A retired Los Angeles police officer who sued a gun maker after his 3-year-old son shot him had his lawsuit dismissed Friday by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

Enrique Chavez, now 39, of Anaheim, was off-duty when he was shot on July 11, 2006, while driving his Ford Ranger near Harbor Boulevard and La Palma Avenue. His son, who was not in a car seat, got a hold of the father’s .45-caliber Glock while sitting in the back seat and shot him in the back, according to police reports.

Chavez was left paralyzed from the waist down.

In July 2008, he sued Glock, alleging that the gun’s safety was “non-existent or ineffective.”

In addition, the suit alleges negligence on the part of Uncle Mike’s, the company that made the gun’s holster; Turner Outdoorsman, the store where he bought the holster; and the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club, where the officer purchased the gun.

In dismissing the suit, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin C. Brazile cited an “exhaustive review” of the gun’s safety conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department before a purchase.

Chavez’s attorney, Ian Herzog, argued that the LAPD review doesn’t mean the gun is actually safe.

“If you’re correct about that, it amounts to a revolution in products liability,” Herzog told the judge.

Herzog argued that a jury should have been allowed to make that decision.

The defense had argued that Chavez admitted he forgot the gun was in the back seat when he put his son in the truck.

Brazile also dismissed the portion of the suit directed at the holster manufacturer and seller.

“There’s nothing inherently dangerous about the holster,” the judge said. “It’s the gun that’s dangerous.”

City News Service and staff writer Michael Mello contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: jcassidy@ocregister.com or 714-704-3782