Police in Indiana have released body camera footage that appears to show an officer firing a gunshot at an actor portraying an armed robber for a movie.
The footage, taken from a camera worn by a Crawfordsville police officer on Sept. 26, shows actor Jim Duff backing out of the Back Step Brewing Company, a ski mask over his face and a gun in his hand. The officer and a colleague can be heard ordering Duff to drop the gun.
Duff does not immediately comply, but instead lifts the gun and turns toward the officers. A single shot rings out as the officers continue screaming at Duff to drop his weapon.
He drops the gun, which police officials last week described as a movie prop, and pulls his mask off.
“We’re doing a movie,” Duff says.
“Excuse me?” one of the officers responds.
The other officer repeatedly tells Duff to step back from the gun. They order him to get on the ground, and he complies, again telling the officers he is part of a movie being filmed.
The officer’s shot missed Duff, and no one was injured in the incident. The rest of the film’s cast and crew were inside the bar at the time of the shooting.
Indiana State Police officials said last week that a production company, Montgomery County Movies, was shooting the robbery scene just before 7 p.m. inside the bar. A concerned citizen, unaware of the movie shoot, called 911 when he saw a man walk into the bar wearing a ski mask and wielding a gun.
"The officers felt their lives were in danger and fired at the suspect," officials said in a statement.
Duff was taken into custody briefly until the officers could confirm that the robbery was fake. Neither Demoret’s production company nor the bar owners warned local law enforcement or area businesses about the film shoot, police said.
The Journal & Courier in Lafayette reported Monday that Montgomery County prosecutor Joe Buser has determined that no charges would be filed against either the officer or anyone involved in the movie production.
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