The drawstring of a jacket, caught in a holster, entering a trigger guard… and you can figure what happened.
Thing is, this wasn’t just anyone — this was a Police Chief.
Yes, this can happen to anyone.
I’ve seen this before. It’s not an uncommon thing for clothing to get in the way of a holster. Something like a shirt-tail can just prevent reholstering. But these drawstring toggles? This is what happens. As the video shows, it’s not the first time.
Solution: cut the toggles off.
I do have to wonder why the Chief was handling his gun in the first place. You put your gun in the holster, and you leave it there. A casual use for comparison? Geez man, it’s not like there aren’t a host of guns behind the counter there that you couldn’t use for comparison! I also didn’t like how at around 0:50 it appeared like he was muzzling his hand; it could be the camera angle, but it sure looks like it.
Consider as well what the shop owner said: “in 34 years, this is the first time that has happened”. Take home here? You cannot get complacent. You cannot think you are immune. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been around guns, been using guns, sooner or later, it can happen.
There is nothing wrong with looking when you reholster. Have a good holster, that keeps the mouth open; holsters where the mouth collapses are generally bad news because you have to use something to open the mouth — all too often, it’s your other hand, and that puts the hand in front of the muzzle, and hopefully you can now see why that’s a bad idea. Use a good holster, holster “one-handed”, and if you need to look to ensure things are clear, do so.
I will give credit to the Chief for wanting to use this as a teachable moment, to encourage others to learn from his mistake. I will also give credit to the TV station for informative reporting (maybe fair and factual journalism isn’t dead yet).
So go… find your jacket, and cut off those drawstrings.
Stuff From Hsoi 
Perhaps getting his hand in the way is habitual? Towards the end of the story they shared the Chief had shot once before himself before, in the hand while handling a gun he thought was unloaded.
The thought crossed my mind.
Leaving the drawstring aside, I see a complete lack of attention to what he was doing. It’s a gun, not an iPhone. The 4 rules still apply while holstering.
Yup. That too.
One thing it brought to mind (that I didn’t write above, because it would have distracted and gotten too long) was the common implication folks have regarding the notion that only police should have guns… because somehow they have uber-awesome skills and are highly trained. He appears to have violated fundamental safety rules, he used his carry gun in a too casual way and had too casual a regard for it, etc etc.
I also consider it a point for some that think they may be above the rules, or that they are so skilled or so experienced or so whatever that the rules don’t apply to them. Like the shop owner said… 34 years, and this is a first. Just because you haven’t, yet, doesn’t mean you won’t. Continue to be vigilant to avoid it.
Good point. Where I grew up I knew two shop teachers, each missing a finger due to sort of “millionth-time” syndrome.
On the one hand, I cannot blame people too much because we are all human and no one is above it. We’re all prone to make mistakes.
On the other, that’s why it becomes important to acknowledge this and do your best to be vigilant.
Personally, I’m not loping off any drawstrings. Discipline is the only thing that’ll save me, in general, from re-holstering when there’s clothing, drawstrings, twigs, trash, or some other foreign debris in my holster. I might remove the drawstring if I thought it was interfering with my draw, but not re-holstering.
I will agree with you that discipline is key — and it seems evident in this video the police Chief didn’t have quite the discipline he should have.
Nevertheless, we are all human, and my feeling is — we’re all prone to screw up sooner or later. If I can do a few things to give me a little aid when I might suffer a little brain fade, I’m all for that. Shit happens… stacking the odds in favor of keeping shit from happening is alright in my book.