A viral video has surfaced showing a California police officer being shot by one of his own colleagues. The Pasadena police chief is describing the case as an incident of horseplay rather than a deliberate attack.
According to the account, the footage was recorded inside a Pasadena police parking garage last year. It has only now drawn wide attention after circulating online and prompting questions about how the shooting was able to happen.
In the video, a patrol car is seen pulling up to two officers who are standing next to another police vehicle. What begins as an ordinary scene in the garage quickly turns into a dangerous situation between the officers.
One of the officers draws his gun and points it at the colleague sitting inside the patrol car, before putting the weapon back in his holster. The gesture appears to be part of the horseplay that the police chief later referred to.
The officer inside the car then pulls out his own weapon. At that moment the gun accidentally goes off, sending a bullet through the windshield and striking the officer in the shoulder.
Despite the seriousness of the incident, the outcome was not fatal. The police chief says the injured officer has since recovered from the gunshot wound to his shoulder.
The department also responded internally to what happened. According to the police chief, disciplinary action was taken over the incident, which has now resurfaced through the widely shared video.