MA SWAT Officer Seriously Hurt When Grenade Launcher Explodes

BRIDGEWATER, MA — A police officer was seriously injured when a grenade launcher exploded in his hands during a SWAT training exercise in Bridgewater Wednesday morning, officials said. The Middleborough police officer suffered a serious hand wound and was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was expected to survive, according to Middleborough police Chief Joseph Perkins. The officer's name was not released.

The incident happened at about 11 a.m. during a Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council SWAT training event at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater.

"The officer ... was using a 37 mm projectile launcher loaded with training rounds to aid in the SWAT training exercise when the device exploded in his hands," Perkins said in a statement. "Investigators believe that the device malfunctioned."

Perkins called it a "terrible accident."

The projectile launcher is used to deploy stun grenades and smoke screens.

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