no earthly idea what an LEO is, but I have been shooting since 11 and am also ex military.
Herres one for you. During basic training as I am sure you know, you are shown how to safely handle and operate the rifle which happens to be your countries main service weapon.
During my basic training the service rifle was called the L1A1 it was a Self Loading Rifle (SLR). A semi-automatic 7.62 Nato calibre gas blowback rifle with a 30 rd magazine based on the Belgina FN-FAL
During training with dummy rounds, after pulling the trigger, it was necessary to recock the rifle using the cocking handle. obviously the instructor explained to all in the class that when we were using live rounds in a firefight or during our target practice we would not need to recock the rifle manually as the gases from the just fired round would operate the cocking mechanism for us.
A day later, at a time so early that the grass was still sodden with dew and mist was rising off the pristinely maintained lawns and embankments of my training camp. We as a unit marched to the firing range, were given our range breifing and safety instructions, issued with our ear defence and placed on the range. The gentleman next to me on my right hand side as we assumed the prone position in our assigned lanes shall forever remain nameless. He was training to be a medic and this was likely to be the only time he was ever going to fire a rifle, excepting of course that once a year he would have to show his competency. Having loaded a magazine with ten rounds, we were told to load the magazines. Cycle the action and take aim at our target infront. 16 men now lay on a firing platform with the business end of a 7.62 cal rifle pointing at the scary paper targets less than 100m away. The order to fire was given and the noise rippled across the grounds as the guns were fired. Remembering to count my rounds I was on my 6th round when I noticed movement on my right. Thinking he had suffered a misfire or a jam I continued to fire the 6th, 7th and eighth rounds, following up with the ninth and tenth. Then removed my magazine. Cycled the action three times manually and performed the cock hook and look maneuver designed to allow my range instructor to ascertain that the breech was clear and no rounds remained.
I was given the all clear and returned to the rear of the range. As I made my way off my platform I noticed some rounds lying on the floor between me and my un-named colleague, 5 unfired rounds to be precise and among them were 5 fired and empty cartridges. I was therefore in a superb position to hear the following conversation.
"Whats the problem xxxx(name withheld ?"
" Its only fired 5 rounds Sergeant", said the unfortunate individual. The Sergeant took control of the rifle and released the magazine to show it was completely empty. A quick look around confirmed his suspicions and the five dirty, and unfired rounds were unceremoniously crammed back into the magazine and returned to the shooter with the prophetic words.
" listen shitstain, it loads itself, you do NOT need to pull the cocking lever after after every shot understand ? just to load the very first one ok ? i hope these rounds catch in the barel and blow the gun up in your face you stupid prick"
Thats right folks, the poor sap on my right had been recocking the rifle after every fired round ejecting an unfired round . not a horrible safety problem well provided you weren't in a firefight but a horrible waste odf ammo.