The police had my 70-pound son in a seated restraint, with no use of his hands, arms, legs. The 200-plus-pound officer had a gun in a holster on his hip, which went off unexpectedly. The gun was pressed up against my son’s leg and left a friction burn. The bullet landed less than two feet from all of my three young children. My home became a crime scene, and we were denied access for days.
Unsurprisingly the town found itself, the gun and the officer innocent after investigating themselves. No changes have been made as a result of this incident. Any or all of my children could have died that day. We now naturally have a distrust of law enforcement. My son still talks about the gun going off and it’s been 1.5 years and constant therapy at a school designed to cater to trauma. My other children didn’t even want to attend school afterward, as they were so scared still. This event has injured my family deeply.