Montclair Officer Shot Herself, Inquiry Finds

MONTCLAIR — Police Det. Amy Nelson accidentally shot herself in the head at a firing range in March as she switched the gun between hands during a training exercise, according to an investigation report released Tuesday.

Investigators rejected an initial suggestion by authorities that Nelson was hit in the head by a bullet that ricocheted off a hard object at the range. FBI tests found no evidence that the bullet had hit anything before wounding Nelson.

Nelson, 44, a mother of three, had surgery to remove bullet fragments from her brain. She is now undergoing intense physical therapy after coming out of a coma last month. “She is making great progress. Amy can now talk but she is not able to sit up or walk because she still has some paralysis,” Montclair Police Capt. Kevin Piper said. “She has a long way to go.”

The March 17 accident at the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department shooting range in Devore occurred as Nelson, who is right-handed, began an exercise designed to train officers to shoot with their weaker hand, Piper said.

The report found no evidence that Nelson’s handgun malfunctioned or that the wound was intentionally self-inflicted.