The holster being used by an off-duty Detroit police officer when a woman was accidentally shot with his gun was soft enough for the trigger to have been pulled while the gun was stored it, police announced today.
Adaisha Miller, who would have turned 25 today, was killed early Sunday morning when Officer Issac Parrish’s department-issued gun accidentally discharged while she was dancing behind him and touching his waist, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. said.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy and determined Miller died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, county spokeswoman Brooke Blackwell said. Her death was ruled a homicide.
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Godbee said the officer was holding a fish fry at his home on Archdale when the incident happened.
The shooting is being investigated by the department’s internal affairs unit, but, in the preliminary investigation, it appears the shooting was accidental and the officer did not touch his gun, Godbee said.
Parrish has been placed on administrative restricted duty.
The gun is a Smith & Wesson M&P 40-caliber semi-automatic. Police said the gun does not have an external safety, but does have an internal safety in the trigger.
Matt Rice, with Blue Heron Communications — a PR agency that represents Smith & Wesson — said M&Ps can be made with or without an external safety. According to a news release from Smith & Wesson, the weapon has a trigger system that features a 6.5-pound trigger pull and is designed to prevent the gun from firing if it is dropped.
It’s possible, Godbee said, that the trigger of the officer’s gun could be manipulated through the soft holster it was being carried on the officer’s waist on his right side.
In most incidents, he said, a weapon “does not go off without the trigger being engaged in some manner.”
Godbee said the department does not have a policy regarding what holsters officers should use for their guns when off duty.
During the news conference, Godbee did not answer a question about whether Parrish, a 16-year veteran of the department, was given a Breathalyzer test.
The shooting is tragic, “but not intentional at all, Godbee said, adding that his condolences go out to Miller’s family.
He said the officer is “very remorseful of the incident and the tragic nature of this young lady losing her life in the manner that she did.”
