Posted 4/30/2004 04:50:00 PM by Douglas

How's the best way to learn about gun safety? How 'bout at a DEA sponsored gun-safety class where an agent pops a cap in his own ass?

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating an incident in which one of its agents giving a presentation to Orlando-area children on gun safety shot himself in the thigh.

Orlando police investigators have ruled the April 9 shooting at The Callahan Center, 101 N. Parramore Ave., accidental, police Lt. Curley Bowman said Thursday night.

The presentation was part of a class called "The Game of Life, The Game of Golf," according to a police report. It was held by the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association, which aims to introduce minority children to the sport. The agent was speaking to the youths about making good life choices and included a presentation on gun safety, according to the report.

During the speech, the agent drew his .40-caliber duty weapon and removed the magazine, the report said. He then pulled back the slide and asked a man in the audience to look inside the weapon to make sure it was not loaded, the report said.

"The person nodded that it didn't have ammunition," Farmer recounted. "The gun was never pointed at anyone."

Witnesses told police that the agent kept his gun pointed toward the floor and when he released the slide, the weapon fired one shot into the top of his thigh.

What the hell? Why in the hell is the DEA involved in a class called "The Game of Life, The Game of Golf," which aims to introduce minority children to golf? Why is there a gun safety class at a golf seminar? Why would an idiot DEA agent ask an idiot in the crowd to see if his weapon is chambered?

Your tax dollar at work.