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Off target on firing line
By RYAN DAVIS, Times Staff Writer It's nearly time for 16 correction deputies to fire their new weapons. "You're responsible for every round that comes out of the gun," Pasco sheriff's range master Rick Benn tells them. "You need to know where it's going to go and where it's going to stop." The spiel is rehearsed. But it holds new significance after two recent mishaps at the sheriff's outdoor gun range in Gowers Corner. That's where correction deputies have been learning since Oct. 22 to fire their new sidearms, .40-caliber semiautomatic Glocks. On Nov. 14, correction Sgt. Juanita Brzycki fired a shot that grazed her right thigh and went through her right foot. She has not returned to work. On Oct. 29, correction deputy John Brostrom fired a stray shot. From 15 feet back, he hit a target about 20 feet to the right. Also, slightly more deputies are failing this go-round than past training sessions. Sheriff's officials maintain the training has been a success. They attribute the blunders to deputies who broke a cardinal rule for shooting: On the target, finger on the trigger. Off the target, finger off the trigger. The mistakes can't be traced to the training methods, they said. Not the 12-hour days. Not the new weapons. Not a combination of the two. This is the first time most Pasco correction deputies -- who regularly work 12-hour shifts -- have endured 12-hour days of gun training, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said. Such days are rare, especially in the Florida heat, gun training experts said. "I have heard of departments doing them," said Palm Beach County sheriff's range master Layne Schultetus. "I didn't know there was a department in Florida doing them. Fatigue is a big problem." Pasco has also trained its road deputies in 12-hour sessions. Pinellas, Hernando and Citrus county sheriff's offices don't do 12-hour firearm training days. The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office only does 12-hour training days for deputies getting annual recertification, not for deputies training on new weapons. Pasco officials point to the time of the accidents and say fatigue wasn't a factor. Both happened in the first day of training. Both happened in early afternoon, officials said. For Brzycki, her first shot hit her foot. Benn opted for two, 12-hour days per group so all 261 correction deputies who needed training could get it by the end of the year. (Other deputies transitioned to semiautomatic weapons in the early 1990s.) Qualifiers spend their first six hours of training in the classroom and the next 18 outside, Doll said. Every 45 minutes or so, they get a 15-minute break. To speak against the system, a deputy would have to speak against his superiors. They aren't doing that. "We get plenty of breaks," correction Sgt. Frank Pfleeger said. "It's not a problem." This is also the first time correction deputies -- most of whom don't regularly carry guns -- have fired sheriff-issued semiautomatic pistols. The semiautomatic guns hold more bullets and load more easily than the 11-year-old Smith & Wesson revolvers. Pasco officials said the range mishaps weren't related to a lack of familiarity with the new weapons. "You pull the trigger of either gun and a bullet's going to come out the end," said Lt. Kipper Connell, who oversees training. Indeed, the revolvers and the new semiautomatic Glocks are similar, said Steve Johnson, the president of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI). "The difference with that gun is how you load it and unload it," he said. But the new guns also fire much more easily. For most revolvers, it takes eight to 12 pounds of trigger pressure to make them fire. For Glocks, it takes about five, said Schultetus, who is on IALEFI's board of directors. The pressure from Brzycki's right index finger proved to be enough. When she shot herself, she was pulling the gun from her holster with her finger on the trigger, Doll said. Brostrom's left index finger did the same. Instructors warned him five times that day to not rest his finger on the trigger, Benn said. The sixth time he misfired. The deputies shoot at targets lined in front of a sand pile. They fire from under a canopy roof at distances of 3, 5, 7 yards and longer. In two days, they shoot 650 rounds. "The course is not difficult," Benn said. A 50-shot test determines passing or failing. The target is the outline of a body. The center is worth five points; the outer edges are four. It takes 200 points to pass. The sheriff's officials were unable to compile exact pass/fail figures, Doll said. But based on what they could find: Since 1990, less than 3.5 percent of deputies failed the semiautomatic certification on their first try. Correction deputies are failing at a 5 percent rate. "It hasn't been higher to the point it's raised concern from the sheriff," Connell said. After Benn's speech earlier this month, the 16 deputies took to the range. "Okay, people," Benn barked, "what we're going to work on is slide forward reload drills." He explained. Then: "Ready, shoot," he said. Casings popped from the guns. "Look at how many thousands of rounds have been fired," said Capt. Rick Neal. Two went awry. "If somebody got hurt," Schultetus said, "one incident is a lot." -- Staff writer Ryan Davis is the police reporter in Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245, or toll-free at 800-333-7505, ext. 6245. His e-mail address is
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