Atlantic City (N.J.) Police Officer Kevin Wilkins died as a result an accidental discharge from his service pistol while he sat in his patrol car, NJLawman.com reports.
Wilkins, 31, had served with the department for more than two years. He was assigned to general patrol duties and worked a shift from midnight to 8 a.m.
The accident occurred at 1:27 a.m. Thursday, when Wilkins attempted to install a rubber sleeve on the grip of his duty pistol. He had removed the loaded magazine, but didn't clear the chamber of a round of ammunition. The semi-automatic pistol unintentionally discharged when he manipulated it to install the sleeve.