OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. (WAVE/LEX 18) — Two rookie Kentucky State Police troopers are off the job just weeks after graduating from the academy after being accused of firing an accidental shot from a gun through the floor of their apartment and into a unit below.
Now, the pair are being investigated by internal affairs for what they did not do.
The incident brought confusion, and a very close call.
"This is the hole where it happened, " KeeKee Todd told WAVE 3 News as she pointed to where the bullet came in through her ceiling. "My oldest daughter was sitting about right here, my youngest was sitting on the couch right here."
That was the scene in the Todd's family home Saturday night at their Oldham Oaks apartment in La Grange.
"I was like covering up my head because I didn't know what was happening, and then I looked up and then I saw smoke coming from that," Kay'Leah Todd, KeeKee's daughter, explained.
Above them live Kentucky State Police Troopers Landon Terry and Dustin Gross. Both men were off duty at the time.
"They were attempting to unload a weapon, didn't follow the proper steps in doing so, and in trying to unload it that's when it was accidentally discharged," KSP Sgt. Josh Lawson told WAVE.
The bullet landed just feet from two of the Todd's daughters, but the troopers' intent is not what is under investigation. After the gun went off, police say Gross and Terry did not go downstairs to make sure their neighbors were okay.
"We would expect anybody who is involved in a similar situation whether they be police officer, civilian, trooper or otherwise that if they are involved in such an incident that their first thought would be to go downstairs and check on the safety of those below them," Lawson said.
As far as discipline goes, WAVE reports it could range from no punishment all the way to dismissal. If the men do stay with the department they could be required to do additional training.
Kentucky State Police say they are lucky they are dealing with property damage and embarrassed troopers and not anything worse.
"The human in you of being just a human being... should've at least just came down here to say are the people down there okay," KeeKee Todd said.
