Detroit Woman Dead After Hugging Off-Duty Officer, Accidentally Discharging His Pistol

From ABC News by Colleen Curry, July 9, 2012

A friendly hug at a Detroit house party proved fatal for a woman after she accidentally discharged an off-duty cop’s handgun.

Adaisha Miller, 24, attended a fish fry at the home of an off-duty Detroit police officer on Saturday and, at around midnight, began to hug or dance with the officer from behind and accidentally set off his gun, according to Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee, Jr.

The police department didn’t release the name of the officer but said that he has been cooperative with an internal investigation launched in the wake of the shooting and is shocked at what happened.

Godbee said that the officer had been concealing his department-issued .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic hand gun in a holster in his waistband when Miller placed her hands on his waist. Godbee indicated that Miller had seemingly touched the gun in some way, causing it to fire. There is no safety switch on the weapon, he said.

“I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying this but for the sake of transparency, it is possible for the trigger to be manipulated with that type of holster,” Godbee said. “Typically the barrel is facing down, but the preliminary investigation indicates that there was some manipulation along the officer’s waistline that he did not control and subsequently the weapon discharged.”

Godbee said that there was no indication from evidence or witnesses that the officer had placed his hand on the weapon. The investigation will include forensic analysis by the Michigan State Police and a medical examiner’s report.

“He is very remorseful of the incident and the tragic nature of this young lady losing her life in the manner she did,” Godbee said.

Miller’s mother, Yolanda McNair, told the Detroit Free Press that she has been told different versions of the events leading up to her daughter’s death and can’t udnerstand why the officer was armed at his own party.

“The story keeps changing. There’s no logical reason,” she said. “Why do you need a weapon with a round in the chamber?”

Police department spokeswoman Cassandra Lewis said that the prosecutor’s office would decide whether any charges would be pressed in the case.

Amy Driver, a gun safety expert, said that it was “entirely possible” that if someone was placing their hands on the officer’s waistband that the weapon could become loose from the holster and then discharge if it were pressed back down toward the holster.

“It sounds like she pulled on his waistband, and if that shifted his waistband, the gun could have come up out of the holster a little bit, and his instinct could be to push the gun back in holster. If something got caught on trigger, it could have fired,” she said.

Driver said that investigators would likely find a hole in the side of the officer’s pants, where the bullet left the gun and traveled to Miller.

‘It’s Not Real’: 911 Tape in Broomfield Shooting Shows Family Warned Police of Pellet Gun

From the Broomfield Enterprise, Broomfield, Colorado, July 6, 2012 by Megan Quinn

A 911 call recorded just before Kyle Miller was shot to death by Broomfield police officers last week shows that his family warned dispatchers the 21-year-old was armed with an Airsoft pellet gun — not a real handgun.

In response, a dispatcher assured the victim’s brother, “Officers are trained in this kind of thing. They’re not going to go around shooting people.”

Broomfield police received a 911 call around 7:20 a.m. June 28 about a “mentally distraught” man in the Aspen Creek subdivision. While officers were en route, they encountered Miller near the intersection of Aspen Street and Durango Avenue. Miller pointed the pellet gun at police and was shot by officers.

The 911 tape shows that Miller’s younger brother, Alex Miller, told police about the Airsoft gun in an attempt to avoid a dangerous confrontation.

“My brother is having a breakdown,” Alex Miller told the dispatcher, adding that he woke up to his mother’s screams because Kyle Miller was trying to cut himself with a pocket knife. Screams can be heard in the background throughout the 911 call.

On the recording, Alex Miller repeatedly said his brother was carrying an Airsoft gun.

“Can you tell them he has a gun in his hands? Is there any way you can let them know he’s got the gun in his hands?” Alex Miller said. “It’s not real.”

“I know,” the dispatcher replied. “The officers are trained in this kind of thing. They’re not going to go around shooting people.”

Officials from the Broomfield Police Department said they cannot legally discuss Kyle Miller’s death while the shooting investigation is under way.

Sgt. Steve Griebel said there is no set timeline for when the department will be able to release details of the case, which is being handled by the Adams/ Broomfield Critical Incident Team, an independent inter-agency “shoot team.”

“When they present the findings to us, we’ll make a decision on whether or not charges should be filed,” said Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for the Adams and Broomfield County District Attorney’s Office.

For now, the involved officers are on administrative leave, which is a standard policy, officials said.

Broomfield police will not say how many officers were on scene, how many fired their weapons or how many times Kyle Miller was shot.

Cheryl Miller, his mother, said her son was shot multiple times.

Kyle Miller’s family said he struggled with schizo-affective bipolar disorder for most of his life. He recently was certified as an EMT, but mental health issues contributed to him losing his first job after just a few weeks.

Cheryl Miller said the bad news may have caused him to hurt himself.

“He was in a tormented place mentally,” she said.

A funeral service for Kyle Miller was held Friday morning at Flatirons Community Church in Lafayette.