Police in Los Angeles responded on Wednesday to a viral video posted on YouTube that purportedly shows an off-duty officer pulling a gun and firing at least one gunshot near a group of teens during a skirmish in Anaheim, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The incident reportedly took place on Tuesday in front of the officer's home. In the video, he identified himself as an police officer.
The video shows the officer — who the LAPD has not identified — in plain clothes, locking arms with a teenage boy in a yard. As another teenager tried to pull the two apart, a third teenager charged into the officer. Seconds later, the unidentified officer pulled out a gun. As the group of teenagers backed away, a loud bang sound could be heard, causing all but one in the group of teenagers to run.
Several minutes later, uniformed police officers arrived and handcuffed one of the juveniles, while the officer held his hands in the air.
“We are aware of numerous videos being posted on YouTube and other Internet sites,” Anaheim police told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. “We cannot authenticate the validity of these videos as they were not recorded or posted by APD. However, they do appear to depict portions of the incident in question.”
Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt told the Los Angeles Times that the incident stemmed from "ongoing issues" of juveniles walking through the officer's yard.
Capt. Andy Neiman, an LAPD spokesman, told the Los Angeles Times that the department is investigating the incident. Neiman said the man involved in Tuesday's incident would remain out of the field for 72 hours while LAPD conducts its investigation.
“We will continue to conduct the internal investigation to determine the actions of the officer and the circumstances, and then we’ll consult with the Orange County district attorney as well to determine if there’s any issues,” Neiman told the Los Angeles Times.
Two unidentified juveniles were arrested in Tuesday's incident. The off-duty officer has not been charged.
Click here to watch the video (Note, the video contains graphic language).
