Dallas Police Officer Shoots His Own Son After Allegedly Mistaking Him for an Intruder

[left-of-center2012]

An off-duty Dallas Police Department officer shot his own son just outside of their home on Saturday evening after mistaking him for an intruder, according to the DeSoto Police Department.

According to local NBC affiliate KXAS, the victim is an adult male in his 20s who was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound to his right forearm. The man’s injury was not considered to be life-threatening, police told the outlet.

The off-duty officer personally contacted authorities after he shot his son. No arrests were made after the shooting because the incident is currently being treated as an accident.

DeSoto Police Public Information Officer Pete Schulte described the officer’s alleged confusion:
The garage door was opened. There were some doors that were locked that had not been locked when he left. It caused him to have some concern that there was something in the house and then things happened very quickly.
Schulte told local reporter Steven Dial that the officer thought an intruder was entering the “backside near the garage of his home” (so the officer shot the ‘intruder’).

https://lawandcrime.com/police/dallas-police-officer-shoots-his-own-son-after-allegedly-mistaking-him-for-an-intruder/

[hlthe2b]

1. Not owning a gun makes one at least think before acting...

I keep a can of bear spray (essentially heavy-duty pepper spray in a heavy output spray can) in a readily accessible cabinet and a tiny pen-like cartridge on my keys. Since I would be equally concerned about my dog and anyone else periodically in the house, in the event of any break-in the thought of blindly shooting is just about the most stupid and predictably disastrous thing I could think to do.

This cop's hair-trigger response only underscores why so many innocents are killed.

[struggle4progress]

2. "Buy a gun and make life-threatening mistakes even faster than you did before!"