Charles Darwin with a purple swarm around his head, contemplating the twist of fate that natural selection sidestepped these still-living honorable mentions.

2002 Honorable Mention

Next Prev Random Honorable Mentions have misadventures that stop short of the ultimate sacrifice. Nevertheless we salute the spirit of their colossal blunders with an Honorable Mention. Better luck next time!

I Shot the Sheriff
2002 Honorable Mention
Confirmed True by Darwin

(19 March 2002, Ohio) "Shots fired, shots fired -- I'm hit," a police chief radioed to headquarters. The 52-year-old officer reported that he'd been shot in the leg during an incident that began as a routine traffic stop.

He had pulled over a rusted Chevrolet missing its license plates, but before he could emerge from his police cruiser, the driver had opened fire and put a bullet through the cruiser's windshield. The suspect then charged the chief, who was shot in the leg during the ensuing struggle.

A statewide manhunt was launched to locate the gunman, described as a white, bearded male, 6' 4" tall and weighing 195 pounds.

One week later, the law enforcement team nabbed their man: the police chief himself, who confessed to fabricating the entire event to hide a blunder. He had accidentally fired his rifle through the windshield of his police car. To cover up that mistake, he drove out to a county road, radioed in for help, and fired his weapon to make it sound like there was trouble at the scene of a traffic stop. Then he accidentally fired his weapon again, striking his own leg.

To inadvertently discharge a weapon once might be considered a simple accident, but twice earns this police chief an Honorable Mention. Had that shot ricocheted... he might have won a Darwin Award instead!

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Submitted by: Dave Temple, Greg
Reference: Cleveland / Akron Channel 5 News

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