Cop Suing After Shooting Range 'Fires Back' at Him

A police officer is suing the NYPD after a trip to the shooting range last fall left him with a bullet to the gut after a scene the Post describes as "he fired at a paper target—and the target fired back." Detective Michael Lopresti was taking one of his semiannually required trips to the firing range in Coney Island when one of his shots deflected off the target and came back at him. While the "bad-guy silhouettes" are made of paper, the bullet may have bounced off of a metal clip holding it up. His wife told the Post, "It was a freak accident. All I remember is getting a phone call that night from my brother-in-law saying he'd been shot in the abdomen." There is no word on how much Lopresti is seeking in the suit.

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By Billy Parker in News on December 14, 2008 12:41 PM

Comments [rss]

r1b2

Is this really a reasonable cause for litigation? Go to hospital, get well, stay out on disability for a while, back to work. It was an accident. Everything was in working order. Be a big boy.

The Edge

Firearms practice should be mandatory every WEEK. I mean, jesus, all you need to spend is an hour a week to stay sharp.

NannyState

See? Even the paper targets know.

whothe

what comes around...

Snoopy

And the NYPD wants to issue automatic weapons to these people.

Is this guy related to that football player that shot himself in the foot a week or two back?

WhereAmI

Really, they only have to go twice a year, this is enough reason to make it once a month, what with that terrible accuracy he had.

Snoopy

Those who go to firing ranges shouldn't shoot unless they can see that firing a weapon has consequences.

This cop is an idiot, but I repeat myself. Of the thousands upon thousands, if not millions, of rounds that are fired at firing ranges yearly wouldn't it be expected that one could find something to ricochet off and one in a billion come back and actually hit the person firing the weapon. It appears the detective had the skills of handling a firearm as much as my long dead dog.

Spirit of 76

Maybe they need to print out targets that show the guy holding a chair or a baseball bat. Seems marksmanship improves a lot against targets like that.