West Mercia Police officer disciplined after gun fired accidentally

A firearms officer from Shrewsbury has been disciplined after accidentally firing his handgun in a garage at a police station.

The officer, who has not been named, has been moved to other duties after being disciplined earlier this year by West Mercia Police.

The policeman was cleaning his Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol when it went off in a building at the back of Shrewsbury police station.

An official investigation into the cause of the incident was launched by the police force but details of the inquiry were not made public.

An internal misconduct hearing into the incident ruled in July that the officer should be moved to a different policing role within West Mercia Police.

Superintendent Lee Davenport from West Mercia Police said that no-one was harmed in the incident.

"We can confirm an incident took place inside a building at the rear of Shrewsbury police station," he said.

"No-one was injured and there was no risk to members of the public at any time.

"All UK police forces follow strict loading and unloading procedures to maximise safety.

"West Mercia Police carries out this procedure inside and not in the open air.

"There are procedures in place to deal with an unintentional discharge of a weapon, these procedures were adhered to on this occasion. The officer was disciplined and is no longer a firearms officer."

Glock pistols have three safety mechanisms, but it is not known if any of them had been released in this incident.

Procedures at the force involving the use of firearms have been tightened since the incident occurred earlier this year, a source said.

West Mercia Police is organised into five territorial policing units which cover Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, as well as Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

According to the most recent statistics from October 2011, the force employs more than 2,200 police officers.