A fine tool like this needs a qualified owner.
Posted on 05/24/2005 9:25:22 AM PDT by kiriath_jearim
Gun 'flew' from cop's hand
Renninger, Sollman bumped into each other, sources say.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
By JEFF COX The Express-Times
Easton police Officer Matthew Renninger has told investigators he lost control of his service weapon and fatally shot Jesse Sollman accidentally after the two bumped into each other in a room used to clean guns, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The encounter happened about 3:30 p.m. March 25, just minutes after Renninger cleaned his service revolver and used a substance on it called Gun Scrubber that left a "white powder" residue on the weapon, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Renninger was unsure of how to remove the residue and went looking for fellow officer Sollman to ask if he could help.
As Renninger sought out Sollman, he walked down a hallway in police headquarters on South Third Street, banging the loaded Heckler & Koch USP 40 against his leg. The act was caught on a video surveillance camera in the building, according to at least two sources with knowledge of the investigation that the Pennsylvania State Police and the state Attorney General's Office are conducting into Sollman's death.
Renninger then found Sollman in the 7-foot by 10-foot room where officers routinely go to clean their weapons following training. Both Renninger and Sollman were members of the department's Special Weapons and Tactics team that has since been ordered to stand down while the Sollman investigation continues.
The sources said Renninger and Sollman were not the only ones in the room. Also present was officer Robert Webber, a patrolman whom the sources said told investigators that he neither saw the shooting take place nor heard any conversation between Renninger and Sollman.
Renninger told the investigators that he found Sollman in the room and they discussed how to remove the residue, sources said. As Sollman started to leave the room, he and Renninger bumped into each and Renninger lost control of his weapon, sources said.
"The firearm flew out of his hand. He grabbed for (the gun) and in grabbing it, squeezed the trigger and shot Jesse as Jesse was walking out of the room," one source said, describing Renninger's account.
About an hour later, medical personnel pronounced Sollman, 36, dead at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill. He was a 10-year veteran of the force.
Authorities investigating the shooting have released few details and have not even officially named Renninger as the other officer involved. Various other sources have confirmed Renninger as the shooter, and he has been on paid administrative leave since Sollman's death.
Police Chief Stephen Mazzeo said Monday he could neither confirm nor deny the events surrounding the shooting because of the ongoing investigation. Likewise, Capt. Scott Snyder of the state police also said he was prohibited from commenting as long as the investigation continues, and he gave no time frame as to when it might wrap up.
Messages left with Renninger and his attorney, Gary Asteak, were not returned. Webber also could not be reached.
In recent days, Sollman's family has been sharply critical of the investigation and the conduct of the Easton Police Department. The family is expected to release a lengthy statement today through their attorney, John Karoly, calling for criminal charges against Renninger.
Sources with knowledge of the type of gun Easton officers use as service revolvers say the machinations of the weapon will be key to determining whether Renninger was negligent and thus open to charges.
Sgt. Barry Golazeski, the department's public information officer, said the H& K USP 40 is a "double- to single-action" gun. That essentially means that firing the gun without it having been previously cocked involves a longer, harder trigger pull. Single-action means the hammer on the gun is already cocked by hand, so that when the trigger is pulled the only action is the hammer being released into the firing pin. With double-action, a trigger pull first cocks the hammer, which is then released onto the firing pin, according to Paul Raynolds, a member of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, an organization affiliated with the National Rifle Association.
Easton officers are not allowed to carry their weapons in the so-called "cocked and locked" position, which would allow for immediate and more rapid firing than in the double-action stage, Golazeski said.
The distinction is important, according to Raynolds.
He regularly conducts gun safety and information seminars for a variety of audiences and said he is well familiar with the Easton department's service weapon because he owns several of them.
While Raynolds said he had no direct information on the Sollman shooting, he was able to draw some conclusions based on the information presented to him by a reporter.
"I can tell you that he broke a couple of fundamental safety rules in the process of doing what he was doing," Raynolds said. "He should have had the gun holstered to begin with. If he has it out of the holster, there's a reason. There has to be some reason. He clearly didn't have one."
If Renninger planned on showing Sollman his gun, it should have been unloaded, Raynolds said.
Raynolds said it would be difficult to fire the gun while catching it because of the amount of pressure that would be needed on the trigger.
The Sollman shooting is not the first time a weapon has unintentionally discharged in the city police station. Chief Mazzeo said last week that there have been several instances in past years where officers' guns fired inside the headquarters, though he would not detail those events nor reveal what action if any was taken against the officers involved, saying they were personnel matters.
Well, that does it! No more guns for policemen! They can't be trusted with them.
Police and military are the only ones qualified to own/operate guns. /sarcasm
Hell even I know how to use Gun Scrubber. It's a degreaser that evaporates and leaves the metal bone dry. That's what makes metal parts like slides appear white. Give the weapon a good coat of Hoppes #9 or Break-free CLP and it will go away.
What's especially sad about this particular case is that it was completely preventable. Basic safety training reinforced by weekly drill will clear this kind of thing right up.
We are talking New Orleans here, the lead met its intended target.
BTW - A Heckler & Koch USP 40 service revolver
Kewl, must a new model - never saw one of those.
I've been using Gun Scrubber forever and the tiny bit of residue it leaves wipes off easily with a drop of solvent and a cloth.
>>> Gun 'flew' from cop's hand <<<
Don't let this guy anywhere near an SUV!
Does anyone else think there's more to this story? Three people in a 7' x 10' room, one saw and heard nothing and one is dead? How do you not see or hear anything when in a room that size with two other people?
I smell a fish!!
Webber needs to be fired for lying. And if he is lying, the shooter probably is as well.
The writer is gun ignorant. The Heckler & Koch USP 40 is NOT a revolver; it is a semi-automatic pistol. The policeman was walking around with a drawn pistol that was loaded, cocked and not locked. Idiot.
Bull $#!+.
Gun Scrubber is a very effective degreaser, and leaves NOTHING behind.
If HE 'Cleaned' it...Where did the Bullet Come from?????
Anyone think to ask Webber if he heard the shot? Sounds as if he is acting the part of all of the three monkeys.
I can just hear it "I was cleaning the gun so when I took out the magazine I knew it was unloaded."
What is it with cops and guns???
It seems they can't handle them without them going off accidentally. And they want us to give up guns??
ping just remeber only the police and military should own guns because they are trained in there use and us peons cant be trusted with them becaseu we dont know how to handle them safely
I've heard of flying nuns, but flying guns?
He's very fortunate to have seen such a thing. I'd call
Art Bell.
Blue code of silence.
I'd be more shocked Weber did hear or see anything.
A fine tool like this needs a qualified owner.
That was what I was thinking too.
Lover's tiff?
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