A former Kentucky police officer is suing a gun store after he was handed a loaded weapon and shot off his own finger.
Darrell Smith was with the Glasgow Police Department before the accident left him unable to return to work. During the incident, which occurred in March of last year at Barren Outdoors, Smith was handed a .380 caliber gun by a store clerk, according to WBKO.
Video surveillance captured the incident, which shows the officer fiddling with the weapon, then cocking it. Seconds later, Smith shoots a finger off his left hand.
The BG Daily News reported that Smith agreed to retire from the police force following the incident, but didn't receive workers' compensation because the injury was not work-related. On Friday, Smith filed a lawsuit against the store to cover his medical expenses and lost earnings.
“While Mr. Smith was looking at the firearm, believing it to be unloaded, the gun discharged causing serious physical injury to [Smith],” the lawsuit says. It goes on to say that Smith exercised "reasonable care and due diligence for his own physical well-being" while handling the loaded weapon, according to the Glasgow Daily Times.
"He's permanently disfigured," Smith's lawyer, Alan Simpson, told WBKO. "He went through a lot of pain and suffering. He's gone through several surgeries. He's got a lot of medical bills that have to be paid. It ended his career and he's going to have a lot of lost income."
Todd Logsdon, a co-owner of Barren Outdoors, told the BG Daily News that the video will show who is ultimately at fault.
“I will say this – the whole incident is on video, so it should be easy for the court to reach a conclusion about the liability,” Logsdon told the publication.
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