Deputy Accidentally Shoots Wife

By BRENNAN LEATHERS and BARBARA PARSONS, News Writers
01/04/2006
A Decatur County Sheriff’s deputy’s wife who was apparently shot by accident Friday night is currently being treated at Bainbridge Memorial Hospital, spokesmen at the Sheriff’s Office said. Vicki Bowyer, the wife of Capt. Gale Bowyer of the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, was shot in the stomach by a bullet fired out of her husband’s personal handgun when it apparently malfunctioned while he was in the process of loading it, said Major Wendell Cofer of the Sheriff’s Office. As of Tuesday morning, she was listed in good condition in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, and is expected to make a full recovery, Sheriff Wiley Griffin said.

At about 6:45 p.m. Friday, the Bowyers were in the master bedroom of their Bainbridge home preparing to attend a party, Cofer said. Bowyer stated he was conducting a “press check” to ensure the small handgun he carried with him while off-duty was properly loaded, Cofer said. Bowyer stated to Bainbridge Public Safety Officer Ray Cox that while loading the handgun, it misfired. The handgun fired off seven bullets, one of which struck Mrs. Bowyer in the lower right abdomen, Cofer said.

The initial review of the bedroom and statements made by the Bowyers and their juvenile daughter, who was in the home at the time of the shooting, indicate that the deputy’s handgun malfunctioned, Cofer said. Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to the scene and took possession of the firearm to investigate the cause of its malfunction, Griffin said Tuesday. “The matter is still under investigation but the preliminary report seems to be that a metal part broke off in the gun causing the weapon to go off automatically and basically empty the chamber,” Griffin said. “Out of seven bullets—most of them went in the floor, but one of them hit his [Bowyer’s] wife.”

The handgun, which is similar to a .380-caliber, was being carried by Bowyer while he was off-duty and was not issued by the Sheriff’s Office, Cofer said. However, Bowyer is authorized to carry a concealed personal weapon in Georgia as a law enforcement officer, the major said. Both Bainbridge Public Safety officers and Sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting scene. Further investigation of the incident has been turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is routinely done with incidents involving local law enforcement officers, Cofer said. The handgun has been turned over to a forensic armorer who will inspect it further. Capt. Bowyer, who leads the criminal investigation and crime scene investigation units at the Sheriff’s Office, is taking sick leave from work while his wife recovers, Cofer said. Bowyer has been employed by the Sheriff’s Office for 16 years and has worked in law enforcement for 21 years, Cofer said.

As of Tuesday morning, Mrs. Bowyer was listed in good condition in Bainbridge Memorial Hospital’s ICU, and is expected to make a full recovery. I hesitate to kick a man when he's down. Godspeed to Deputy Bowyer, and may his wife have a swift, uneventful recovery.

The Four Rules
1. All firearms are loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger unless your sights are on the target
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

Hat tip to Blogonomicon