By Suzie Ziegler
TAYLOR, Mich. — After a man was shot in the abdomen, police in Michigan are investigating how a live round was introduced to a police training exercise on Sunday.
A citizen was role-playing during a training scenario with the Taylor Police Department’s auxiliary police unit when he was shot, reported FOX 2 Detroit. Auxiliary officers were practicing a vehicle take-down exercise when someone fired their service weapon.
The Michigan State Police is now investigating how that happened.
“A live weapon was somehow brought into a training scenario,” said Lt. Mike Shaw of the Michigan State Police. “There was a live weapon that was introduced in the training exercise, striking the role-player in the abdomen.”
Shaw says the citizen is expected to recover. According to the report, the gunshot victim is a relative of one of the auxiliary officers.
“It’s fortunate that no one was killed during an incident like that,” Shaw added.
The Taylor Police Department’s Auxiliary Program consists of 35 volunteer officers who train twice a week and patrol at least 20 hours per month, according to the report. Auxiliary officers are “charged with providing a ready standby force to assist the Uniform Division […] in times of emergency,” according to the city’s website. Auxiliary officers assist with certain crime prevention programs, patrols and special events, FOX 2 reported.