AP documented more than 1,400 unintentional shootings by nearly 260 law enforcement agencies since 2012 – information no other media outlet or police agency had compiled – revealing serious flaws in police training.
A mother shot fatally shot in front of her 3-year-old son. A suspect killed while an officer tried to handcuff him. A Homeland Security agent shot at a Texas high school by a U.S. marshal fumbling with equipment. These are among the more than 1,400 unintentional discharges Seattle reporter Martha Bellisle found in an investigation that highlights the shortcomings of police weapons training.
No agency tracks how often local, state and federal officers accidentally fire their weapons. Over the course of more than a year, Bellisle sent records requests the nation’s 20 largest law enforcement agencies and to police departments in the largest cities in each state. She also scoured media sites and requested information from federal police. Her efforts resulted in the documenting of 1,422 unintentional discharges by 258 law enforcement agencies since 2012. She and West Desk video journalist Krysta Fauria traveled to Iowa to interview the husband of the woman who was killed when an officer’s gun discharged, documenting how he and his children are still scarred by the tragedy.
In a still frame image taken from video provided by the Texas Rangers, armed officers stand in a hallway at Alpine High School in Alpine, Texas, while responding to a shooting at the school, Sept. 8, 2016. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jon Dangle, on floor, was wounded during the response after a gun carried by U.S. Marshal Douglas Mullens, crouching at center, accidentally discharged.
Courtesy of Texas Rangers via A
Bellisle’s story on lax police training, and a sidebar about concerns over arming teachers, were accompanied by a Fauria’s video piece and footage of accidental shootings obtained via records requests. The all-formats package also included a video animation by New York-based Marshall Ritzel of the health and science team, detailing gun safety best practices, narrated by an expert. West Desk editor Katie Oyan was the lead text editor and oversaw presentation, while Seattle photographer Ted Warren anchored the photos and helped source content of shootings, complemented by the work of freelance photographer Matthew Holst who covered the Iowa victim’s husband.
Fernando Lopez, of the Othello (Wash.) Police Department, holds a training gun as he takes part in a firearms defense class taught by Rob Bardsley, rear, a retired King County Sheriff’s sergeant, as part of Washington state’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019. Cadets at the academy, which is required for all entry-level Washington state law enforcement officers, must have 90 hours of firearms training, but requirements in other states vary widely.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
An officer, right, at Washington state’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy, takes part in an exercise using an immersive virtual firearms training simulator in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
Sean Osborne, right, and Sean Hendrickson, center, instructors with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, stand in a classroom with a firearms safety sign at Washington state’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
Officers at Washington state's Basic Law Enforcement Academy load gun clips with ammunition as they take part in training exercises at a firing range in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
A bin of bullets for reloading weapons sits at a firing range at Washington state's Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
In an exercise designed to teach officers to quickly identify the presence of weapons or other threats, an officer at Washington state’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy fires his weapon as a training photo of man not holding a weapon is rotated into view during a training class in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
A King County Sheriff’s deputy holds a training weapon as he practices a traffic stop during a class at Washington state’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
Doug Tangen, firearms program manager for the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, poses for a photo near a sign outside a firing range used in the state’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
Sean Hendrickson, an instructor at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, which trains all police and sheriff’s deputies in the state, poses for a photo in front of an image of the U.S. Constitution on an exterior wall of the organization’s training facility in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
A U.S. flag featuring bullet shell casings for stars and a blue line to signify sacrifices made by law enforcement officers in the line of duty, hangs in the office of Russ Hicks, foreground, the assistant commander of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, in Burien, Wash., July 16, 2019.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
Gabe Steele wipes an eye as he sits in his home in West Point, Iowa, Nov. 1, 2019, talking about the accidental fatal shooting of his wife, Autumn Steele, by a Burlington, Iowa, police officer in 2015.
AP Photo / Matthew Holst
A box with a photo holds the ashes of Autumn Steele in the home of her husband, Gabe Steele, in West Point, Iowa., Nov. 1, 2019. Autumn Steele was accidentally shot and killed by a Burlington, Iowa, police officer who was responding to a reported domestic dispute between the Steeles in 2015.
AP Photo / Matthew Holst
In a still frame from police body camera video, a Burlington, Iowa, police officer, lower left, kneels over the body of Autumn Steele, who was accidentally shot and killed by a BPD officer responding to a reported domestic dispute at Steele’s home, Jan. 6, 2015.
Burlington (Iowa) Police Department via AP
In a still frame taken from police body camera video, Gabe Steele, left, reacts after his wife, Autumn Steele, was accidentally shot and killed by a Burlington, Iowa, police officer responding to a domestic dispute at the family’s home, Jan. 6, 2015. Autumn Steele was trying to wrest the couple’s 3-year-old son from Gabe on the sidewalk when Officer Jesse Hill approached. The Steeles’ dog darted toward Hill, barking loudly, and the officer lost his footing, firing two shots as he fell backward into the snow. One bullet hit the dog, the other hit 34-year-old Autumn Steele, killing her.
Burlington (Iowa) Police Department via AP
Burlington Police Officer Jesse Hill works as a school resource officer during an athletic event in Burlington, Iowa, Aug. 31, 2018. Hill accidentally shot and killed Autumn Steele in Burlington as he responded to a domestic dispute between Steele and her husband in 2015.
John Lovretta / The (Burlington) Hawk Eye via AP
A painted image of Autumn Steele is displayed on the gas tank of a motorcycle at the home of her husband, Gabe Steele, in West Point, Iowa, Nov. 1, 2019. Autumn Autumn Steele was accidentally shot and killed by a Burlington, Iowa, police officer in 2015.
AP Photo / Matthew Holst
The online package was displayed prominently on major outlets like The Oregonian/OregonLive and The Denver Post and Bellisle was interviewed by member radio station KCBS in San Francisco. The print story appeared on the front page of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, near where the woman was shot in front of her son. Experts and industry officials also reacted to AP’s reporting. Ryan Richette of the company Triggershield, which manufactures gun safety equipment, emailed Bellisle: “We are incredibly thankful for such in-depth and meaningful reporting on this critical issue. Doing so sheds light on a very important problem and, hopefully, succeeds in introducing AN ACTUAL SOLUTION!’’
For an exclusive that sheds light on a virtually undocumented area of firearms safety, Bellisle earns this week’s Best of the States award.