Cop arrested after threatening colleague with gun for microwaving fish
A South Carolina police officer was arrested and subsequently fired for allegedly aiming his weapon at a colleague after he microwaved fish at the station.
The 46-year-old police officer, named Michael Debiase, was charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person on June 2nd, according to an arrest warrant cited by the New York Post.
The cop reportedly removed his department-issued firearm from his holster while wearing it in the briefing room. He quickly pointed it at another officer, an official statement from the Myrtle Beach Police Department revealed.
According to the statement, Debiase “was placed on administrative leave immediately following the incident while investigations were conducted by the Myrtle Beach Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division”.
As such, the department has decided to “separate employment” from the officer at fault. The team stressed that the quick resolution demonstrates “our commitment to accountability and our willingness to address conduct that falls short of our expectations.”
State law determines that the offence of pointing a firearm at another person is a felony. As such, the charge could carry the penalty of a court-determined fine or a prison term not to exceed five years.
According to records, on the morning of June 2nd, the ex-officer was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Horry County, before being released several hours later without bail.
Elsewhere in the law enforcement world, earlier this month, armed police in Manchester, UK, mistook a man in a weighted gym vest as a highly dangerous suicide bomber.
A team of police officers ambushed the man in the vicinity of an outdoor gym, catching him completely unawares. Sniper units had been called in to provide cover from behind the trees.
Despite locals worried at the insane display, police followed up with a reassuring statement later that day, which concluded, “This was a false alarm, and there is no threat to the wider community.”