LI's Alec Baldwin wants police officers on sets for firearm safety

Following the tragedy on the set of the Western movie "Rust," in which a prop firearm's unexpected live round killed one person and wounded another, the film's producer-star Alec Baldwin is urging production companies to hire law enforcement to help ensure on-set safety.

"Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety," Baldwin, 63, who was born in Amityville and raised in Massapequa, posted Monday on his private Twitter account. He additionally posted an image of the tweet on his Instagram account.

Comments on Instagram ran a gamut, with few seeming to approve of the idea. Some said an experienced armorer — rather than the relatively inexperienced one for "Rust," Hannah Gutierrez Reed — would have more expertise with prop firearms than would a police officer. Many noted that non-firing guns with digital explosive effects added afterward are an option — one embraced by action star-producer Dwayne Johnson, who last week vowed his production company will utilize just that.

Others, not commenting on the viability of any one proffered solution, expressed hope that the tragedy — in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed and director Joel Souza, 48, wounded, hospitalized and released — would lead to improvements in on-set safety protocols.

The accident occurred on Oct. 21 in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, when Baldwin fired an antique Colt .45 revolver after being told by assistant director Dave Halls it was a "cold gun" containing no live rounds. A day later, Baldwin said online, "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours."

He added, "I'm fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna."

On Nov. 2, in a long, explanatory statement on Instagram, Baldwin wrote, "I'll fight for better gun safety on set in Halyna's name. I'll fight to never have a live gun on set again in her name. I'll fight to have our armorers have higher standards that they must pass to be in that position where they hold all of our lives in their hands."