A staff member of the Dallas Police Department was reportedly hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds on Tuesday after a firearm unexpectedly went off in the property room.
The employee was processing evidence in the property room on July 25 when a weapon was accidentally fired, hitting them in the arm.
DPD representatives confirmed the incident but did not identify the person who was wounded, according to The Dallas Morning News. It also remains unclear whether the person accidentally shot themselves with the weapon or if the firearm was being handled by another staff member.
Nonetheless, an internal DPD memo obtained by the DMN indicates that Dallas Police Chief Eddie García promptly reminded the department that safety protocols must be followed to prevent such incidents.
“We are lucky the injury was not more serious, and the employee will recover,” Chief García wrote in the memo. “Safety is paramount, not only for the people we serve, but for all members of our DPD family.”
He also expressed concern that the gun had not been “rendered safe” before being placed in the property room.
Noting the importance of ensuring that all firearms are processed correctly, García reminded the department about the procedures in place to properly secure different types of guns, including pistols, revolvers, and rifles.
DPD told the DMN it is still investigating the incident but did not provide further detail.
Operations at the police department have reportedly been hampered recently by the cyberattack that hit City servers in May, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
Computer systems dealing with crime reporting and emergency vehicles dispatch capabilities continue to lack full functionality, according to the City.
In an interview with The Dallas Express, Chief García explained that the cyberattack also affected DPD’s City’s Violent Crime Reduction Plan, which counts on crime data to identify violent crime hotspots around Dallas.
Meanwhile, the department is spread incredibly thin, facing a vast personnel shortage.
With roughly 3,100 police currently sworn in, DPD has far fewer than the estimated 4,000 officers needed to adequately patrol Dallas, per a City analysis suggesting that the force needs between 2.66 and 3.08 officers per 1,000 citizens.
