RIVERDALE, Utah – The police chief in Riverdale accidentally shot himself in an ankle while demonstrating how to dislodge a jammed handgun.
Chief Dave Hansen was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden for surgery.
The 54-year-old chief accidentally fired a gun during a training exercise inside a conference room at Riverdale police headquarters.
A fire captain and Riverdale Mayor Bruce Burrows confirmed the chief shot himself Saturday in an ankle bone. They said he was trying to fix a gun with a jammed round when the bullet fired.
Riverdale police officers carry .40-caliber pistols.
Hospital supervisor Rohn Larsen said Hansen was in stable condition Sunday. Larsen said he couldn't reveal which ankle — left or right — the chief shot.
A Weber County dispatcher said nobody from the Riverdale police department was available Sunday to release any information on the accident. A patrol officer on duty Sunday said he didn't know anything about it.
The chief's brother, a state lawmaker, said Hansen is a 23-year veteran and chief of the Riverdale police force since 2006.
Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, said he regularly goes target practicing with his brother and described him as safety-conscious.
"I've never seen him do anything reckless," Neil Hansen told the Standard-Examiner of Ogden.
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