Monday, April 17: Still around, Googlers? Lee Paige appeared on “The Today Show” to explain what happened. He’s still funny. 
Saturday, April 15: Hello, googlers! Lee Paige, the DEA guy who shot himself in the foot, appeared on NBC’s “The Today Show” last week. I’ll try to find the video. In the meantime, read this recent story about Paige.
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Last year I stumbled across a video recording of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who accidentally shoots himself in the foot while demonstrating gun safety before a group of students and parents.
I didn’t blog about the tape before now because it appeared on a site I didn’t want to link to. Now it’s part of the public record. Lee Paige, the DEA agent, has filed suit against the government over the tape’s release. He’s claiming, among other things, improper release of the video and public ridicule.
Follow the link to The Smoking Gun (of recent James Frey fame) and click on the image to watch the video.
When I first saw it, I laughed. I laughed not at his injury but at the irony of his preaching gun safety, then accidentally shooting himself! I laughed because he tried to play it off by continuing the presentation! He limps over to an even bigger gun to demonstrate more “safety,” and the adults in the room are going, “No, no, put it down!” 
It’s not funny. 
The video will probably be one of the most surreal sights you’ll see this year.
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Lashawn,
Thanks to you, I am now going straight to hell. The poor man shot himself……and I laughed so hard my stomach started hurting. The timing of the discharge after his claim of “professionalism” couldn’t have been more timely if it had been scripted. What are your thoughts on his lawsuit?
You know, the subject matter makes it funny, as well as the guy trying to play it off, for heaven’s sake. He had to be in pain.
About the suit, if the DEA was not authorized to release the tape and did so anyway without regard for the law, he may have a claim. Personally, I think he should let it go and move on, but that may be hard to do when dollar signs are dancing before your eyes.
Oh my goodnes, my stomach is killing me from laughing. This is just one of those things you can’t make up.
He picked up the Glock .40, said it was empty, shot himself in the foot, then said “never ever play with guns”. Then he said “I promise I’ll never show guns again” and then he said “[bring over that other gun]“. And while people said “no” he said “it’s an empty weapon”. Yea like the last one?
This man was extra stupid. Even if you give him a PASS for shooting himself, he was foolish enough to bring out an AK-47 afterwards!
He should run and hide in shame!
He’s never going to be able to prove how the video leaked and now he’s only brought more recognition to the event.
Why is this any more insane than Dick Cheney shooting his friend?
Little known is an incident when another hunter shot Cheney - years ago during - YES - a quail hunt.
But I have a confession to make.
Years ago, shooting cans at a friend’s ranch in Texas I was shooting cans with a 44 mangnum pistol. I wasn’t insane enough to quick-draw with this cannon.
But I had a 22 single actin pistol that I was practicing drawing with.
I was distracted by a vehicle coming down a hill nearby.
I felt this stinging in my leg.
A key in my pocket was bent, and there was a hole in my holster.
The key had protected my leg. No doubt a 44 magnum would have produced a serious injury.
Injury to the popliteal artery (behind the knee) is well known to doctors treating those praxcticing the quick-draw.
Embarrassing? YES
But I hope that, by confessing, I will help soneone avoid similar folly.
Thanks for sharing Frank. Thank God I’ve never injured anyone and nobody has ever injured me when we were using firearms.
This is a lot different from the Cheney hunting incident. Given Cheney and his associates were in an environment where there was a known degree of risk. If you go hunting, you know there is a chance for a shooting accident. Nobody expects to go to school and witness a shooting. (Well nobody should go to school and expect shooting, but we know some folks respect their community better than others.)
The DEA agent was in the middle of a discussion on being cautious with guns and shot himself. Obviously he did not properly check his own gun before the demonstration. It sounded like he pulled the trigger once while he had it in the air, before he pointed it downward and shot himself.
Another thing that makes this different from most hunting accidents is that after he shot himself, he had another gun pulled out for display. An AK-47. After a hunting accident, who’s going to pull an AK-47?
Hunting accidents happen and will continue to happen. But when a DEA agent visits a school and starts talking about “gun safety” he/she had better be practicing it himself/herself.
He was in a room full of children, not out hunting in a field with a bunch of grown men.
Well, I feel sorry for the guy and I don’t think I can bring myself to watch the video. He’s probably never going to live this down for the rest of his life and his co-workers probably don’t trust him or let him forget it. Wait, does he still have his job? Oy.
And another thing, I’m guessing the office did not authorize the release of that tape just because it seems odd that they would give permission to release a tape that doesn’t exactly show the DEA in a good light.
Gun safety
1. Never point any gun at a person
2. Safety on
3. I used to alway arc my gun in a sweep that avoided people.
4. Crossing fences… hmm i have forgotten that one.
Well he should sue himself for being such a collossal idiot people mock him freely.
I saw the video in question for the first time today and after laughing, feeling sorry for the guy, then watching in incredulity while he goes for another gun, it occurred to me that while he claims to suing for damages, is it possible that he’s making money each time this video is linked to or watched?
JD,
It would have been impossible for the DEA agent to practice #4 of your gun safety rules. Glocks do not have safety’s. The only safety on a Glock is common sense. I see no reason for him to have the action open in the first place.
Huh? He should be locked up. What he did was stupid to the “nth” degree and could have been terminal for anyone in the room.
The greatest irony is this bozo proclaiming that he is the only person in the room qualified to handle the “unloaded” gun just seconds before he fires it into himself.
He sure proved his total incompetence and every soul within bullet range should thank God he didn’t hit a steel beam or catch a ricochet off a concrete floor.
Was he so distracted by his speech that he actually forgot there was a loaded magazine in that pistol? Wow. Distracted or not, there are just some basic firearms rules that one does not violate, ever.
I have to admit that the word “IRONY” does come to mind, and in lieu of that, the humor soon followed. Heck, I’m STILL smiling over it as I type.
Being a gun owner (twice over), and having handled various firearms over the years, my main question is:
WHY in GOD’S name would he even BRING a LOADED gun into a classroom (for a demo yet)???
Clearing any firearm is one of the MOST basic aspects of owning or handling a weapon. Consider it akin to applying a brakes while putting a car in REVERSE…saves a few lives now and then, doesn’t it?
(Thankfully, automakers have RELIEVED us of THAT burden with the newer cars).
The lawsuit is frivolous, considering the irresponsibility demonstrated (along with gun safety?) shown by the officer. If anything, he should be brought up on charges and made to take a firearm safety course (gee..sounds like a DUI driver that has to go through a course when THEY show lack of responsibility, eh?).
And they say the government lacks ways to “make OUR day”.
(Turned MY frown upside down)
B.G.
Always, always, always treat a gun like it is loaded and never do what that guy did. AS the owner of multiple guns, I have never shot myself while showing people tips on gun safety. Why? BECAUSE I USE UNLOADED WEAPONS! This guy is federal law enforcement? Aw crud.
Not one Barney Fife reference? Barney had to keep his one (1) bullet in his shirt pocket to keep this from happening to him.
His finger should not have been on the trigger if he was not intending to use the gun. Period.
Re. the lawsuit claiming improper release of the video:
It may not be just his personal embarassment. Local6 news reported that he was an undercover agent (though the shooting apparently prompted his suspension) and as such, the video revealed his identity. That could be dangerous for him and his family as well as preventing him from being able to work undercover again. Protecting his identity would be important, not just to protect his dignity but really to protect his safety.
Of course, one could argue that everyone’s safety is in jeopardy as long as he has access to any firearms, so maybe releasing his identity isn’t so bad!
Cooper’s 4 Rules of Firearms Safety:
1) Always treat every firearm as if it’s loaded. Always.
2) Never let the muzzle cover anything you don’t want destroyed.
3) Never put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to fire.
4) Always be sure of your target and what is above, below, beside, beyond and through that target.
Firearm safeties fail. Magazine disconnects don’t. Shadows are rarely good targets.
LOL!! Lashawn, you owe me a new keyboard; I was drinking water while watching this. The funniest thing about it to me is the fact that he said, “I’m the only person in the room professional enough to carry a gun like this…*BANG*!” And then he actually fielded a question from someone! LOL! I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time.
I feel sorry for the guy. He isn’t a professional educator or an experienced public speaker. He’s a cop. He was obviously nervous and distracted in the unfamiliar setting. He wasn’t trying to impress the kids to puff his own ego; he was trying to convince them to avoid crime. And anybody who can keep talking like that after taking a bullet to the foot has got to be tough as nails.
News flash: People make mistakes. So what?
True. He also could have “mistakenly” killed someone in the audience, too. Nervousness, lack of public speaking experience, and unfamiliar surroundings certainly don’t excuse his carelessness (including picking up another gun after the “mistake”) and those same factors certainly wouldn’t make the parents of a dead child feel better. - Admin
What’s the DEA doing wasting time and money giving gun safety lessons? Every town has bunches of NRA guys who will do it for free. What, have all the drugs been found?
The ‘agent’ is a idiot. Stupid. Dumb. He can not even talk. No wonder his DEA buddies farmed him off on the little kid circuit. Can you imaging having this guy behind you with a loaded gun?
The guy, the DEA are all a waste.
The film was taken by a private citizen (a parent, IIRC), therefore the DEA couldn’t suppress it legally. If this guy was a secret agent, what was he doing giving a public speech? The lawsuit is doomed to failure, with the exception of bringing this gentleman back into the limelight.
Even if the film had been taken by the DEA, Lee Paige’s pride is not grounds to prevent public release. Unless protected legally for purposes of national security or confidentiality (like personnel financial records), films or documents owned by the Federal government are in the public domain and the property of the people on the United States.
Mr. Paige’s “accident” wasn’t accidental, it was negligence. He violate the following gun safety principles, and probably others:
1. He brought a weapon with live ammunition to a demonstration.
2. He left a loaded weapon outside his immediate control (the table).
3. He failed to clear a weapon that had been outside his immediate control.
4. He failed to maintain awareness of his muzzle direction (his leg).
5. He failed to keep his finger outside the trigger guard until a clear target was obtained.
He should have been fired immediately for negligently discharging a firearm in a public area, not to mention endangering children!
It is surprising that he wasn’t fired after his unsafe actions.
Several questions come to mind.
1. Why was he conducting training with weapons that are loaded in front of children? The weapons should have been cleared and safe before entering the school if he knew he would be handling them.
2. If it is a loaded weapon, why didn’t it remain in the holster where it should have been left? I have never seen a police officer pull a loaded weapon from its holster in a school for show and tell, let alone gun safety.
3. Why wasn’t basic firearms safety rules followed? Like duh!
If I was the DEA, I would have released the video to the public to show how stupid this so called professional was. You know that those attending were making statement. How embarrassing to the DEA. This special agent should live with his stupidity as a message to others that might think to do it.
I live in shame now!
Self inflicted injuries: turning accidental into cash is wrong in character. If you did this in the service of our country you would be sent home but you would not like the type of discharge. A bad conduct discharge may not exist today… must worry about one’s self esteem and issues.
What was the other uniformed officer in attendance taking? A 40 caliber weapon was discharged in a classroom and this guy didn’t flinch or react in any way. Makes my ears hurt just watching.
I will tell you right now, flat Out, Lee is making the situation worst than it is. He fucked up. As an Officer, I know that if this had happen to him using a berreta 92F with that decocking lever, I would agree it was a mistake, but with a glock you have to be NOT PAYING Attention.
…All guns are always loaded…..You have to clear it and he did not do that, He sent the slide foward on the glock as if it was a 92f, He made a mistake that if he was in any other department especially LAPD, THOSE GUYS WOULD RIDE YOU HARD TALKING ABOUT IT not just to be jerky but to help you understand that this should never happen again, But to sue the DEA for that is total BULLSHIT…..Lastly, if you check the film Dea was not fliming, they got a copy like the whole world did. Lee save your money and enjoy life. The DEA has been good to you with only five days suspension.. You are lucky you were not fired, Don’t draw any attention to yourself because you messed up. Here are four simple tips
1.All Guns are Always loaded
2.Never allow the muzzle to cover anything you are not willing to shoot
Important one
3. KEEP YOUR FINGERS OFF THE TRIGGER,UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE FOCUSED ON THE TARGET AND YOU INTEND TO SHOOT
4.Be sure of your target
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