Bullet Explodes On Ground After Saddle Brook Cop Drops It

SADDLE BROOK, N.J. - A bullet exploded and shot off after township police office dropped it on the ground Tuesday morning, Chief Robert J. Kugler.

The officer was out in the field and getting into his patrol car when the plastic tip at the end of his .40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun dislodged from the magazine, causing the bullets to fall out of the gun, Kugler said. The officer took the bullets into the car and went back to the police station.

When the officer returned to the station, he got out of the car and dropped one of the bullets on the ground, Kugler said, and it "exploded."

"The officer was startled to say the least," Kugler said. "By the grace of God not he nor anyone else was struck by the bullet."

The chief said he doesn't believe the bullet traveled any "significant distance," maybe up to 50 feet. Police were still trying to locate the bullet Tuesday afternoon. The shell casing was found in the parking lot, Kugler said.

Kugler said the accident may have something to do with the fact that the officer is left-handed. The butt of the gun could have hit part of the car door, he said.

Another left-handed officer had a magazine fall apart on him recently, the chief said.