a gun on a cop in the first place...).

That cop, though... if the kid didn't start motioning to drop his gun before the cop drew and aimed, then he must have either been feeling generous or was simply off his game.

[BurkGlocker]

Maybe the kid was limp wristing so bad that the firing pin failed to work properly... :rolleyes:

Like Dad used to say, "you think you can take the old man, so go ahead and put on your big boy britches."

if the kid was going to act like a 'man', and pull a gun on an officer he shouldve got what was coming to him. But now, he will have 15-30 years to think about it...

[bojack2575]

But now, he will have 15-30 years to think about it...

Yea right, he will probably be out in five and back to committing crime.

That story doesn't seem to jive. I agree why wasn't he charged with attempted murder if he pointed a gun at a cop and pulled the trigger.

If I had to bet on it I would say that the gun did not have a round in the chamber and some scum bag lawyer is using that saying he never intended to actually shoot the cop.

If I were that cop I would have shot him in the leg just to teach him a lesson.

[stephen426]

Limp wristing only causes the gun to malfunction after a failure to eject. The first shot should still fire. It was probably bad ammo.

I can understand the cop's hesitance to shoot the kid, even though he was pointing a gun at him. First of all, the kid's weapon already failed to fire. The officer probably thought he was no longer a threat (unless the kid did a rack, tap, bang). Like someone else said, we weren't there and the kid could have just dropped the weapon.

Anyways, good guy goes home, hopefully the punk kid becomes some big man's (bleep).

[Old Timer]

Like someone else said, we weren't there and the kid could have just dropped the weapon.I want to see what the kid looked like. Some 16 year olds look like they're 12 and some look like they're 25. If he was a runt I too might have hesitated. I have grand kids that age.Anyways, good guy goes home, hopefully the punk kid becomes some big man's (bleep).He'll do maybe 5 years (probably a lot less) in juvie then walk. Unless he does it again after he gets out he won't see the inside of an adult prison unless its on visiting day when he goes to see his dad.

[Te Anau]

I saw a video several nights ago on TV where a female officers .40S&W Glock jammed in a firefight.Luckily she survived.

[Saab1911]

Why does the article assume that the perp would have hit the officer if
the gun hadn't malfunctioned?

Chances were very good that the perp would have missed.

And of course we know that the whole story is a fabrication because Glocks are perfection incarnate :p

[jakeswensonmt]

My guess is there wasn't a round in the chamber or it was some very bad ammunition.
My thoughts exactly.

[astromanluca]

And of course we know that the whole story is a fabrication because Glocks are perfection incarnate :p

Others would say that they're both lucky the Glock malfunctioned because otherwise it would have exploded and killed them :p

j/k though, I like Glocks.

[BurkGlocker]

Limp wristing only causes the gun to malfunction after a failure to eject. The first shot should still fire. It was probably bad ammo.

Yes, I know... LOL did you not see the ':rolleyes:' after it.. :p

[IdahoG36]

If you pulled that stunt where I live, most likely you would not live to tell about it. Boise Police have a reputation. Just Google "Boise Police shootings" and you'll see for yourself. They don't mess around and I don't blame them one bit. Reaching for a gun to use against a police officer is enough for them to shoot you, let alone actually pointing it at them and pulling the trigger.
I think that they are both fortunate to be alive. The police officer is lucky the gun didn't fire, and the kid is lucky the officer showed restraint. He would have been well within reason to have shot the kid on the spot.

[astromanluca]

Haha, and you think Boise police are bad? Imagine what would have happened if this were the NYPD. There have been several high-profile shootings where the police shot totally unarmed suspects who had nothing to do with the crime they were investigating, and only ran because they got spooked when they saw random people (in fact plainclothes officers) flashing guns. In some cases these guys were shot dozens of times.

What's even worse is that in every case that I know of, the police have gotten off completely scot-free.

[ImDisaster]

Who knows what happened to the gun...not enough info. The kid could have even forgot to chamber the first round.

What is for sure, is the kid is lucky to be alive....and so is the officer. 99% of the time drawing a gun on an LEO is going to get you shot. The officer is lucky that he didn't get killed because he hesitated to react. 99.99% of the time that Glock is going to go off.

[HK123]

The 16-year-old was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, obstruction, carrying a weapon without a license and giving a false name, said Askew.

Maybe it's me, but aren't the two bolded parts redundant?

Who knows what happened to the gun...not enough info. The kid could have even forgot to chamber the first round.

If he never chambered the first round how would he have pulled the trigger? On a Glock as I'm sure you know, the trigger isn't in the forward/fire position until you rack the slide. Do you mean that he may have racked the slide and then put the magazine in? That's one dumb kid.

[Seven High]

I wonder if the juveniles weapon was an airsoft type or a BB gun.:confused:

[jdc1244]

The thread title should be:

‘Failure Having Nothing To Do With the Glock It Must Be the Shooter or Ammo or Anything Else but the Glock Results In Blessing.’

;)

[Brian Pfleuger]

Maybe it's me, but aren't the two bolded parts redundant?

Possibly they fall under two different statutes and they want to write up as many as possible knowing that several of the charges will probably be dropped.

[B.N.Real]

100% behind what Stevie Ray said.

The kid tried to kill the officer.

He should have been charged that way.

[varoadking]

If I were that cop I would have shot him in the leg just to teach him a lesson.

I guess we can all breath a sigh of relief that you're not a cop...

[HK123]

If it were me, my instinct would be to shoot to protect my life. If it looks like a gun, they're waving it around in public or pointing it at someone, then it's more of a reaction I think I may have than to stand there.

[KyJim]

Maybe I'm just thick-headed, but why wasn't he charged with attempted murder of a police officer?
I know nothing about the law in that state, but it may simply be that aggravated assault carries the same penalty as attempted murder and, perhaps, might be easier to prove in a given circumstance. For example, the state may not have to prove specific intent to cause someone's death. In those cases, a prosecutor will choose the one easier to prove.

[Night Watch]

:) Here's the part I like:

Chitwood had pulled his weapon upon seeing the juvenile brandish the handgun, but did not fire at the 16-year-old, said Askew. Chitwood apprehended the male and placed him in custody.

What, the Hell, was this officer thinking? It's called gunfighting, not juvenile rehabilitation, or community social work - Geeze!

The 16-year-old was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, obstruction, carrying a weapon without a license and giving a false name, said Askew.

Oh, I guess ATTEMPTED MURDER is just too hard to spell, huh? :rolleyes:

Officer Chitwood is a very lucky man. Obviously it wasn't his night to die! A Glock doesn't usually fail like that. I'm sure this kid feels terrible about what happened. He's basically a good boy at heart. Give him another chance and a little more practice. Next time I'm sure he'll do better! :p

[IdahoG36]

I'm sure this kid feels terrible about what happened. He's basically a good boy at heart. Give him another chance and a little more practice. Next time I'm sure he'll do better!

Yeah, just another poor innocent youth led astray by violent video games. Deep down, there is a productive member of society just aching to break through.:rolleyes::rolleyes::D:D

[OneClownDown]

If it were me, my instinct would be to shoot to protect my life. If it looks like a gun, they're waving it around in public or pointing it at someone, then it's more of a reaction I think I may have than to stand there.

Plus another. I'm not going to take the chance its just a hangfire or complete misfire altogether. You point at gun at me, you're gonna get shot, you pull the trigger on me, my rounds are going to be going down range toward you.

[PawDaddy]

Fayette County is supposedly the "richest" county in GA. It has been a pretty mild place until the past several months.

It is about 25 miles south of Atlanta and borders with Clayton County where lots of criminals live. They are moving their "business" to Fayette County.

A couple of days later there was a bank robbery right close to where this incident happened. The Fayette Pavillion has lots of petty crime now and things are just getting worse. It's becoming a daily thing here.

[IdahoG36]

After further review, that story cannot possibly be true. GLOCKs never fail. Just read some of the threads about GLOCK on this forum.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Playboypenguin]

Sounds to me more like the perp forgot to put one in the chamber than it does a malfunction. Sorry if someone already said this.

[IdahoG36]

^^^ It has been mentioned a few times, but I agree as well. I would tend to agree it was either not chambered, or the round itself was a dud. You would have to have something seriously wrong with your GLOCK for it not to fire.

[BillCA]

One thing I think we can all agree on is that providence was on the officer's side that night.

If I were that cop I would have shot him in the leg just to teach him a lesson.
Which is one reason you're not a cop and for which I'm glad. I don't want cops thinking it's their job to meet out "lessons" to people when it isn't necessary.

Possible causes:
- Empty chamber
- Broken firing pin (played w/it dry firing too much)
- Bad ammo
- Improper ammo (e.g. .380 instead of 9mm)
- gun not fully in battery

Some years ago a local officer anchored a robbery perp during a liquor store hold-up. The perp came out of the store, raised his gun when he saw the cops and *click*, *click*. The officer's gun worked. They recovered the .38 Special revolver and looked inside... this dimwit had stuffed .380 rounds in the chambers and to fix the loose fit, he wrapped toilet paper around each one. :rolleyes: