In a tragically botched drug bust, a police lieutenant accidentally shot an undercover officer, and the incident was captured on video.
Officer Jacob Grant was badly injured by his supervisor, Lt. Greg Brachle, who can be seen in body camera footage approaching a black sedan and demanding, “Put your hands where I can see them!”
Brachle can then be heard to shout, “Gun! Gun!” before at least half a dozen shots ring out. When Brachle approaches the car again, he seems horrified to release that it is Grant who has been shot.
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“It’s Jacob,” Brachle says. “Are you OK? Come on out. I’m sorry, man, I didn’t know it was you.”
The other officers help Grant out of the car as an emotional Brachle speaks to him.
“Jacob, man, hang in there bro,” Brachle says. “I thought you were a bad guy.”
The footage was released on Thursday as the city has settled a lawsuit brought against them by Grant in which he was awarded $6.5 million and was also awarded lifetime coverage for medical expenses and disability.
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“The community and department are deeply affected by this tragedy,” police Chief Gordon Eden said in a statement released Thursday. “As hard as it is to watch and review this video, it is imperative we learn from it. We immediately upgraded undercover officers’ training and equipment following this operation and improved supervision, communication and our procedures.”
Brachle has since retired from the department, though his retirement came just days before the Police Oversight Board recommended he be fired for violating police policies in the shooting, including failure to attend a briefing held before the drug sting.