Police Chief Shoots Self at Gun Training Session
Posted in Police Stupidity, Utah Police on May 5th, 2008RIVERDALE, Utah
The police chief in Riverdale accidentally shot himself in an ankle while demonstrating how to dislodge a jammed handgun.
Chief Dave Hansen was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden for surgery.
The 54-year-old chief accidentally fired a gun during a training exercise inside a conference room at Riverdale police headquarters.
A fire captain and Riverdale Mayor Bruce Burrows confirmed the chief shot himself Saturday in an ankle bone. They said he was trying to fix a gun with a jammed round when the bullet fired.
Riverdale police officers carry .40-caliber pistols.
Hospital supervisor Rohn Larsen said Hansen was in stable condition Sunday. Larsen said he couldn’t reveal which ankle — left or right — the chief shot.
A Weber County dispatcher said nobody from the Riverdale police department was available Sunday to release any information on the accident. A patrol officer on duty Sunday said he didn’t know anything about it.
The chief’s brother, a state lawmaker, said Hansen is a 23-year veteran and chief of the Riverdale police force since 2006.
Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, said he regularly goes target practicing with his brother and described him as safety-conscious.
“I’ve never seen him do anything reckless,” Neil Hansen told the Standard-Examiner of Ogden.



