Police officer shot after gun falls

[natejpg]

WOW sounds like the rookie has a fair amount of luck.

RIALTO, Calif. --

Rialto police said a rookie officer was accidentally shot in the leg late Sunday when a gun fell from the pants of a 17-year-old he was searching, struck the ground and discharged.

Lt. Joe Cirilo said the shooting took place shortly after 10:30 p.m. outside the Renaissance Village apartments on North Glenwood Avenue.

Two officers were on foot patrol because of recent shootings in the area and came upon a group of juveniles. Cirilo said that while one officer was patting down a 17-year-old, a handgun fell through the teen's shorts, hit the ground and fired. The bullet passed through the officer's lower left leg.

Cirilo said the wounded officer is in good condition at a local hospital. The officer is in his 20s and has been with the department about a year.

Cirilo said the 17-year-old faces a charge of possessing a loaded firearm. Three teens that were with the 17-year-old fled the scene and were not in custody, KNBC's John Cadiz Klemack reported. But Klemack said two other adults at the scene were arrested for allegedly interfering with the investigation.

[nogginbuster24]

geez talk about an accident there.

[Looker]

**incident**, not an accident.

[cmr164]

The perp was already cuffed and it was the rookie who dropped the gun..


A Rialto police officer is recuperating from a leg wound he suffered last night while he was disarming a teenager, whose handgun slipped to the ground and accidentally fired, officials say.

"He's been with us for about a year. He's in his mid-20s," Lt. Joe Cirilosaidof the injured officer, whose name wasn't released. "We look forward to his speedy recovery and having him come back to work."

The shooting happened at 10:33 p.m. in the courtyard of the Renaissance Village apartment complex along the 200 block of North Glenwood Avenue.

The officer and his partner were walking through the area, which has been receiving extra police patrols due to a couple of recent shootings, Cirilo said. The officers spotted about four teenagers and decided to talk to them, but one tried to walk way, so the officers detained him, investigators later determined.

"They were patting him down ... (when) one the officer yelled out that there was a handgun," Cirilo said. "They placed him in handcuffs."

But when the officer tried to retrieve the gun from the teenager's waistband, the weapon slipped down through the teenager's clothes and hit the pavement, causing the gun to fire.

The officer was airlifted to a hospital. The teenager will be placed in San Bernardino Juvenile Hall for investigation of carrying a loaded firearm, Cirilo said.

Two other persons were arrested later for interfering with police during the investigation.

"They refused to cooperate and get back," said Cirilo. "One of them had to be Tazed."