PASADENA, Calif. — What began as a joke ended with a California police officer wounded in what authorities called “unsafe, out-of-policy horseplay."
A 35-second video of the Sept. 7, 2025, incident was released on Wednesday by the Pasadena Police Department. Dash camera video showed an officer shooting a colleague in a Pasadena parking garage, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The footage captures a patrol car pulling up behind two officers standing near a police SUV with its back open, KABC reported.
One of the officers standing outside the vehicle can be seen quickly drawing his weapon and pointing it at the police cruiser, according to the television station.
Pasadena police Chief Gene Harris called the action “inappropriate,” KTLA reported.
After a few seconds, the officer placed the weapon back into his holster.
According to the video, the officer seated in the patrol car apparently also drew a gun and it discharged, shattering the vehicle’s windshield and striking the standing officer in the left shoulder, KTLA reported.
Newly released dashcam video shows a Pasadena police officer getting shot by a fellow officer in what the police chief described as a "horseplay" incident.
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 11, 2026
The shooting happened last September, but the department released the video Wednesday.
The police chief said the officer… pic.twitter.com/tSJCZwHvoX
Harris said the officer sitting in the driver’s seat of the patrol car pulled out his weapon and “pointed it towards the other officer.
“During this interaction, the driving officer’s firearm discharged,” Harris said, according to KTLA.
“Horseplay and/or failure to adhere to safety rules and standards of professional conduct will not be tolerated,” Harris said in a video that documented the incident. The video does not have sound.
“This regretful conduct is not consistent with the expectations and service commitments of this department, and appropriate actions will be taken to ensure our culture reflects appropriate conduct, values and service to this community,” Harris added.
Harris confirmed to KABC that the officer who shot his colleague was fired, identifying him as Roy Alatorre.
The officer who was wounded has recovered and is still employed with the police department, the television station reported. It was unclear whether the officer was disciplined or would receive additional disciplinary action.
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