Video shows California cop accidentally shooting fellow cop in ‘horseplay’ incident

One second an officer is seen drawing his weapon from his holster like a gunslinger and pointing it directly in the direction of a dashcam video camera in an approaching police car.

Seconds later, that same officer — now with his gun holstered — is captured on the camera clutching his left shoulder in pain and crouching down.

The 35 second video of the shooting in the police department’s parking garage on Sept. 7, 2025, was released on Wednesday.

“The wounded officer has recovered from his injuries,” Chief Gene Harris said in a statement that was included with the video.

The city of Pasadena Police Department is calling it a “horseplay incident” and the video is now evidence in a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office into a friendly fire incident.

The officers involved in the incident, whom Harris did not identify by name or rank, have been disciplined.

“Horseplay and failure to adhere to safety rules and standards of professional conduct will not be tolerated,” Harris said.

NBC News has reached out to the department requesting the names of the officers and more details about what disciplinary actions were taken.

The video released by the department was taken by a camera in the police vehicle driven by the officer who fired the shot — and does not show that officer pulling the trigger.

In the opening scene, the officer who was wounded and another officer are seen smiling and leaning against the back of a police SUV.

The video does not have sound, so Harris narrated what happened next.

“As seen in the video, one officer drove towards the other officers who were standing next to another police vehicle,” Harris said. “One of the standing officers inappropriately and in quick-draw fashion drew his firearm from his holster and pointed it at the officer seated in the approaching unit.”

That officer then re-holsters his weapon.

In the meantime, Harris said, “the driving officer’s firearm discharged, striking the front windshield of the police vehicle and subsequently the left shoulder of the officer that was standing out.”

The video shows what looks like a puff of smoke as the wounded officer grabs his shoulder and then is quickly surrounded by his converging colleagues.

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