The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson

Teachable Moments Will Dabbs
The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
Deputy Adam Brown was a good cop who made some really bad decisions.

By all accounts Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Brown was a good man and a committed cop. A Bay County Sheriff’s Deputy in Bay City, Michigan, Brown spent more than 21 years as a Law Enforcement Officer. Most of that time was invested as a school resource officer at Bay City Western High School and Middle School. In 2012 Brown was named Police Officer of the Year. 

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
Guns are inherently dangerous. That’s kind of the point. For those of us who spend a lot of time around them, Adam Brown’s experience serves as an object lesson.

On April 23, 2018, Deputy Adam Brown went to jail. Through a series of events that was most unfortunate, he accidentally shot a teacher named Brenda Amthor in the neck with a .380ACP handgun. Though Amthor’s wound was thankfully superficial, she has justifiably struggled with the subsequent trauma of the event. The circumstances that led up to the shooting stand as an object lesson for anybody who spends time around guns.

The Infamous Negligent Discharge

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
My transition from this world to being a college student again took about two weeks. It was a weird experience.

After I left the Army, I returned home to finish my prerequisites for medical school. For two semesters I was a 31-year-old former Army officer amidst hundreds of enthusiastic young college students. While I was back in school that year there was an accident involving our local University Police Department.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
The Glock 17 is one of the most popular Law Enforcement handguns in the world. However, it has its eccentricities.

The UPD cops carried Glock 17 9mm handguns. They had a professional development class one day on weapons maintenance. I really would have thought that by the time you were packing a gun professionally you would have known all about that. However, one of the female police officers in the second row retrieved her weapon, removed the magazine, and squeezed the trigger to disassemble the pistol without having cleared the gun. The round struck the officer seated ahead of her in the shoulder. He survived, but it was a mess.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
These guys are justifiably intolerant of negligent discharges.

There was an understandable furor over this. The UPD chief was interviewed for the school paper and said that essentially accidents sometimes happen and that it wasn’t that big a deal. I had worn the uniform two months before and couldn’t let that go unchallenged. I wrote the paper explaining that a negligent discharge in an operational environment was the unforgivable sin among most serious military units. If you were trusted to carry a weapon among civilians there was an implicit assumption that you would know how to maintain the gun without inadventently shooting somebody. 

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
The SIG M17 doesn’t require a trigger pull for disassembly.

Most striker-fired pistol designs like the Glock must have their triggers pulled prior to disassembly. All serious gunmen appreciate this as a potential weak link in the safety chain and check our weapons multiple times before pointing them in a safe direction and squeezing the trigger. Those companies whose weapons do not require a trigger pull for disassembly rightfully trumpet this fact as a safety feature.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
Carrying a gun for personal defense is a serious responsibility.

The major players in this sad tale eventually got different jobs outside of Law Enforcement, but the teaching point remains. If you’re going to carry a gun then learn absolutely everything there is to know about it and respect the weapon. Personally I would much sooner be helpless in the face of a threat than to cause harm to come to someone I love. That mantra drives my gun handling and my compulsive drive to practice.

The Shooting

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
School Resource Officers are an unfortunate but vital part of modern life in America.
The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
Serving as a positive role model for kids at an impressionable age is part of the job description for an SRO.

School resource officers are a fairly modern thing. The very fact that we feel compelled to post armed Law Enforcement Officers in our schools is just sad. However, these SRO’s perform an undeniably laudable function. In addition to providing an effective layer of practical security, they serve as positive role models and help the kids come to view cops as the good guys. The SRO who failed to intervene during the critical early moments of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting was a glaring exception. However, in the case of Adam Brown, all involved attested that he was a pervasive force for good in his school.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
I always liked Physics. The Physics lab has some of the coolest toys.

The day in question was a Friday. Deputy Brown was in the robotics classroom alone with the robotics teacher. There were no kids present. Brown had brought a couple of his personally-owned handguns to school that day. His plan was to use a machine in the robotics lab to assess the trigger pulls on a 9mm Springfield Armory EMP as well as an unspecified .380ACP SIG SAUER pistol.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
Deputy Brown went back to the Physics lab to fiddle and made a rookie mistake.

Under the robotics teacher’s supervision, Brown tested the trigger on the EMP successfully. They then both left the lab. Brown returned alone later with his SIG and set it up in the machine. However, he had failed to clear the weapon and left a live round in the chamber. When he activated the machine the handgun fired.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
As you might imagine, a bullet bouncing around a place like this was fairly disruptive.

The .380ACP round punched through two layers of drywall into the neighboring occupied classroom. Inside were thirty students and Ms. Amthor. The round angled toward the ceiling, scraped a ceiling tile, and hit a cement wall. From there the attenuated bullet zipped across the room and struck Amthor in the neck. Though her wound was subsequently described as a “scratch” that did not require medical attention onsite, the ultimate outcome could have obviously been far worse.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
One bad decision followed by another that was epically worse landed this guy in jail.

At this point in our tale things are bad but not yet catastrophic. No one had been irrevocably harmed, and the entire ghastly episode was clearly a horrible accident. What Deputy Brown did next, however, took things to a whole new level.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
A spent bullet tells a story. In this case it nailed a cop.

Deputy Brown was summoned and held discussions with school staff regarding the origins of the bullet. They actually gave the spent projectile to Brown for safekeeping. At this point he did not admit to having fired the weapon in question. The school was locked down for obvious reasons. With each passing minute Brown dug himself a deeper hole. By now quite justifiably desperate, Deputy Brown discarded the bullet outside in a grassy space covered with leaves.  

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
Police dogs are so cool. Their senses eclipse our own. If these guys had opposable thumbs we’d be fetching their slippers.

A stray bullet transiting an occupied classroom and striking a teacher in the neck is not the sort of thing that is easily swept under the rug. Cops descended upon the school en masse and began combing the school grounds for evidence. A K-9 officer located the spent bullet in the school yard. Those police dogs are a force of nature.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
Once the details came to light Deputy Brown was doomed.

At that point Deputy Brown’s story unraveled. He came clean on the details and submitted himself to the criminal justice system. He subsequently lost his job, paid restitution, and spent 30 days in jail.

The Guns

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
The Springfield Armory EMP 9mm is a svelte and effective concealed carry weapon.

The Springfield Armory EMP is a concealed carry version of the esteemed 1911 handgun. EMP stands for Enhanced Micro Pistol. The EMP puts the crisp single action trigger and combat-proven controls of the 1911 into a package small and comfortable enough for daily carry. The EMP is designed from the ground up around the 9mm Parabellum cartridge.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
The SIG P238 is a trim little single-action .380ACP pocket gun.

I couldn’t find the specific SIG model that was involved in this accident. The SIG 238 is a subcompact single action .380ACP carry gun based upon the basic 1911 action. The P238 feeds from a single-stack 6-round magazine and is small enough to ride in the front pocket of your jeans. 

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
SIG has produced the .380ACP P230 and P232 for years, but they are rare on this side of the pond.

The SIG P230 and P232 are trim .380ACP single action/double action autoloaders made in Germany. Importation of these weapons has been discontinued since 2014. Balance of probability the gun in this instance was actually the single action P238.

The Rest of the Story

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
The judge in this case seemed like he was going to great lengths to be fair. However, justice was ultimately served.

The judge in the case was clearly sympathetic. He said in court, “For a guy that has spent his adult life concerned about firearms safety, this was a very adolescent act. But there are more important aspects of this case. There are two reasons I would surmise that police officers are in school. One is the obvious one of security, and the second one is as a role model. It appears for many, many years you were exemplary as a role model. You made a very poor decision to lie about what happened. You attempted to destroy evidence, or to hide it. What you did was a very human decision — one that many of us might make.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
I like to think I would have handled this situation differently. However, it’s hard to really gauge how you’d respond after a mistake of this magnitude.

“We never know when faced with the decision to do the right thing or the wrong thing what we will do when faced with that pressure. You were under great pressure, you were frightened, you were embarrassed, in fear of losing your job, your reputation, your career. Many of us being human may not have had the courage to do the right thing, but it was the wrong decision. The court needs to take cognizance that it was the wrong decision.

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
At the end of the day Deputy Brown had to spend a month in jail and find a new profession. One strike and you’re out when it comes to accidentally discharging a firearm in a High School Physics lab.

“I feel that because of the circumstances, it’s necessary I impose some incarceration. I need to show the school community that even good people who make mistakes need to be punished.”

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
I can’t tell if this guy is a habitual liar or just forgetful. I don’t suppose it makes much difference in the grand scheme.

There are several timeless messages here. From a basic morality point of view it is always better to just face your failings and deal with the fallout. Trying to lie your way out of a problem never works, unless you’re a politician or a lawyer. In that case it is sort of your job (That’s a joke. All the attorneys in the audience please stop sticking pins into dolls bearing my likeness. To the politicians, well, whatever…I call it like I see it).

The Sordid Tale of Deputy Adam Brown: An Object Lesson
You never get enough gun experience under your belt to justify overlooking the basics. Treat every weapon like it is loaded, obey the basic gun safety rules, and cultivate a paranoid lifelong compulsion for the details and you’ll never have the sort of experience that torpedoed Deputy Brown’s career.

As gun guys, we always need to appreciate what an awesome responsibility it is to wander about with the means of taking human life tucked into our belts. I am completely comfortable around firearms and thankfully have never had an accidental discharge in hundreds of thousands of rounds fired. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t. Responsible gun ownership is a higher calling. We should remain ever cognizant of that reality.

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  • Incredulous May 15, 2023, 10:46 am

    The term “accidental discharge” isn’t exactly accurate but “negligent discharge” carrie’s a judgmental tone and is used only by those who have yet to experience this terrible situation. How about using “unintentional discharge”, since that is both accurate and not filled with smug superiority? You
    Might think it will never happen to you but it can happen to anybody. Especially if you are stupid enough to carry a Glock, which not only has to have its trigger pulled before disassembly but it also has no effective, user applied safeties (that little clitoris on the trigger is absolutely useless).

  • Jay August 25, 2022, 9:12 am

    I can tell you flat out none of us are exempt from making a mistake. This guy made a bad error in judgement which was irresponsible on CYA. I’ve been around firearms for over 55 years and had my first brain fart discharge of a weapon a few years back. I failed to pull the charging handle back far enough when clearing the chamber of an AR and failed again for not physically looking in the chamber after doing so, my usual second check. It went bang on subsequent trigger pull when pointed in a safe direction and a hole in the wall. Now its three times clearing the weapon is the charm! Never think years of training and using them is a substitute for making the necessary checks, even repeated one’s. I can admit my screw ups and learn a lesson now burned into my brain, not to mention my ringing ears! Stay safe folk’s!

    • grifhunter February 6, 2023, 2:06 pm

      Good comment. AD’s are far more common amongst experienced shooters that the online gun community will admit. 90% are occuring after removing the magazine on a semi-auto and failing to clear the chamber. Which compels the question as to whether magazine safeties would prevent these bone headed errors.
      All the operators out there, spare me the “but I may need to shoot while reloading” comments.

      Self defense shootings are extremely rare. Gun fights where the good guy is hurt because his gun is empty and he’s hit while reloading a mag safety equipped handgun is more an abstract hypothetical than realized experience. Way more real recurring tragedy from the “I thought it was empty” scenario.

  • Bill F August 22, 2022, 9:57 pm

    Interesting and important article addressing a critical safety issue and well as post event behavior. That said, I could have done without the side comments. After all, this is a gun user forum.

    • Big Al 45 August 23, 2022, 1:03 pm

      Sure, lets just have a dry, cold article. Will’s wit is one of the reasons I read his stuff.
      BTW, does your last comment mean we’re all supposed to be serious guys (and gals) ALL of the time????
      How boring is that?

    • Comanche August 24, 2022, 5:53 pm

      I thought the good Dr. from Ms. told an OUTSTANDING story as usual, God bless Dr. Will & fam. and thank you for your service Maj.
      Comanche out!!!%

  • charles nasello August 22, 2022, 9:37 pm

    I myself has seen the results of careless firearm handling that took the life of a friend of mine.
    When I was serving in the Army in Vietnam in 1969 a fellow soldier was playing with a m16 pointing it at everyone acting stupid and before I could stop him it went off striking my friend in the head.
    A needless waste from a trained soldier who was stupidly careless. I testified against him and he received
    not so deserved (light) sentence for a senseless preventable act. Needless to say I am more than careful with and around firearms. Just think.

  • Todd August 22, 2022, 5:25 pm

    There’s a good article and good information above if one aggressively self-edits while reading.

    The distractions and tangental meanderings are decidedly unfortunate for myself and 4 others that I personally know who have read it.

    I won’t list any of the distractions but if one outlines the subject, attaches supporting information – even if anecdotal – and then adds in a bare (if any) personal history or observations for relevant perspective – fine. However, side-tracks that don’t directly amplify the outline… well, many readers get lost as to the point, bored and skip on or click off.

    • Frank August 23, 2022, 7:12 am

      To Each His Own… and we are still (mostly) permitted Freedom of Speech. Nit-picking style criticism however, of a decades-long & highly successful contributor to firearms publications, does absolutely nothing to foster positive discussion, or goodwill. At your own suggestion, just “click off”. Dabb’s column will most likely survive just the same.

      • Incredulous May 15, 2023, 10:51 am

        Not sure why Frank felt the need to whinge about Todd’s comment. Todd made an excellent point and, hopefully, Dr. Dabbs read it. Maybe Frank should just ignore comments he doesn’t like. Like I do!

  • Mike in a Truck August 22, 2022, 12:52 pm

    Ive come to the conclusion that Civilian law enforcement as a whole should be nowheres near semi automatic pistols. Spare me how you are a certified this or that for 30 years- you are the exception not the rule. LEO gunhandling in this country is dismal. If I were Grand Poobah of the World ( good ‘thin I’m not) all law enforcement would be forced to carry revolvers. They just cant be trusted with anything else.

    • Bob G. August 22, 2022, 6:08 pm

      Sadly, I have to agree with >Mike in a truck<. However, revolvers while being (almost) idiot-proof, sadly lack in the round-count category. After a 30+ year career as a LEO, and making the transition from S&W Model 10's to Glock 19''s (and later, other makes/models), due to 'manpower'' and 'budget' requirements, in order to become intimately familiar with their use, LEO's are NEVER given enough continuing familiarity training and firing time with their sidearms. Do you want inoffensive, 'woke,' culturally/ethnically/gender-aware "officer friendlies" or do you want people who enforce your jurisdictions laws and public order ordinances? It's all a matter of department's (and their political master's) priorities.

    • Anna August 23, 2022, 9:18 am

      It’s not semi or revolver that’s the solution. The problem isn’t the gun and it’s only the training when it comes to lack of prioritizing it. The real problem comes from administrations that have turned from hiring cops to be cops, when instead they want social workers with a badge.

      What they should be seeking is hunters, (no not guys who go into the woods in November— but that’s fine too); no they should actively seek people who possess the mindset to hunt criminals. They do not need to be huggers who hand out teddy bears.

      Cops should be just a bit scary and not sheepdogs (what a goofy description). If you insist on the dog description then perhaps they should be guard dogs; but I prefer Apex Predators with criminals as their prey.

      Hire cops to be cops and let them hunt. Dispatch should not take silly calls for service that disrupt the hunt. “My boyfriend hurt my feelings” and “my neighbor blows his grass clippings on my lawn” and “there’s a boat trailer parked on the street” and and and… These are not Police calls. They aren’t even Non-Emergency calls. They are incidents that should be handled by adults not the Police.

      Let cops be cops

  • Anna August 22, 2022, 11:23 am

    Sadly firearms in the modern police ladder of training is a low priority (despite what they will claim in a post shooting lawsuit). They spend far more time on community relations and cultural understanding classes. The new target for law enforcement candidates is that of a friend maker instead of a criminal hunter. Police administrators don’t want aggressive cops seeking criminals, they want cops who won’t hurt feelings.

    Sadder still is that SROs are chosen not because they are good strong motivated cops; but because they will be likable to the school staff and students. Too many SROs are picked because they aren’t aggressive street cops. It’s a position that some consider a retirement job because it’s Monday thru Friday day work hours. It’s no standing in the rain directing traffic. It’s days off for snow and pick your summer vacation. SROs should be just a little bit frightening to students and staff; but then so should all cops.

    Cops should all be expert shots and have to qualify more than twice a year. SROs should be better trained than street cops and be able to make shots at least the length of the longest hallways in their schools. They should but too many don’t. This is not a condemnation of all SROs or even all cops but it should be a wake up to police administrators who short training in favor of community policing policies because if we can’t protect our children then we can’t protect our streets.

    • Comanche August 24, 2022, 6:22 pm

      EXCELLENT Anna! Your observations are just the tip of the iceberg I think, Leo management believes firearms are a necessary evil and believe everything M. Bloomberg says!

  • DEFENDER August 22, 2022, 11:10 am

    As a State and DHS Certified Instr and weekly Combat Competition Shooter:

    I teach Noob shooters a lot –
    To Start – Across a table with discussions of guns, safety, ammo, etc.
    With many guns laying on a table, Unloaded and Muzzles in Safe Direction.
    And I Demonstrate – Gun Handling – All Directions – WITH Strict Muzzle Discipline.
    Standing, Sitting, etc.

    I Obey All the Rules – Always. And Demonstrate All.
    BUT
    My #1 Rule is “MUZZLE DISCIPLINE”

    Even when all my guns are laid on a table for display.
    But especially in Handling. And I Demonstrate it in all directions – Up, Down, Level, etc.

    Obey Just that 1 Rule – MUZZLE DISCIPLINE – STRICTLY – And Noone will be shot.

    If you ALWAYS obey just THAT RULE – You can violate all the others and No One will be SHOT.
    It might get LOUD On Occasion BUT – NO ONE WILL BE SHOT.

    I Always ck STATUS of ANY GUN “I” might pick-up or be handed.

    BUT – MUZZLE DISCIPLINE IS #1.
    Even or Especially while checking Gun Status.

    • Allen B August 22, 2022, 1:51 pm

      I agree muzzle discipline is vitally important, don’t point a firearm at anything you don’t want to kill or destroy, but not #1. Number 1 is clear the firearm, make 110% sure the firearm is unloaded, there is no magazine loaded and there is no round in the chamber. Also, when cleaning a firearm, after clearing it, don’t even have ammo close by.

    • Frank August 23, 2022, 7:00 am

      KUDOS! For my entire life’s experience with firearms, muzzle discipline has always my first safety rule.

      Negligent discharges are entirely avoidable. So is falling out of a tree stand… yet both happen far too regularly. Keeping the business end of a firearm pointed in a direction, that will not threaten life/limb (unless intended), is the ultimate safety strap.

      My “second” rule is trigger finger discipline. If only those two rules are followed, no one gets hurt unintentionally. NOTE: I am assuming some level of common sense among responsible gun owners… like NOT letting a toddler play with “Daddy’s bang-bang”.

  • BOB W August 22, 2022, 9:50 am

    That was a good article until it wasn’t. It’s obvious who you voted for but when you consider that trump was caught in over 4,000 lies while he was in the White House (and he’s still doing it) it was crazy to associate President Biden with liars. Right comment, wrong president. And for Gods sake, if you own a gun don’t be a jerk!

    • John Boutwell August 22, 2022, 1:05 pm

      See COVID, see inflation, see woke bullshit!

    • Shanz August 22, 2022, 2:19 pm

      I noticed you didn’t give even one example of how Trump lied 4000 times.
      On the other hand Dems lied about Covid, about Russia collusion, not shutting down fracking, 15 days to flatten the curve, freest and fairest election, vaccine effectiveness, BLM riots, Kyle Rittenhouse, inflation, gov spending, abandoning allies in Afghanistan to be killed, I can keep going…
      Sorry a picture of Biden triggers your TDS so much, it’s sorta sad and funny though.

    • Elmer Fudd August 22, 2022, 2:27 pm

      Ha, Ha. Love that 4,000 Trump lie number, Trump’s mean tweets and muh, orange man bad! Oh yeah, Russia, Russia Russia. Did you subtract all the Russia lies Trump supposedly said from your 4,000 number?

      Here’s my favorite lie:

      On July 21, 2021, President Joe Biden said during a CNN town hall, “You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations.” One year to the day, Joe Bite Me gets Covid!

      Go triple mask somewhere else Karen “Bob W” and get another Booster Shot while your out applying for you job to be an armed agent for the IRS. God, I hope you are responsible for anything important.

    • Hondo August 23, 2022, 6:46 am

      Are we being punked ? No one is this willfully stupid , oh wait it’s Boob W., never mind .

  • Jack Jackson August 22, 2022, 7:16 am

    The word you meant to use was ABJECT, not OBJECT. Yes, I’m nitpicking, but it matters as much as magazine and clip…

    • Will Dabbs August 22, 2022, 9:11 am

      Nope, object lesson. As in, per Webster, “a striking practical example of some principle or ideal.”

      • Bill Wordsworth August 22, 2022, 9:33 am

        That attempt at nitpicking was an abject failure.

    • MIke S. August 22, 2022, 10:08 am

      No, “abject” used as an adjective, as the word “object” is here used, means downcast or despicable, rejected. The adjective “object” means serving as an example. “Abject” is very often used incorrectly.

  • Kenny Kirkland August 22, 2022, 7:14 am

    Joe Biden is both, a habitual liar and now forgetful.

    • Richard August 22, 2022, 11:29 am

      Let’s go Brandon!

  • Steven Marcus August 22, 2022, 7:03 am

    Well put, Doc.
    In my time with the IDF and later working armed security as a civilian under the Israeli Government I never had an ND or an AD, mainly because it is DRILLED into our heads to rack the bolt/slide SEVERAL times, VIGOROUSLY before looking into the chamber to verify an empty gun.

    Additionally, that meant once a gun was verified to be empty (Israelis carry an empty chamber as a matter of SOP, this is the subject of heated debate till today) the trigger HAD to be pulled to lower the hammer.

    Back in the late 1980s and into the 1990s that meant the Browning Hi Power was the main gun used by security companies and you were NOT allowed to insert an empty magazine but rather….wait for it….you guessed it: your MIDDLE FINGER.

    I kid you not; if your finger couldn’t reach the magazine safety plunger face then you HAD to have a friend stick his finger inside your magazine well!

    And no, we weren’t allowed to remove the cursed magazine safety which would have improved our accuracy greatly…

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