MPD shares gun safety, storage tips

Residents learned how to prevent accidental violence through proper gun use and storage during Saturday’s monthly Coffee with the Chief.

Maricopa Police Chief Steve Stahl and firearm instructor Det. Mike Dennison led the discussion about gun safety and stressed the importance of following strict gun protocol to avoid common accidents.

Dennison, who has been a firearm-safety instructor for the U.S. military and the National Rifle Association, said he teaches everyone the same four rules.

“First a weapon is always to be considered loaded until you can ensure it is safe and unloaded,” Dennison said. “Second, you never want to point a gun at something you are not willing to destroy. Third, if you pick up a gun, your finger is always by the side. Fourth, if you have made the decision to shoot, know what your target is and what the surroundings are.”

Dennison encouraged everyone who stores a firearm in at home to teach their children the four rules so they understand the danger of firearms.

“If you do that, it will become habitual to them,” Dennison said.

Stahl shared that even the most trained shooters miss their targets.

Thirty-three percent of police shots miss the target, the chief said, because despite officers being well trained, their motor skills are reduced in high-stress situations.

“If we only hit 33 percent, then with untrained citizens… there are bullets going all over the place,” Stahl said. “You are accountable for every bullet you shoot.”

Stahl encouraged everyone to take firearm-safety courses addressing the psychology of taking another person’s life so a gun does not end up in the wrong hands.

“If your reason for having this tool is self-defense, you need to be prepared to use it,” Stahl told the group.

He also clarified it is only lawful to use a firearm for self-defense when a person thinks their life or someone else’s is in eminent danger.