A former Kentucky police officer has filed a lawsuit against a sporting goods store after he shot his finger off with a loaded gun.

Former officer Darrel Smith said he did not know the gun was loaded when the Barren Outdoors store clerk handed him the gun.

Smith was looking at a Sig Sauer 'Copperhead' .380-caliber handgun, which was a trade-in. In the video you can see him examine the gun before trying the trigger, and then a shot follows, taking off his index finger and severely damaging his middle finger.

Smith's lawyer, B. Alan Simpson, told WAFB he "was just checking the action on the gun and unbeknownst to him, it was loaded."

Some critics have questioned why Smith pulled the trigger, to which Simpson replied:

"It is not unusual for someone to dry fire a gun. Whether it's good for the gun or not is a another issue, but that's going to happen and that's why a gun store should never, ever hand a loaded weapon to someone."

Smith is filing the lawsuit, saying he has not received any wages since the incident in March of 2014 and he can no longer work as a police officer.

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