DOC Director’s Gun Accidentally Discharges Inside Headquarters

The director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections accidentally discharged a gun inside the department's headquarters. According to the DOC, nobody was hurt but this isn't the first time this has happened.

In a statement, the department says nine accidental discharge incidents have occurred by DOC staff since mid-2022. Those involved either correctional or probation officers. Only one resulted in discipline; however, it was due to policy violations and not the discharge itself, the DOC says.

In this latest incident, the DOC says Director Steven Harpe accidentally discharged his firearm inside a safe room on January 19. The bullet went into a concrete floor, causing minimal damage. Nobody else was present at the time. The director immediately reported it to the department's law enforcement division. Unintentional firearm discharges aren’t common according to Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley. “Sometimes we have officers that, you know, during a foot chase or something like that maybe they fall and the firearm discharges so it's not something that happens very often,” Chief Gourley said. “We train our officers not to put their finger on the trigger unless they're about to be involved in a deadly force situation.”

Chief Gourley says training is key to preventing accidental discharges. In fact, according to the police department, only three unintentional discharges occurred among the 1170 OKC police officers since January 1, 2023. “The training part is very crucial because you don't want an accidental discharge winding up hurting someone unnecessarily in the community or one of our officers themselves,” Chief Gourley said. “A lot of what we do, how we draw the firearm, how we unload it and handle it, there's a lot of training that goes into that to prevent just that from happening in those accidental discharges.” 

At Wilshire Gun, General Manager Tyler Miller agrees and says these incidents can be prevented with the correct training. “It's not an accident for most of the ways that they occur, you're being negligent in one way or another, even trained professionals do it all the time,” Miller said.

Miller says to assume the gun is always loaded, never put your finger on the trigger unless you’re ready to shoot, and get a good holster. “Something that goes and covers the trigger guard to prevent anything from getting in there and engaging and pulling on the trigger,” Miller said. “Very safe to carry, very easy to use as long as you're following the rules.”

The DOC says Director Harpe qualified as any correctional employee before carrying a firearm. He is scheduled for remedial firearms training and will be required.