91-001001 Department Of Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice Standards And Training Commission vs. David L. Jordan Status: Closed Recommended Order on Thursday, June 20, 1991.

Summary: Pointing guns at students in class on firearms instruction grounds for revocation of certificate as firearms instructor

STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

CRIMINAL JUSTICE STANDARDS )

AND TRAINING COMMISSION, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 91-1001

)

DAVID L. JORDAN, )

)

Respondent. )

__________________________________)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly

designated Hearing Officer, K. N. Ayers, held a formal hearing in the above-

styled case on May 15, 1991, at Tampa, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Michael R. Ramage, Esquire

Post Office Box 1489

Tallahassee, Florida 32302

For Respondent: David L. Jordan, pro se

6213 Watermark Drive

Apartment 206

Riverview, Florida 33659

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

Whether Respondent exhibited gross incompetence as a firearms instructor on

or about July 20, 1990.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By Administrative Complaint dated December 5, 1990, the Criminal Justice

Standards and Training Commission, Petitioner, seeks to discipline the

instructor certificate of David L. Jordan, Respondent. As grounds therefor, it

is alleged that on or about July 20, 1990, Respondent, while conducting a

firearms training class, did improperly point a shotgun at the head of a student

and pull the trigger. This conduct is alleged to violate Section 943.12(3),

Florida Statutes, and Rule 11B-20.0012(1)(e), Florida Administrative Code, by

exhibiting gross incompetence as an instructor.

At the hearing, Petitioner called eight witnesses, Respondent testified in

his own behalf and five exhibits were admitted into evidence. Proposed findings

submitted by Petitioner are accepted. Those not included herein were deemed

unnecessary to the conclusions reached.

Having fully considered the evidence presented, I make the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. At all times relevant hereto David L. Jordan was certified in firearms

instruction (Stipulation by the parties).

2. On July 20, 1990, while conducting a firearms training class for

probation and parole officer candidates, Respondent, while demonstrating use of

a shotgun, pointed a shotgun at a female student at close range and pulled the

trigger.

3. Respondent was attempting to demonstrate the intimidating nature of a

shotgun to the students.

4. Prior to pointing the shotgun at the student, Respondent had checked

the magazine and chamber of the gun to insure the gun was unloaded and showed

this check to most of the students in the class. He then, with his back to the

female student, operated the slide on the pump shotgun by pulling the rack back

and then forward, turned toward the student with the shotgun muzzle within a

foot of the student's face and pulled the trigger.

5. This incident was extremely disturbing to the student at whom the gun

had been pointed and to most of the rest of the class as well.

6. During the morning session of the firearms training class, the senior

instructor in the class, Sergeant Oates, had pointed a revolver at members of

the class, and both Respondent and Oates had allowed students to point revolvers

at other students to practice squeezing the trigger while dry firing.

7. It is a cardinal safety rule when handling firearms to never point a

firearm at another person unless compatible with the right to use deadly force.

(Exhibits 1 and 2) The Florida Firearms Training Manual (Exhibit 1) expresses

the rule as "Never point a firearm at anyone unless compatible with deadly force

departmental policy and Chapter 776, Florida Statutes."

8. It is gross negligence for an instructor in firearms training to point

a weapon at another person or allow students to point firearms at other persons.

9. The training of the class which Respondent was instructing on July 20,

1990, was conducted with functional weapons.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

10. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the

parties to, and the subject matter of, these proceedings.

11. Section 943.12(3), Florida Statutes (1989), authorizes the Criminal

Justice Standards and Training Commission, inter alia, to certify, and revoke

the certification of, officers, instructors, and criminal justice training

schools.

12. Rule 11B-20.001, Florida Administrative Code, establishes minimum

qualifications for certification as an instructor. Included therein is the

requirement that the instructor be knowledgeable of methods of instructions. In

firearm training, one of, if not the, most important elements in training is

safety; and, as noted above, it is a cardinal safety rule while handling

firearms to never point a firearm at another person unless you may be justified

in shooting the other person.

13. By pointing a shotgun in the face of a student in the firearms

training class Respondent was conducting, and pulling the trigger, Respondent

demonstrated a flagrant disregard of the cardinal safety rules pertaining to the

handling of firearms. This constitutes gross negligence.

14. From the foregoing, it is concluded that Respondent was grossly

negligent when he pointed a shotgun at a student in his class on July 20, 1990.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the certification of David L. Jordan as a firearms

instructor be revoked. This recommendation is in accordance with Rule 11B-

20.0012(1), Florida Administrative Code.

RECOMMENDED this 20th day of June, 1991, in Tallahassee, Florida.

__________________________________

K. N. AYERS

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings

The Desoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, FL 32399-1550

[phone]

Filed with the Clerk of the

Division of Administrative Hearings

this 20th day of June, 1991.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Michael R. Ramage, Esquire

Post Office Box 1489

Tallahassee, FL 32302

David L. Jordan

6213 Watermark Drive

Apartment 206

Riverview, FL 33659

Jeffrey Long, Director

Criminal Justice Standards

Training Commission

Post Office Box 1489

Tallahassee, FL 32302

James T. Moore

Commissioner

Department of Law Enforcement

Post Office Box 1489

Tallahassee, FL 32302