Some find it difficult to believe that a 26 year police veteran could accidentally use her firearm when intending to use her taser.
This however is not unheard of. It’s not the first time that it has occurred. It happens roughly once a year.
Many site the fact that the taser is a neon yellow while the glock is a steel black and claim that it’s impossible to mix the two up.
There are a few important factors to consider:
The officer was not looking down at her belt, or her hands at the time that force was deployed. Her eyes were focused on the suspect (Daunte Wright) as he was clashing with officers.
Flocks, are rather lightweight, and not as heavy as many believe. “A Glock is a very lightweight handgun, But a Taser is heavier than you think.” said sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, spokeswoman for the National Police Association and a retired 29-year veteran of the Naperville Police Department in Illinois, according to NBC
Experts also talked about the similarity in grips that the glock and taser would have.
What’s more likely was not a confusion, but a cognitive motor failure and a result of muscle memory.
“It’s not like she looked at her gun and thought it was a Taser,” Smith said. “It’s a horrible, horrible motor glitch that could happen in high-stress situations. I liken it to when you get into a rental car and go to start it up, you automatically reach for what’s familiar to you before realizing that you’re not in your car. The same issue could have happened here with the Taser.” a quote that NBC also reported.
The immense amount of stress that officers have when it comes to any kind of interaction is at play. Many officers are murdered during what should be routine, two minute traffic stops. It’s a difficult job.