deputy mistook his daughter for an intruder

Aug 15, 2014 12:34

Fri Aug 15 12:34:33 EDT 2014
A sheriff's deputy mistook his daughter for an intruder during the early morning hours Tuesday and shot her.

Friday, Aug 15, 2014 • Updated at 8:15 AM EDT

Police say Loudoun County Sheriff's Deputy Easton McDonald was getting ready for work at his Frederick County, Virginia home around 3:30 a.m. when he heard his alarm sound. He heard a banging sound coming from inside the garage, grabbed a weapon and fired it when he saw a figure approaching him, according to a report from WHAG-TV. Police say that turned out to be his 16-year-old daughter, who had sneaked out the night before and had been in the process of sneaking back when she was shot in the torso.

McDonald then called 911 and advised he was taking his daughter to the hospital himself, but he later crashed his car and again called 911. An ambulance responded, and his daughter was hospitalized in stable condition.
We'd like to assume that the police always do the right thing, but they are clearly just as fallible as anyone else. They can, and will, react to incomplete information even when they are not in life-threatening situations. A noise in the garage could have been wildlife or a stray pet. I wonder whether that was a service weapon or a personal weapon? [not his service weapon] Guns in the home are more likely to injure/kill household members than intruders. Being a trained professional doesn't eliminate the risks.

[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/687712.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]

police, kids, weapons

Previous post Next post
Up