I-Team: Gun Holster May Have Played Role In Accidental Discharge After Officer's Funeral

BOSTON (CBS) - Sources say the internal investigation into an accidental shooting after a Weymouth police officer's funeral is focusing on the gun holsters the Cranston Police officers use.

Investigators are looking at the possibility that the equipment may have played a role in what could have been a potentially deadly accident.

Just hours after burying one of their own, a gun accidentally went off at a police staging area. No one was shot, but two MIT police officers were injured by flying debris.

Tom Nolan, a professor of criminal justice says this could have been tragic, "you're at a solemn event to pay respects in midst of thousands of other officers." This incident, he says, will never be forgotten by the officer who discharged his weapon.

The I-Team was the first to report the incident that happened after Weymouth Sergeant Michael Chesna's funeral. Braintree Police says a Cranston, Rhode Island sergeant accidentally discharged his gun on the department's bus.

That sergeant told investigators, "he was changing out of his honor guard uniform and took his gun belt off. While trying to put the belt away his weapon fell from the holster and he tried to catch it, which caused the weapon to discharge." The bullet hit the pavement and parts of asphalt debris hit the two MIT female officers who were walking past the bus.

The I-Team has learned investigators are now focusing on the gun holsters the Cranston Department uses and if the equipment may have been an issue in the accidental discharge. Nolan telling WBZ, "guns don't go off accidentally, you have to pull the trigger and however that occurred will be determined by the investigation."

The two officers injured suffered minor injuries. One was hit in the hand by debris the other hit just above the eye. The sergeant who accidently discharged his gun remains on active duty. Cranston Police say their internal investigation is ongoing.