Family suing State after Gaming Commission agent killed during weapons training exercise
Sarah Fowler
The Clarion-Ledger
4:36 p.m. CST January 22, 2016
The family of a slain Mississippi Gaming Commission agent is filing a claim against the state for wrongful death.
On Jan 21, 2015, Special Agent John Gorman was participating in a required weapons training exercise in Tunica held by the Gaming Commission.
Gorman, 45, had been named the commission's director of investigation the day before his death.
According to a news release issued on behalf of the family by attorney Hal Neilson, Gorman and other exercise participants removed and secured their weapons. The class instructor, Gaming Commission Special Agent Bob Sharp, kept his live weapon holstered at his side.
During the exercise, Sharp shot Gorman.
The details of the shooting were not provided. Neilson would not elaborate further.
The Tunica County Sheriff's Department, emergency medical technicians and an air ambulance responded to the scene.
The news release alleges that, despite the arrival of the air ambulance, Gorman was not transported to an hospital and lay dying for an hour.
"This failure to deliver MGC SA John Gorman to a nearby hospital was a contributing factor causing MGC SA John Gorman to die at the scene from the gunshot of MGC SA Sharp," the release stated.
Neilson said Gorman's wife, Summer Gorman, repeatedly asked for details of the shooting but was denied. The legal action is a way to obtain answers and "hold responsible the Mississippi Gaming Commission for the death of John Gorman and for the total disregard for public safety of civilians and other trainees."
The releases states an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation concluded Sharp violated "all training rules, regulations, protocols and polices."
MBI spokesman Warren Strain could not be reached for comment.
The family plans to file a claim against the state, the Mississippi Gaming Commission and Tunica County.
Neilson would notcomment further.
An attorney for the Gaming Commission could not be reached for comment.
Contact Sarah Fowler at sfowler@gannett.com or (601) 961-7303. Follow @FowlerSarah on Twitter.
Comments