Visalia, CA–

A Visalia police officer shot her mother-in-law on Monday, and police say it looks like an unfortunate accident.

Patrol officer Amerie Norman was doing something unspecified with a personal handgun when the firearm discharged.  The bullet went through a wall and struck her mother-in-law while she was sleeping.  The injuries were non-life-threatening.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident.

“We want to get to the bottom of what actually happened, and based on the investigation decide what to do next,” Sgt. Damon Maurice said.

Norman, a five-year veteran of the department, has been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is completed.

A similar incident happened just 17 days earlier on February 13; the 8-year-old daughter of a Madera County sheriff’s lieutenant shot her 10-year-old sister with the officers service weapon.  While he was getting ready for work, he left the gun on his bed and the girl grabbed it and shot her sister.

Madera County Sheriff Jay Varney, whose recent campaign signs displayed a handgun as the “J” in his name, confirmed in a news conference that the child used her father’s department-issued .40-caliber handgun in the shooting.

“Considering the circumstance of what’s happened here and since he wasn’t directly involved in the discharge of the firearm, no I will not be putting him on administrative leave,” said Varney.

“Certainly his family and he will be allowed any type of time off he needs to participate in the healing of his daughter.”

Because it happened in Fresno, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office can still file criminal charges.

Idiot

You’d think either instance would be, at least, considered grossly negligent and worthy of termination from a position that entails regularly handling firearms, but cops aren’t held to the same standards as us common folk.

It goes to show, that even the families of police officers aren’t immune to catching a bullet.  I may just start ducking whenever cops are around me, you never know when the next unfortunate accident will be.