BAKERSFIELD Ca - Officer shot in hand while examining illegal homemade gun

OFF THE WIRE

Officer shot in hand while examining illegal homemade gun

THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN |

Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
 Bakersfield Police Department officers look over the scene of a shooting that occurred after a traffic stop by a BPD officer on a motorcycle rider. The officer stopped the rider on a traffic stop and after running a check on him found out the rider had a felony warrant. The officer took the suspect into custody and when he went to pick up an object the suspect had dropped, the object, identified as a zip gun, discharged hitting the officer on his hand. A zip gun is a metal cylindrical object that can fire one bullet and is capable of a lethal wound. Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Bakersfield Police Department detective Rick Dossey looks over a zip gun that discharged after a BPD officer picked it up after taking a felony warrant suspect into custody. The zip gun discharged hitting the officer on his hand. A zip gun is a metal cylindrical object that can fire one bullet and is capable of a lethal wound. The officer had stopped a motorcycle rider on a traffic stop and after running a check on him found out the rider had a felony warrant. The officer took the suspect into custody and when he went to pick up an object the suspect had dropped, it discharged. Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Bakersfield Police Department officers look over the scene of a shooting that occurred after a traffic stop by a BPD officer on a motorcycle rider. The officer stopped the rider on a traffic stop and after running a check on him found out the rider had a felony warrant. The officer took the suspect into custody and when he went to pick up an object the suspect had dropped, the object, identified as a zip gun, discharged hitting the officer on his hand. A zip gun is a metal cylindrical object that can fire one bullet and is capable of a lethal wound. Henry A. Barrios / The Californian The zip gun involved in a BPD officer shooting near Winco Foods on Coffee Road. A Bakersfield police officer's hands and face were injured after he picked up a metal cylinder that turned out to be a homemade gun.
The gun went off as Officer David Pence examined it, according to a Bakersfield Police Department news release. Pence was treated at a local hospital.
The events leading to Pence's injuries began at 8:46 a.m. Tuesday when he pulled over a man on a motorcycle in the 4200 block of Coffee Road for vehicle code violations, the news release said. Pence determined the driver, Larry Gene Norrod, 35, was driving on a suspended license and was wanted for a parole violation.
Pence arrested Norrod and placed him in a patrol car, the news release said.
Pence had noticed Norrod drop an item after being stopped, the news release said. He found the item -- a 6-inch metal tube -- on the ground and picked it up to inspect it.
The item, capable of firing a 9mm bullet, went off in his hand, the news release said. Pence's left hand was injured by the shot and he suffered powder burns on his hands and face.
Detective Ben Herrera said this type of homemade gun, commonly called a "zip gun," is designed for one shot. It's illegal to own or make one.
Norrod was arrested on suspicion of possession of an illegal weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, being a felon in possession of a gun, driving on a suspended license, expired registration, false display of registration tags and the parole violation, the news release said.
Norrod was pulled over at an entrance to a strip mall along the east side of Coffee Road, with China Bistro just to the south and Bank of the Sierra to the north. Police tape closed off the entrance and portions of the parking lot to the north and south.
At one point, at least 17 officers, detectives and other BPD personnel were within the roped off area talking among themselves. A black helmet and what appeared to be a brown backpack were lying on the sidewalk next to the motorcycle.