SACRAMENTO (AP) — California is requiring cops to clip their handguns and stun guns to separate sides of their gear belts to prevent accidental firing after two people were killed in Oakland and Minnesota.
A bill passed the state assembly by a 68-0 vote on Monday and will now go to the Senate.
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Separating lethal and less-lethal weapons will make it less likely that officers will confuse the two or accidentally pull the wrong one, Republican Rep. Tom Lackey said.
Officers involved in the high-profile murders of Oscar Grant in Oakland and more recently Daunte Wright in Minnesota said they thought they were going to use their tasers but fired their handguns instead.
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Both weapons have pistol grips and are fired with a trigger finger, although they are otherwise physically different.
“It has led to needless disasters,” said Lackey, himself a former California Highway Patrol officer. “We want to prevent future disasters.”
Assemblyman Jim Cooper, a Democrat and a former sheriff’s deputy, objected that the bill may go too far because what he says remains a rare mistake.
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“Someone screwed up and made a stupid mistake,” Cooper said. “Not everyone does that”
