A Columbus police officer who unintentionally shot himself in the leg while driving to work early yesterday wasn't seriously hurt, and a division spokesman said an internal investigation will aim to prevent similar incidents. The officer drove himself to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital after the 5:45 a.m. incident in Dublin.

A Columbus police officer who unintentionally shot himself in the leg while driving to work early yesterday wasn�t seriously hurt, and a division spokesman said an internal investigation will aim to prevent similar incidents.

The officer drove himself to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital after the 5:45 a.m. incident in Dublin.

Police did not name the officer but said he is an 18-year veteran of the Police Division.

Sgt. Rich Weiner, a division spokesman, said the officer was driving to work and was merging onto I-270 from Rt. 33 when merging traffic forced him �to take evasive action.�

�His gun fell to the floor, he went to catch it, and that�s when the gun went off,� Weiner said.

The officer called dispatchers to report that he had been injured and was en route to the hospital. Several officers met up with him along the way to escort his car to Riverside, Weiner said.

The officer was treated for a �through-and-through� gunshot wound to his right leg.

�It didn�t hit anything major,� Weiner said. �We�re very fortunate for that. The main thing is, get him healthy and get him back to full duty.�

Weiner declined to say how the gun, which was the officer�s service weapon, was positioned in the car or whether it was holstered.

Investigators will look at how the gun was being carried and whether the officer�s training and police procedures were followed. Columbus officers carry Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber semiautomatic pistols. The gun does not have a standard safety.

Internal discipline for an unintentional discharge is typically minor, Weiner said.

�We want to know what happened so we don�t have another incident like this,� he said. �We try to learn from it.�

tdecker@dispatch.com