Former deputy explains ‘friendly fire’ that possibly killed officer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After investigators revealed Memphis Police Officer Joseph McKinney may have been killed by friendly fire, there are many questions as to how such a tragedy could have happened.
MPD officer may have been killed by ‘friendly fire,’ D.A.’s office says
Bennie Cobb spent 40 years in law enforcement and now teaches gun safety to the public from his Bartlett business. Cobb says there’s no routine call for officers, and the tragedy Friday in southwest Memphis that claimed the life of Officer Joseph McKinney proves it.
“You have a police officer that’s been killed, possibility it was friendly fire, now you have whoever the person who accidentally fired the shots gonna have to live with that for the rest of their lives,” Cobb said.
Cobb says the training manual on how officers should respond in such a volatile situation sounds pretty basic.
“Don’t get involved in a cross-fire in which you are directly across from your partner or somebody that’s friendly,” Cobb said. “Cover is your best friend. We always emphasize in training to utilize cover.”
But Cobb says with more than a dozen officers responding, pandemonium sets in.
“You cannot be trained to deal with a barrage of bullets coming at you. You’re human,” Cobb said. “Number one, you don’t want to get hurt. You don’t want to get killed.”
Cobb says TBI forensics will be able to trace where the bullets came from that killed McKinney because he says each bullet has its own identity, a type of fingerprint unique to the gun that fired it.
He says unfortunately getting that answer won’t bring McKinney back.
“It’s a tragedy multiplied by ten times. Of course, my sympathy and my condolences go out to Officer Mckinney’s family,” Cobb said.
WREG has learned that multiple Memphis Police officers were placed on leave immediately following last Friday’s shooting. MPD says it’s a routine procedure when officers are involved in incidents like this.
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