An off-duty police officer shot himself in the hand and a passenger’s wallet stopped the bullet

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – An off-duty dispatcher at a Long Island police department accidentally shot himself in the hand while discharging his gun in a moving car, and the bullet lodged in a passenger’s wallet, police said.

The 37-year-old Southampton Village Police dispatcher was charged with reckless endangerment this week, more than a month after the Sept. 14 shooting, Detective Sgt. Gina Laferrera of the Southampton Town Police Department said.

The dispatcher was in a moving vehicle when he “recklessly discharged his firearm,” which he legally owned, Laferrera said in a news release.

The gun went off when its owner discharged it “in an unsafe manner near other people,” Laferrera said.

A bullet passed through the dispatcher’s hand and penetrated a wallet in the passenger’s pocket, she said.

The dispatcher was treated at a hospital and is recovering from his injury, police said. The person whose wallet stopped the bullet sustained minor injuries.

The dispatcher was arrested Wednesday and charged with reckless endangerment, Laferrera said. He was released and ordered to appear in court at a later date. He did not respond to a phone message seeking comment Friday.

Laferrera told Newsday that the investigation into the case took a month while witnesses were interviewed.

Southampton Village Police Chief Suzanne Hurteau said the dispatcher has been on administrative leave since the shooting. She said the department is conducting its own investigation, which could result in disciplinary action.

The Village of Southampton is part of the larger City of Southampton, an affluent enclave in the East End of Long Island.