Body Cam Shows Why Officer Is 'Devastated'

Officer Aaron Wright had her back—but for a split second, in the wrong way. Released body cam footage shows the Indiana officer shooting fellow officer Lane Butler in the back Tuesday in an apparent accident, ABC News reports. Three officers were searching a Lafayette home for a suspect wanted on a warrant when they came upon a large, barking dog that sparked a chaotic moment. Here media reports vary—the 107-pound dog, thought to be a Cane Corso, was either pushing to get out of a cage or actually jumped on Wright—but according to the Journal & Courier, Wright reached down to shut the cage door while Butler quickly maneuvered out the front door of the house. That's when Wright's weapon discharged.

His bullet hit Butler in the upper left shoulder and she fell to the sidewalk, cursing. "What happened?" a male officer says. The officers quickly call for medical help and Butler is inside an ambulance in 2 1/2 minutes. Police Chief Pat Flannelly said Friday that Wright took full responsibility for what happened and was devastated. While officers are taught to keep fingers off the trigger and guns either against the chest or in "low-ready" position, Flannelly says Wright's gun got "twisted in his hand" as the dog began pushing out of the cage. An internal investigation deemed it an accident, and Wright will be allowed to return to work Monday. As for Butler, WRTV Indianapolis says the three-year veteran remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition. (In Arkansas, a sheriff's deputy has been "relieved of his duties" for shooting a dog.)