WE NEED A NATIONAL MINIMUM IQ FOR COPS
Baldwin police officer
accidentally shot by fellow officer
BALDWIN BOROUGH, Pa. —A Baldwin police officer was undergoing a
third surgery at a Pittsburgh hospital after being accidentally shot by another
officer early Sunday morning, Allegheny County police said.
Police Chief Michael Scott said Sgt. Ralph Miller was shot in the
lower back while responding to a 911 call on Elmwood Drive.
Scott said a woman called 911 to report that her boyfriend had a
loaded gun and that she feared for her life and the lives of her children. When
Baldwin officers arrived, Scott said, a man answered the door and refused to
let them talk to the woman who called for help. "They could see the woman
in the background holding a child and the sergeant told him we need to be able
to see her and we need to see your hands. He started closing the door.
Apparently one of the officers put his foot in the door and Sgt. Miller put his
shoulder in the door to try to force that door open, that's when this discharge
came about," Scott said.
Scott said Sgt. Miller was shot in the back, then a third officer
fired. "When he came around he saw Officer Miller down, he saw the second
officer over top of that officer and also believed him to be hit. He also saw
through the window someone advancing toward their position, which he thought
was the person that shot both those officers," Scott said. The chief said
that officer's bullet hit the house.
Miller, whose son is a Homestead police officer, underwent his
third surgery today, but Scott said he remains in good spirits. Scott said that
the officer who shot him and the other officer who fired, are on administrative
leave while they deal with the shooting emotionally. Scott said he needs to
make sure those officers are also still comfortable handling firearms.
"Some don't come back from that," Scott said.
With three Baldwin officers off the street for now, one entire
three-person shift has been eliminated. Scott said that they are adjusting
schedules and adding shifts to fill those spots.
Police are not confirming the name of the officers who fired the
shots. They also wouldn't name the man at the center of the original call, but
they did say the couple had two children, ages 6 years old and 17 months old,
in the house at the time. Scott said that they are considering filing charges
against the male resident for endangering the welfare of children.
