NEVER wear a jacket with drawstrings & sidearm

[platoonDaddy]

Once first aid was rendered and EMT’s had arrived at the scene, an examination of the pistol in the holster revealed that the trigger was depressed to the rear of the trigger guard (see photograph). A plastic cylinder-shaped draw cord adjuster attached to the wet weather jacket the officer was wearing was lodged against the front of the trigger. The plastic draw cord adjuster had become caught inside of the trigger guard during the holstering of the pistol.

http://www.gundigest.com/gun-blogs/concealed-carry/draw-quickly-holster-slowly-and-with-care?et_mid=573933&rid=233879035

[VooDoo6Actual]

Good post & good lesson in Situational Awareness regarding equipment/clothes etc.

I saw something similar happen in Trashcanistan w/ a Frog who used his MOLLE Predator Vest as chest Holster for himself (not approved) . The Trigger on his Glock 17 got hung up on MOLLE webbing & went BANG @ ZERO DARK THIRTY from his bunkered location as he was pulling it out of his vest. Luckily no one was injured/ hurt but there was some explaining to do w/ the COS @ Site 1 as they monitored channel one. AD due to equipment was how it was written but truly it was negligence on his behalf. It made the 'Cable' the next day & nearly cost the company a lucrative WPPS contract worth hundreds of Millions $ not to mention all our jobs.
Sometimes the bread lands Jam side up...

[TriumphRat675]

With my own eyes I've recently seen this just almost happen to a big name - really big - in the training industry.

I've almost done something similar after holstering my shirt along with my pistol and then pulling the shirt out... :rolleyes: You've gotta pay attention to this stuff.

Like the man said, there some lessons you learn the loud way, and some you learn the quiet way.

[Gutshot John]

The toggle of death strikes again.

[Moose-Knuckle]

Good post, thanks for sharing.

Just goes to show one can never be too careful, it's when we get complacent that Murphy rears his ugly head.

[CarlosDJackal]

Unless you are attempting to take control of a suspect, there are very few circumstances where you cannot re-holster slowly and without glancing down to ensure your holster is clear of any part of your clothing.

Thanks for sharing!!

[M4Fundi]

I've caught my thumb in the shok chord this way going for a drawgrip and had my hammer catch the shok chord pulling up on the draw, but never thought about this as a danger for the trigger:eek:. I think I'm gonna just take all the right side chord locks off of everything. I am usually pretty good about tucking them under. Sobering... prayers sent for the guy:(

[Sensei]

Unless you are attempting to take control of a suspect, there are very few circumstances where you cannot re-holster slowly and without glancing down to ensure your holster is clear of any part of your clothing.

Thanks for sharing!!

I found it interesting that the author says police are trained to reholster with there eyes on the target so that they can transition to cuffing. I've only done this back in the day when I used a DA Sig; I'd place my finger on the hammer while I reholstered to insure that the trigger was not be pressed by a foreign object. Like you, I always watch the pistol enter the holster now that I've transitioned to a Glock. I wonder if this agency will reconsider their training after this incident to insure foreign objects are not in a position to activate the trigger.

[montanadave]

The drawstring issue was brought to my attention during a pistol class several years ago. The instructor demonstrated the potential danger and gave everybody a couple of minutes to shed any garments that had an elastic drawstring.

And if they didn't have a different garment, folks had a choice of either cutting off the plastic adjuster or getting a refund for the class because they weren't getting on the line with one of these garments.

[CarlosDJackal]

The drawstring issue was brought to my attention during a pistol class several years ago. The instructor demonstrated the potential danger and gave everybody a couple of minutes to shed any garments that had an elastic drawstring.

And if they didn't have a different garment, folks had a choice of either cutting off the plastic adjuster or getting a refund for the class because they weren't getting on the line with one of these garments.

Duct tape can also be your friend if you have such an issue.

[DireWulf]

A small agency in the area was conducting training at my range last year for their detectives and investigators and had this happen. The agency selected a uniform rain jacket for investigators that had drawstring waist cords with toggles. I was teaching in the next bay over when this happened and upon arriving I saw five officers, including their instructor, standing around with cell phones to their ears and a female on the ground holding her hip and gritting her teeth in pain. They had no aid kit of any kind and not a single one of them had anything beyond CPR training and the first aid training they had received in the academy years ago. They appeared to be in as much shock as she was.

My partner and I ran over with our kit and began administering aid. She was bleeding steadily from a single entrance wound that a minute and half of direct pressure would not stem, not completely aware of where she was or what had happened and hyperventilating. A .40 caliber round into your pelvis at contact range can do that. For those of you that have never been shot, getting hit in a big bone like the pelvis, femur or humerus is usually very painful when compared to things like through and through thigh wounds and the like. Your adrenalin and endorphin levels can mitigate that pain, but after being hit she had no fight going on around her. No bad guy closing in. No imminent murderous threat in her mind to pump the adrenalin and endorphin levels up. So, she went into shock while her partners called 911, the shift supervisor, the chief, the rangemaster and her patrol sergeant husband. We treated her with quickclot and gauze and got a blanket around her (it was 40 F). Medics were on the scene in eight minutes from the first 911 call.

All of you need to think about what kind of first aid kit you carry and what your level of first aid proficiency is. You should have a kit with you when you go to the range and know how to use it. There are plenty of places where you can receive affordable or even free first aid training. Like community colleges, the Red Cross etc. For you law enforcement officers, get yourself a blow out kit and get trained in its use. Your firefighters or EMS will likely be happy to train you and your buddies in exchange for a decent lunch. If you're a hunter, carry an IFAK and get training.

It amazes me the lengths that people will go to in a debate about which fancy gadget they're going to slap on their AR. They'll argue about why a custom trigger is better. They'll debate the same topics ad nauseam on a weekly basis. Yet, I'd wager money that there's less than a handful that would know what to do if they were shot or injured severely in training or a fight. Let's face it, you're here on this forum because you shoot guns and you want to train to protect yourself, right? Guns can injure and kill, right? Well what the hell happens when the bad guy hits you first and you go down? What happens when your training partner or buddy puts a bullet in his hip. What if he shoots you? What if you have training and a kit and he doesn't? Now you're shot and unconscious.

In my opinion, you have no business carrying a firearm for protection without up to date first aid training. You shouldn't be at the range without a kit. Your kids should be trained in first aid if they're going to learn to shoot. First aid and firearms training should go hand in hand. Furthermore, cut the damned toggles off your jackets. :)

[Moose-Knuckle]

A small agency in the area was conducting training at my range last year for their detectives and investigators and had this happen. The agency selected a uniform rain jacket for investigators that had drawstring waist cords with toggles. I was teaching in the next bay over when this happened and upon arriving I saw five officers, including their instructor, standing around with cell phones to their ears and a female on the ground holding her hip and gritting her teeth in pain. They had no aid kit of any kind and not a single one of them had anything beyond CPR training and the first aid training they had received in the academy years ago. They appeared to be in as much shock as she was.

My partner and I ran over with our kit and began administering aid. She was bleeding steadily from a single entrance wound that a minute and half of direct pressure would not stem, not completely aware of where she was or what had happened and hyperventilating. A .40 caliber round into your pelvis at contact range can do that. For those of you that have never been shot, getting hit in a big bone like the pelvis, femur or humerus is usually very painful when compared to things like through and through thigh wounds and the like. Your adrenalin and endorphin levels can mitigate that pain, but after being hit she had no fight going on around her. No bad guy closing in. No imminent murderous threat in her mind to pump the adrenalin and endorphin levels up. So, she went into shock while her partners called 911, the shift supervisor, the chief, the rangemaster and her patrol sergeant husband. We treated her with quickclot and gauze and got a blanket around her (it was 40 F). Medics were on the scene in eight minutes from the first 911 call.

All of you need to think about what kind of first aid kit you carry and what your level of first aid proficiency is. You should have a kit with you when you go to the range and know how to use it. There are plenty of places where you can receive affordable or even free first aid training. Like community colleges, the Red Cross etc. For you law enforcement officers, get yourself a blow out kit and get trained in its use. Your firefighters or EMS will likely be happy to train you and your buddies in exchange for a decent lunch. If you're a hunter, carry an IFAK and get training.

It amazes me the lengths that people will go to in a debate about which fancy gadget they're going to slap on their AR. They'll argue about why a custom trigger is better. They'll debate the same topics ad nauseam on a weekly basis. Yet, I'd wager money that there's less than a handful that would know what to do if they were shot or injured severely in training or a fight. Let's face it, you're here on this forum because you shoot guns and you want to train to protect yourself, right? Guns can injure and kill, right? Well what the hell happens when the bad guy hits you first and you go down? What happens when your training partner or buddy puts a bullet in his hip. What if he shoots you? What if you have training and a kit and he doesn't? Now you're shot and unconscious.

In my opinion, you have no business carrying a firearm for protection without up to date first aid training. You shouldn't be at the range without a kit. Your kids should be trained in first aid if they're going to learn to shoot. First aid and firearms training should go hand in hand. Furthermore, cut the damned toggles off your jackets. :)

Good read, thanks for sharing this as well.

[WillBrink]

Once first aid was rendered and EMT’s had arrived at the scene, an examination of the pistol in the holster revealed that the trigger was depressed to the rear of the trigger guard (see photograph). A plastic cylinder-shaped draw cord adjuster attached to the wet weather jacket the officer was wearing was lodged against the front of the trigger. The plastic draw cord adjuster had become caught inside of the trigger guard during the holstering of the pistol.

http://www.gundigest.com/gun-blogs/concealed-carry/draw-quickly-holster-slowly-and-with-care?et_mid=573933&rid=233879035

Will check what I have with such plastic cylinder-shaped draw cords and make mental note not to wear when CCW. Thanx.

[halo2304]

I remember hearing about just such an occurance several years ago about a department or agency which issued jackets with the draw strings on the side. One of the officers had an accident in the same exact manner, the cord and adjuster some how got caught in the trigger guard and discharged the weapon when it was reholstered. If I remember correctly, they removed the drawstrings and adjusters and likely issued different jackets. Again, it was several years ago and the finer points are lost to time and a bad memory but it was the same issue.