PASADENA, Calif. — A video showing a Pasadena police officer being shot by a fellow officer during what officials described as “horseplay” has sparked debate about firearm safety, accountability and police culture.
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During a recent episode of the “Shots Fired” podcast, cohosts Mark Redlich and Kyle Schoberg reviewed video of the September 2025 incident, which happened in the Pasadena Police Department’s parking garage. The dashcam video, which has gone viral since it’s release on June 10, shows one officer drawing and pointing a handgun at another officer seated inside a patrol vehicle. Moments later, the seated officer draws his own firearm and fires through the windshield, striking the first officer in the shoulder.
The incident resulted in one officer being injured, one officer being fired and an ongoing review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, according to the podcast discussion.
Firearm safety concerns
Redlich and Schoberg were united in their criticism of the initial decision to draw and point a firearm at another officer.
“It goes against all the cardinal rules of safe handling of a gun. And the fact that he pulls it quickly, gets full lockout. Like, he is absolutely looking, and you can tell he’s looking through the sights on the officer,” Redlich said. “The whole draw was impressive. It’s very good, very clean, very fast, right on target. Absolutely scary in my opinion.”
The hosts focused on how deliberate the draw appeared in the video, noting that the officer quickly drew his firearm, extended it and appeared to aim directly at his colleague.
Schoberg suggested the incident may reflect a breakdown in accountability among a small group of officers.
“So, the only thing I can rationalize is that maybe ‘horseplay,’ like I’ll use that in air quotes, but horse playing has gone too far with at least these group of cops. Nobody’s reeled him in,” Schoberg said.
The hosts also expressed concern that the officer appeared to hold a leadership role, noting what looked to be field training officer insignia visible in the footage.
“If you’re an FTO, that is single-handedly one of the most important roles in a police organization because you are training cops to be the future of that organization,” Schoberg said.
Questions about culture and accountability
The discussion shifted to whether the shooting itself was the result of intentional misconduct, an involuntary reaction to having a firearm pointed at someone or simply another example of reckless behavior.
The hosts also discussed the incident from the perspective of the officer seated inside the patrol vehicle, arguing that once a firearm was pointed directly at him, the situation could reasonably be perceived as a deadly-force threat.
While the hosts differed on some aspects of potential criminal liability, both agreed that pointing loaded firearms at fellow officers should never be tolerated.
“You pull a gun on me, you’re getting shot. That is an absolute threat,” Redlich said while discussing how officers are trained to respond to deadly force threats.
The hosts noted that officers are trained to react to deadly-force threats and that, in that moment, the officer in the vehicle had little way of knowing whether the gun pointed at him was intended as a joke or represented a real danger.
Schoberg argued that the incident likely did not occur in isolation.
“I guarantee you that’s not the first time that something like this has happened,” he said. “There’s just no way.”
Debate over the term “horseplay”
The hosts also questioned the department’s use of the word “horseplay” to describe the incident.
Redlich argued that the term minimizes the seriousness of an event involving loaded firearms and an officer-involved shooting.
“When you use the term horseplay, you’re blanketing an incredibly serious incident and making it acceptable and not even punishable,” he said.
The hosts said the language used to describe the incident matters because it can influence how the public views officer accountability and the seriousness of the conduct involved.
Redlich said he was concerned about the precedent set by describing the incident as horseplay.
“From the public’s perspective, I think this is wildly unacceptable,” Redlich said.
He argued that defense attorneys could point to the department’s characterization of the shooting in future cases, using it to question how intent is evaluated when someone points or fires a gun and claims they were not trying to hurt anyone.
For Redlich and Schoberg, the lesson was straightforward: firearms are not props, and even a moment of poor judgment can quickly become a life-altering incident.
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