The Orlando Sentinel
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A bullet accidentally fired from a SWAT officer’s gun blew through the deputy’s boot and grazed a fellow officer’s leg during a standoff this weekend.
Sgt. Todd Garner, a member of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office SWAT unit, was at a home in the 3600 block of Baronette Drive on Saturday night when his gun fired accidentally while sitting in an armored car.
Garner’s gun, a .45-caliber weapon, was in safe mode but when he leaned over to turn off the lights, his equipment caught on the safety latch and trigger, firing the gun.
The bullet went through his boot, but did not injure him. The bullet then hit the armored floorboard and ricocheted off it. The bullet went out of the vehicle and hit Deputy Anthony Blackburn in the left, upper thigh.
Blackburn was not seriously injured but was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
The SWAT team was on hand for an incident earlier in the day that involved a bail bondsman being shot at when he tried to get in touch with a person wanted on several felony warrants. The bondsman was not hurt, and deputies eventually arrested the man inside the house.
Copyright 2007 Orlando Sentinel