Cop Shoots Fellow BART Officer ~by Legal Pub

The job of a law enforcement officer is tough enough without worrying about friendly fire.  That applies to all law enforcement including Bay Area Rapid Transit police in California. Nevertheless, Tom Smith, a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer is accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer Tuesday. Apparently, the officers were conducting a search at a home in the East Bay city of Dublin, CA when the accident occurred around 2 p.m. BART Police officers were following up on a crime that was committed at an apartment in Dublin which was BART property. 

While inside the apartment, an unnamed BART officer fired a shot which wounded fellow officer Sgt. Tom Smith who later died at a hospital.  Details of the shooting have been slow to emerge..

Sgt. Tom Smith, Jr., was a 42-year-old veteran with more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement. The officer who fired the shot had more than 10 years experience. Both officers were apparently wearing bulletproof vests.  The officers were apparently in the apartment to serve a warrant for a suspect who was wanted in connection with several robberies on BART property. Apparently, when the officers knocked on the apartment's door, no one answered.  The door was unlocked so the police entered with guns drawn per police protocol.  

Sgt. Smith's body was removed from the hospital late Tuesday in a casket draped in an American flag. Police saluted the casket as it was placed in the Coroner's van. This was the first death of an officer in the line of duty in the BART  history.  The Dublin Police Department is continuing to investigate the accidental shooting.