An off duty LAPD police officer was caught on camera firing his weapon at a group of unarmed teenagers who had trespassed on his lawn, prompting protests in Anaheim, California where the incident took place.
While nobody was hit by the gun shot, the Anaheim Police Department are investigating the matter.
“The confrontation began over ongoing issues with juveniles walking across the officer’s property,” Anaheim police said in an updated statement issued Wednesday.
Anaheim Police told the Los Angeles Times that one of the teens—a 13-year-old boy—allegedly threatened to shoot the off-duty officer.
Two of the teenagers were arrested: the 13-year-old was booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall for alleged criminal threats and battery, and a 15-year-old was arrested for assault and battery.
Video footage of the altercation shows a different story, however.
A 9-minute video posted on YouTube shows the officer holding the front of a black boy’s hoodie and trying to drag him off his lawn, as some dozens other teenagers stand by watching and filming, some of them yelling “Let him go!”
The teen steps can be heard mumbling something about the cop getting upset that a girl walked on his lawn and that he had rushed to her defense after the officer called her a “cunt”, prompting the confrontation.
Although the audio footage is grainy, the officer can be heard saying that the teen had threatened to shoot him, which he vehemently denies.
“I didn’t say that. Why you lying? I said, ‘I’m going to sue you” he said.
The officer is still clinching the 13-year-old when a second teenager gets involved and tries to separate them. Things escalate after a third boy with a red backpack runs into the pack and pushes the officer into a nearby bush.
Seconds later, the cop, still holding the boy with one hand, takes his firearm out and fires a single shot at which point the entire posse disperses. A couple of minutes later, Anaheim police arrived at the scene and disarmed the LAPD officer before putting handcuffs on the teen.
The off-duty officer has not been arrested, but police say he is cooperating with the investigation. According to a LAPD spokesman, he was put on administrative leave on Wednesday.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Anaheim police department said the “videos posted online do not depict the entire event.”
Twenty-four demostrators who gathered at the scene of the incident to protest the officer’s excessive use of violence were arrested Wednesday night on misdemeanor charges including failure to disperse.