After a Pasadena police officer shot a colleague in a parking garage, an internal investigation turned up what the city’s police chief called “horseplay.” But new evidence from a witness to the incident has led to a fresh investigation and the placement of several police officers on leave, the police chief announced Monday.
Last week, after an unusual delay, the department released police cruiser dashcam video of the September shooting, which showed one officer pulling and pointing a weapon before he was shot by another officer through the windshield of a vehicle. At that time, Police Chief Gene Harris called the officers’ behavior “unsafe and out-of-policy horseplay.”
The chief told The Times the officer who fired the shot was no longer on the force, and the district attorney’s office was reviewing whether the behavior was criminal in nature.
But on Monday, Harris announced that a witness had come forward after the release of the video.
That individual supplied “additional information, and a new investigation has been opened based on documentation received Sunday,” Harris said in a statement. The chief said other officers involved had been placed on leave pending the outcome of the new probe. Harris called that decision a result of “how seriously we take matters like this.”
Until Wednesday, Harris had kept the shooting video under wraps for nearly nine months by invoking an exception to state law requiring police shootings to be released, citing an investigation.
The Sept. 7, 2025, video captures the car pulling into the parking garage behind two uniformed officers standing at the rear of a police SUV with its back open around 6:18 p.m. It does not have any sound.
As the cruiser approaches the officers, the video shows the officer on the right side of the back of the SUV draw his handgun and point it directly at the approaching police cruiser in an action the police chief said was “inappropriate.” After a few seconds, the officer then reholsters the weapon as he and his colleague smile.
The video does not show what happens next inside the vehicle. Police Chief Harris said the officer seated in the patrol car driver’s seat drew his department-issued handgun and “pointed it toward the other officer, during this interaction, the driving officer’s firearm discharged.”
Harris said the round smashed through the cruiser’s windshield and hit one of the officers in the garage at 240 Ramona St. The video shows that, about four seconds after the officer reholstered his gun, the dashcam suddenly jolts, there’s a cloud of dust coming from the direction of the car and the officer who was holding a gun grabs his left shoulder and winces.
The officer then moves to the side of the SUV as other officers in the parking structure rush to him, help him to the ground and treat his wound.
Harris said the officer sustained serious injuries but had since recovered.
Under California law, police agencies are generally required to release to the public audio and video recordings of police shootings and other critical incidents involving great bodily injury within 45 days of the incident.
However, in a video published on the city’s website, Harris said he used his power to exercise a clause in the law that allows for the release of footage to be delayed.
“The delay was necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation and allow investigators to complete essential investigative steps,” he said.
Harris identified the shooting officer as Roy Alatorre and said the officer had “separated from the city.” He said his department had provided the Los Angeles County district attorney a criminal investigation and the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training had been informed. Alatorre has not returned requests for comment.
Harris said the video was not initially released because of the need for extensive interviews and investigation.
On Thursday, Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said of the shooting: “This type of unprofessional behavior is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. The police chief assures me the incident has been thoroughly investigated and appropriate discipline taken and I support the chief’s decisions.”
Harris called the conduct “regretful” and not up to the department’s expectations.
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