Two Greenville, South Carolina, sheriff’s deputies were suspended after one of them shot the other in the foot while they were playing with their service weapons during a February training session.According to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, two unnamed deputies were participating in an exercise hosted by a neighboring county sheriff’s office. The training involved K-9’s from several law enforcement agencies in the state, as well as the firing of blank rounds.
Sometime after the exercise, as deputies were putting away their training firearms, one of them fired a blank in the direction of another. The second deputy responded by discharging his own weapon.
What he failed to remember was he had already switched out the training firearm for his service weapon, which was loaded with live ammunition. The bullet struck his colleague in the foot.
Colleagues provided immediate medical aid to the deputy who was shot, and he was taken to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released, according to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
While the deputy avoided life-threatening injuries, the men’s conduct triggered an internal affairs investigation, which concluded last week. The sheriff’s office blamed the shooting on the two engaging in “horseplay,” according to the sheriff’s office. The deputies were suspended with pay for 10 days and will be placed on Greenville County’s Performance Improvement Plan, an internal disciplinary system used to monitor and keep deputies on the right track, a spokesperson told VICE News.
The deputies will also be required to take remedial training on the proper handling of firearms while on duty.
“While I understand accidents occur, moments of carelessness will not be tolerated under my leadership,” Sheriff Hobart Lewis said in a statement last week.
The deputies’ supervisors, who “failed to monitor their handling of the firearms,” according to the sheriff’s office, will also have to take remedial training and will serve a three-day suspension.Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.
Sometime after the exercise, as deputies were putting away their training firearms, one of them fired a blank in the direction of another. The second deputy responded by discharging his own weapon.
What he failed to remember was he had already switched out the training firearm for his service weapon, which was loaded with live ammunition. The bullet struck his colleague in the foot.
Colleagues provided immediate medical aid to the deputy who was shot, and he was taken to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released, according to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
While the deputy avoided life-threatening injuries, the men’s conduct triggered an internal affairs investigation, which concluded last week. The sheriff’s office blamed the shooting on the two engaging in “horseplay,” according to the sheriff’s office. The deputies were suspended with pay for 10 days and will be placed on Greenville County’s Performance Improvement Plan, an internal disciplinary system used to monitor and keep deputies on the right track, a spokesperson told VICE News.
The deputies will also be required to take remedial training on the proper handling of firearms while on duty.
“While I understand accidents occur, moments of carelessness will not be tolerated under my leadership,” Sheriff Hobart Lewis said in a statement last week.
The deputies’ supervisors, who “failed to monitor their handling of the firearms,” according to the sheriff’s office, will also have to take remedial training and will serve a three-day suspension.Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.