California cop shoots colleague during ‘horseplay’: police chief

Police officers respond after a man barricaded himself inside a bank on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bakersfield, Calif. (Jacob, Dad’s Gone Live via AP)

A California policeman shot and wounded a colleague as the two officers horsed around with loaded guns in a parking garage, their boss said.

The September 2025 incident was captured on dashcam video released by police in Pasadena on Thursday.

The video shows one officer draw his service weapon and point it directly at a cruiser as it pulls to a stop in an underground lot.

Seconds after the smiling officer reholsters the gun, the dashcam jolts and a cloud of dust is visible as the officer suddenly grabs his shoulder, having apparently been hit.

Pasadena Police Chief Gene Harris said the shot was fired by the driver of the cruiser, whom the Los Angeles Times identified as officer Roy Alatorre. The injured officer has recovered.

“The shooting resulted from officers engaged in unsafe and out of policy horseplay involving loaded firearms,” Harris said in a video released with the dashcam footage.

“During this interaction, the driving officer’s firearm discharged, striking the front windshield of his police vehicle and subsequently the left shoulder of the officer that was standing outside.”

Harris said criminal investigations over the incident were still pending, but disciplinary measures had been taken.

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

“This regretful conduct is not consistent with the expectations and service commitments of this department.”

Police in the United States are routinely armed, and frequently draw their weapons.