Sheriff’s deputies in Rancho Cordova, California shot a man while he was filming the arrest of his neighbor. The officers resorted to their default excuse that they thought the cellphone used to film was a gun.
Deputies were in the middle of arresting Ben Ledford on charges of animal cruelty after he was suspected of firing approximately 100 shots at a dog across the street. He is suspected of killing the animal. Neighbor Danny Sanchez was filming the commotion on his cellphone when officers began shooting at Sanchez because they said he had a gun.
The officers’ gunshots struck Sanchez in the leg. Sanchez’s father, John, later said that his son was only carrying a cellphone. “We went right there over to that corner and stood there with his phone, trying to get some pictures,” said John Sanchez.
“He was yelling, ‘Dad, I’m shot, I’m shot,’ so I grabbed him inside and closed the garage door,” he added. “I put a tourniquet around his leg and a clean towel.”
Thankfully, Sanchez sustained minor injuries, and the two officers who shot him were placed on administrative leave while an investigation is being conducted. This was another close call that could have ended in someone’s death.
For more on this story, visit the Huffington Post.
