Police instructor shoots self during gun demo

Bethel man was treated for gunshot wound to right leg.

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By Tiffany Y. Latta, Staff Writer Updated 3:18 PM Monday, April 12, 2010

LIBERTY TWP. — A police academy instructor accidentally shot himself Friday night, April 9, during a gun demonstration in front of police recruits.

Robert J. Stewart, 55, was demonstrating the use of a 9mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol at about 7:51 p.m. at the firing range when he shot himself in the upper right thigh in front of 24 recruits and several instructors at Butler Tech’s Public Safety Education Center, said Butler County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chuck Laymon.

Stewart, of Bethel, was transported by a Liberty Twp. life squad to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, where he was treated and released late Friday night.

“He seems to be in good spirits, but he’s just a little embarrassed,” Laymon said. “People ask how these things happen, but this goes to show you that if you get complacent or get in a hurry accidents can happen.”

Stewart is a retired law enforcement officer who works as an adjunct instructor at Butler Tech.

Laymon said none of the students in the class was injured, but some were “disturbed by the whole thing.”

The police recruits Stewart was teaching provided witness statements to deputies and then resumed taking the four-hour class that ended at 10 p.m., Laymon said.

The shooting incident remains under investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.

The public safety complex, located near the corner of Ohio 4 and Ohio 747, is home to Butler Technology and Career Development Schools’ police adademy and indoor firing range, as well as its firefighter and emergency medical education programs. The center opened in June 2004.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2552 or tlatta@coxohio.com

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