Special prosecutor to review concealed-carry class shooting

[TSiWRX]

Updating this one:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories ... -plea.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Violet Township trustee who accidentally shot and wounded a student who was taking his concealed-carry class last year resolved the criminal case against him yesterday.

Terry J. Dunlap Sr., 74, pleaded no contest in Fairfield County Municipal Court to a misdemeanor charge of negligent assault. Visiting Judge Teresa Liston then found Dunlap guilty.

Through a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Dunlap received no probation or jail time. Instead, he paid a $300 fine and $112 in court costs....

[pirateguy191]

Being an ex-cop has it's privileges. I shall say no more.

[m-g willy]

To everyone that thinks this instructor should be hung out to dry,,,,
Do you all think that you should lose your drivers lic. for speeding ?
Speeding is the willful breaking of the law.
Or how about maybe backing into something resulting in the loss of your drivers lic.? Is that fair?
You all act like carrying a gun is some kind of a gift we get from the government (aka master!)
It was an accident!
I admit it was a stupid accident,,,but what accidents are not stupid?
If you are around guns long enough you WILL screw up at some point. (Just pray no one, or nothing is destroyed when it happens)
It's like who can handle a hammer and nail better ,,,,a doctor or a carpenter,,,
Now ask yourself between the two ,,,how many times does a doctor drop a hammer in his life time, compared to how many times does a carpenter drop a hammer in his career?
Some folks act like they are Joe -pro when it comes to gun handling when the truth is more than likely that you don't really handle a gun all that much.

[TSiWRX]

What happens to a driver when he/she commit acts of vehicular negligence? That's an easy one - there's a difference in outcome between a door-bump in the parking lot versus a fender-bender at walking pace versus a multi-vehicle rear-ending versus clipping a roadside worker, is there not?

There are plenty of instructors who have conducted training at a much higher tempo who have not shot a student.

There are plenty of drivers with spotless driving records.

Speeding? Sure.

I think that's more on the order of an instructor accidentally flagging him/herself.

If that speeding led to vehicular homicide or manslaughter? What kind of punishment would there be?

Yes, accidents do happen. But at what scale - and was that accident avoidable? Has that same individual committed the same accident before?

[soberbiker]

While I don't believe he should have gotten 10 years in prison for this incident I think 412 dollars is a bit light. I expect the civil case to cost much more.

[curmudgeon3]

I'm surprised the news reports haven't mentioned the total value of his assets (yet).

[DontTreadOnMe]

To everyone that thinks this instructor should be hung out to dry,,,,
Do you all think that you should lose your drivers lic. for speeding ?
Speeding is the willful breaking of the law.
Or how about maybe backing into something resulting in the loss of your drivers lic.? Is that fair?
You all act like carrying a gun is some kind of a gift we get from the government (aka master!)
It was an accident!
I admit it was a stupid accident,,,but what accidents are not stupid?

False equivalency. This was an instructor who intentionally pointed a gun at a student and pulled the trigger, injuring his student.

His license to instruct should have been pulled, pemanently, and he should get some time behind bars for the wildly irresponsible & dangerous actions.

[synack2]

We were not allowed to bring our guns into class, they had to stay in our cars till we went out to shoot. However we had way to many people and way to few helping on the range. We had a 25 go sideways down the firing line though. I took out someone plastic gun case but didn't hit anyone. The lady had a malfunctionand was a brand new shooter. She turned the gun sideways and racked it with her finger on the trigger.

I hid behind a tree and reloaded and ran up and fired my mags as quick as possible and ran back to cover! There was a little over 400 people in my class and they broke us into two groups to go shooting. It was complete chaos.

[BobK]

There was a little over 400 people in my class ... It was complete chaos.

[CroManGun]

To everyone that thinks this instructor should be hung out to dry,,,,
Do you all think that you should lose your drivers lic. for speeding ?
Speeding is the willful breaking of the law.
Or how about maybe backing into something resulting in the loss of your drivers lic.? Is that fair?
You all act like carrying a gun is some kind of a gift we get from the government (aka master!)
It was an accident!
I admit it was a stupid accident,,,but what accidents are not stupid?
If you are around guns long enough you WILL screw up at some point. (Just pray no one, or nothing is destroyed when it happens)
It's like who can handle a hammer and nail better ,,,,a doctor or a carpenter,,,
Now ask yourself between the two ,,,how many times does a doctor drop a hammer in his life time, compared to how many times does a carpenter drop a hammer in his career?
Some folks act like they are Joe -pro when it comes to gun handling when the truth is more than likely that you don't really handle a gun all that much.

Apples and motor oil! DUH!!!

[WY_Not]

If, as someone else mentioned, he did intentionally point it at someone and pull the trigger then he should have been charged with attempted murder. He took said action knowingly. There was no accident or even negligence involved. Comparing this situation to driving and speeding is apples and oranges. With a firearm, you do have absolute control over what happens when that firearm is in your hands. With a vehicle on a crowded street, not so much.

I will say that there are very few accidents with a firearm. More often than not it is negligence pure and simple. Follow the four simple rules and it is impossible to have such "accidents".

1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to kill or destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

As a firearm instructor, and as a LEO, he absolutely should have known better.

It was an accident!
I admit it was a stupid accident,,,but what accidents are not stupid?

[WY_Not]

You are far nicer than I. If he did intentionally point it at someone and pull the trigger then he should have been charged with attempted murder. He took said action knowingly. There was no accident or even negligence involved.

False equivalency. This was an instructor who intentionally pointed a gun at a student and pulled the trigger, injuring his student.

His license to instruct should have been pulled, pemanently, and he should get some time behind bars for the wildly irresponsible & dangerous actions.

[DontTreadOnMe]

You are far nicer than I. If he did intentionally point it at someone and pull the trigger then he should have been charged with attempted murder. He took said action knowingly. There was no accident or even negligence involved.

He did those things intentionally, but he thought the gun wasn't loaded. I know that's not an excuse & I agree that doesn't absolve him of guilt. Since he's a long-time instructor I believe that makes him reckless - he should understand the risks involved with pointing a gun at a person and pulling trigger, but I recognize that the way the law is worded makes it very difficult to have successfully convicted him of 'reckless' assault. Attempted murder, there's just no chance of that one flying.

Still what he got wasn't even a slap on the wrist. He basically got a finger-wagging and was told he was naughty. The plea agreement doesn't even prohibit him from future firearms instruction (the OPOTA suspension has already expired).

[WY_Not]

Still it should have been. It wasn't like he was cleaning a firearm in living room downstairs and it goes off putting a round through the ceiling hitting someone upstairs. He intentionally pointed it at someone and pulled the trigger. As an instructor, a LEO, heck as a human being, he should have known a firearm is always loaded.

Not trying to argue or anything. Just trying to wrap my head around the sheer stupidity of some members of the human race.

Here's hoping that if he ever tries to instruct again there are lots of protests and public announcements to remind potential students of his actions.

He did those things intentionally, but he thought the gun wasn't loaded. I know that's not an excuse & I agree that doesn't absolve him of guilt. Since he's a long-time instructor I believe that makes him reckless - he should understand the risks involved with pointing a gun at a person and pulling trigger, but I recognize that the way the law is worded makes it very difficult to have successfully convicted him of 'reckless' assault. Attempted murder, there's just no chance of that one flying.

[TSiWRX]

You are far nicer than I. If he did intentionally point it at someone and pull the trigger then he should have been charged with attempted murder. He took said action knowingly. There was no accident or even negligence involved.

He did those things intentionally, but he thought the gun wasn't loaded. I know that's not an excuse & I agree that doesn't absolve him of guilt. Since he's a long-time instructor I believe that makes him reckless - he should understand the risks involved with pointing a gun at a person and pulling trigger...

Still what he got wasn't even a slap on the wrist. He basically got a finger-wagging and was told he was naughty. The plea agreement doesn't even prohibit him from future firearms instruction (the OPOTA suspension has already expired).

Emphasis added.

And that's the big problem, right there.

An experienced instructor would have done any of a number of things to insure - and double and triple and quadruple-check - that the firearm to be used in that context is absolutely cleared of live ammunition.