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DEA agent sues US over accidental shooting tape
In 2004, before this blog began, a DEA agent was filmed giving a presentation to a class. Shortly after he announced that only he was professional enough to carry a handgun, he managed to shoot himself in the foot. The videotape of course made the rounds of the internet.
The Smoking Gun announces that now he's suing the government over allowing dissemination of the tape.
Reading the complaint, he might just have, dare we say, a shot at it. He alleges the person who videotaped the event turned over the only copy of the tape to DEA, and DEA returned it with the event erased (which says something about how the government functions -- simply destroy privately owned evidence if it embarasses the agency). If this is true, the only copy was in DEA hands, and protected by the Privacy Act. Now, you could probably get it thru the Freedom of Information Act, but his allegation is that copies were just passed around by DEA and eventually got onto the web. If so, he might just have a Privacy Act case.
Thanks to Alan Gura for the tip...
3 Comments | Leave a comment
Lets not forget that the DEA threatened to prosecute the person who made the tape for "disclosing the identity of an undercover agent"! Only the widespread disemination appears to have stopped them.
I saw the short video on line,and was bothered by the following.
1) The agents cocky attitude,and comments that he is the only person in the room professional enough to have the weapon.
2) BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now he keeps waling around, do they teach emergency first aide to DEA agents in FLETC?
3) He continues now, with woman ,children and men in the room, and is handed a another weapon???
(I HAVE NO IDEA, WHY THEY HAD A MIXTURE OF PEOPLE IN THE ROOM,{CHILDREN] AND HE GETS READY TO TAKE ANOTHER WEAPON)
4) As far as his identity goes, if he wanted to remain under cover,If memory seves me correctly, he was wearing a dark color t-shirt , with Lareg DEA letters, on the back.
My opinion, DEA, should have fired him!
1) Unsafe handling of a fire arm inside a buliding.
2) Not keeping the weapon pointed in a safe direction.
3)Endangering the lifes of others.
4)For not stopping the class and getting medical attention.
(IF THE VIDEO DIDNT COME OUT, THEN HE WOULD HAVE SUED DEA FOR SOMETHING ELSE)
(I SAY HE SHOULD BE SENT BACK TO FLETC AND TRAINED AGAIN ON THE USE OF FIRE ARMS)
The very first thing he shoud have done was to insure the health and saftey of the guest was ok, then got medical help, followed up with a CA-1 to his supervisor.
Capt Armstrong (Ret)
Dept of Homeland Security.
PS: The filming of the class is no difference then any ohter class, FLETC tapes a lot of class,s
thats how they learn and train new officers to be better at what they do.
Maybe this Agents video will show other officers not what to do, and they may live longer.
Seems to me the person who made the video tape has a pretty good case against the government for destroying private property. Said property could have been worth a *very* tidy sum.
It seems some gubmint functionaries are above the law.
tom