Pubdate: Tue, 16 May 2006
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Copyright: 2006 San Antonio Express-News
Contact:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384

DEA AGENT SHOOTS FOOT TWICE

Lee Paige didn't get much notoriety as an NFL player. He played three
games during his NFL career -- for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers'
replacement team during the 1987 strike.

Paige then entered law enforcement, eventually joining the Drug
Enforcement Agency. His DEA career -- honorable and often fraught with
danger -- also didn't make him famous.

In 2004, Paige gave a drug education presentation to a Florida youth
group. Part of his address dealt with the danger of guns.

After warning the children that he was the only person in the room
professional enough to carry his sidearm, a Glock .40 caliber, the
weapon accidentally discharged, striking Paige in the foot, the
Associated Press reported.

Most people still don't know who Lee Paige is. But, says Paige in
legal documents, Google produces 374,000 hits for a search on "DEA
agent shoots himself." And millions of people around the world have
seen video of the incident on the Internet and on television.

Now all this publicity is making Paige "the target of jokes, derision,
ridicule and disparaging comments." He can't work undercover any longer.

As a result, Paige has filed a lawsuit against the DEA for allegedly
leaking the video. He's seeking unspecified damages.

Somehow, this legal maneuver seems unlikely to lower Paige's profile
or stem the ridicule he's endured. 
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MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPF Florida)