Posted on 12/05/2022 7:26:05 AM PST by BenLurkin
Sheriff Wayne Ivey said Walsh and his roommate were taking a break from playing online video games with friends when Lawson pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger.
The sheriff said Lawson “jokingly” aimed the gun at Walsh, thinking it was not loaded.
Lawson called 911 and reported that he had accidentally shot Walsh and was “fully distraught and devastated” when Palm Bay officers arrived, Ivey said.
Officers found Walsh inside the home with a single gunshot wound.
Lawson faces a manslaughter charge. He was being held without bond at the Brevard County Jail.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
First rule of gun safety...
This is who we hire for these positions
I don’t get it.
Typical cop with a sense of entitlement. Laws are for other people, not him.
What were they thinking?
What was he drinking?
Some honest mistakes cannot ever be fixed.
Florida cop
Couldn’t find any pics of Lawson. ??
Huh?
The guys is being held without bail and charged with manslaughter.
Where’s the entitlement?
How is this different than what Baldwin did?
Why are they hiring such stupid people, there should be a minimum IQ level required.
No Mens Rea it would seem.
Dumbness? Yes. Total detachment from reality and the laws of physics. Totally.
But he had no intention of harming his friend.
A lack of basic training.
The Invincibility of Youth crossed with the reset button of video games. Virtual reality with real death.
One of my favorite quotes:
“There’s no such thing as an accident, only premeditated carelessness”
It’s a safe bet that this Lawson character wasn’t an NRA member or into the gun culture. We treat every gun as though it’s loaded and never show off a firearm unless it’s broken down.
More details. A genius I worked with who became an Alexandria, Va city cop and shot (not fatally) his roommate another APD cop as they played ‘quick draw’ with their service revolvers. This was in 1969 so such stupidity is not a new LEO thing:
Deputy shot, killed by roommate and fellow deputy in ‘accidental shooting,’ sheriff says
Deputy Andrew Lawson faces manslaughter charges
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Austin Walsh, a 23-year-old Brevard County deputy, was killed in an accidental shooting by his roommate and fellow deputy, according to Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
WKMG in Orlando reported that Ivey gave an update in a video statement posted on the sheriff office’s Facebook page on Sunday evening.
According to Palm Bay police, Walsh’s death was related to a shooting reported in the 700 block of Damascus Avenue, in the southwest section of the city.
The Palm Bay Police Department received a 911 call early Saturday from off-duty Deputy Andrew Lawson who said that he “accidentally shot his roommate and needed help,” Ivey said.
According to police, Lawson said that the two men had taken a break from playing an online game with some of their friends and was “standing around talking.” Lawson said he was holding a gun, which he believed was unloaded, and at some point in the conversation “jokingly pointed the gun” at Walsh and pulled the trigger.
A single round was fired and struck Walsh, according to the investigation.
“Austin and Andrew were the best of friends and Andrew was completely devastated over what happened. Even with that, there is no excuse for this tragic and totally avoidable death, and as a result earlier today, Andrew Lawson was taken into custody on a no-bond warrant by agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for manslaughter,” Ivey said.
According to the FDLE, Lawson turned himself in on Sunday.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Ivey said Walsh had worked as a member of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office since the age of 18 after several years in its Explorers program, adding the agency was in mourning for him.
Ivey described Walsh as a treasured member of the agency’s family, asking that the public keep him — as well as his loved ones, agency and community — in its thoughts and prayers.
The Deputys where I live are not too smart.
Baldwin’s set was a blatant slip-shod operation in which an accident of the sort that happened was bound to occur.
This seems like a one-time dope move.
I find your comment detestable.
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