California Police Officer Shot by Fellow Officer During 'Horseplay' Incident in Parking Garage
A Pasadena, California police officer was accidentally shot in the shoulder by a fellow officer during what the department describes as a 'horseplay' incident in a parking garage on September 7, 2025, with dashcam footage released this week. Police Chief Gene Harris said one standing officer drew his weapon in a 'quick-draw fashion' toward an approaching patrol car, after which the driving officer's firearm discharged, striking the standing officer. The incident is now under criminal investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, and the officers involved have been disciplined.
Dashcam footage released Wednesday by the Pasadena Police Department shows a September 7, 2025 incident in which one officer was shot in the left shoulder by a fellow officer during what officials called unsafe 'horseplay' in a department parking garage. According to Chief Gene Harris, a standing officer drew his firearm in a quick-draw manner and pointed it at an approaching police vehicle, after which the driving officer's gun discharged, sending a round through the windshield and into the standing officer's shoulder. The released video, captured from the approaching vehicle's dashcam, shows the standing officer grabbing his shoulder before colleagues converge on him; it does not show the driving officer pulling the trigger. Harris confirmed the wounded officer has since recovered from his injuries. The officers have not been publicly identified, and the specific disciplinary actions taken have not been disclosed. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office is conducting a criminal investigation into the friendly fire incident. Harris stated that 'horseplay and failure to adhere to safety rules and standards of professional conduct will not be tolerated.'
What's missing
The specific disciplinary actions taken against the officers have not been disclosed by any source.
How coverage differed
Breitbart framed the story with a reference to California's gun control laws in its opening sentence — 'gun-controlled Pasadena, California' — implying a political angle absent from NBC News's straightforward factual account. NBC News provided more procedural detail, including its own outreach to the department for officer names and disciplinary specifics, while Breitbart relied on secondary outlets and included an extended author biography promoting Second Amendment commentary.
What different sources said
Related
CIS Study: Non-Citizen Households Use Welfare at Higher Rates Than U.S.-Born Households in Nearly Every State
A new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies found that 47% of non-citizen-headed households used at least one means-tested welfare program, compared to 28% of U.S.-born-headed households. The study drew on five years of Census Bureau data and found the gap persisted across nearly every state, with the largest disparities in New York, Massachusetts, and California. The findings reignite a long-running debate over immigration and public benefit usage, though the methodology has been contested by other researchers.
Pilot Killed in Small Plane Crash Near Twin Oaks Airpark in Washington County, Oregon
A small two-seater experimental plane crashed into a grassy field near Twin Oaks Airpark in Hillsboro, Oregon on Friday afternoon, killing its sole occupant. The crash occurred during takeoff and sparked a grass fire that spread to a nearby field before firefighters contained it. The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause, and flights at the airpark were canceled for the remainder of the day.
Ohio Police Chief Arrested in Florida on 70-Count Child Sex Indictment
Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert, 44, was arrested Tuesday night in Seminole, Florida, following a Clermont County grand jury indictment on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The alleged offenses occurred between 2005 and 2010, when Essert was an instructor with the Young Marines program and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks Career Campus in Sharonville, Ohio. If convicted on all counts, Essert faces a maximum of 280 years in prison, and authorities are urging any additional potential victims to come forward.