Dashcam Stuns: Gun Aimed, ‘Accident’ Follows

A California police chief is calling a cop-on-cop shooting “horseplay,” and no one is facing charges yet.

Story Snapshot

Dashcam shows a Pasadena officer point a loaded gun at a fellow cop moments before a shooting.
The chief fired the officer and called it “unsafe and out-of-policy horseplay” with a loaded weapon.
The wounded officer survived and stayed on the force, while the shooter faces only an ongoing review.
Media and city leaders echo the “horseplay” line, raising questions about police culture and double standards.

Dashcam Shows Gun Aimed at Fellow Officer Before “Accidental” Shooting

Pasadena, California police released dashcam video that shows Officer Roy Alatorre draw his gun, aim it at a seated colleague, then re-holster it in a department parking garage before the shot that wounded the other officer.^[1] Reports state the car was parked during an evening shift change when officers were talking and joking around in the garage.^[11] The video clip cuts off before the exact moment the gun fires, so the discharge itself is not seen on camera.^[1]

Police leaders have still labeled the shooting “accidental,” even as they admit the behavior was reckless and against policy.^[6] The shot went through the patrol car windshield and hit the other officer in the arm, causing an injury that required treatment.^[1] The wounded officer has since recovered and still works for the department, according to Chief Gene Harris.^[1] City officials classified the event as an officer-involved shooting under California law, which forced the release of the video.^[1]

Chief Fires Officer for “Out-of-Policy Horseplay” While Criminal Review Drags On

Pasadena Police Chief Gene Harris publicly named Officer Alatorre as the shooter and said his actions were “unsafe and out-of-policy horseplay involving loaded firearms.”^[1] The department completed an internal administrative investigation and fired Alatorre from the force based on that review.^[1] City statements confirm that discipline was imposed but do not explain whether any other penalties, such as loss of pension or decertification, were added beyond the termination.^[1]

Officials say a criminal investigation and a broader use-of-force review are still in progress and have been sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges.^[1] As of the latest reports, prosecutors have not announced a charging decision against Alatorre.^[11] The injured officer remains employed, and the chief has said it is not clear whether that officer will face any discipline for taking part in the “horseplay” that led up to the shooting.^[1] That uncertainty fuels concern that only one person is being held to account for a wider culture problem.

City Leaders and Media Close Ranks Around the “Horseplay” Story

Mayor Victor Gordo backed the chief’s line and called the gunplay “juvenile and very dangerous,” stressing that “even in the hands of the trained professional, weapons are not played with.”^[15] Major outlets such as NBC, ABC7, and KTLA repeated the same “horseplay” and “juvenile” language in their coverage, closely tracking the department’s framing of the event.^[15] This shared script helps steer the public to see the case as a one-off lapse, not a deeper issue in police training or culture.

National data show these kinds of officer-on-officer shootings are rare but not unheard of. A large survey found about 0.11 officer-involved shootings per agency per year, with most departments reporting none between 2015 and 2019.^[17] Even so, accidental or internal shootings continue to occur, often tied to complacency and poor gun discipline in high-stress jobs where weapons become “part of the furniture.”^[17] Critics warn that calling such events “horseplay” can blunt real reform and keep the focus on one “bad apple” instead of policies that allowed loaded guns to be treated like toys.^[22]