To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Tags:
Fargo, ND - In the early hours of Sept. 28, a man in a parking lot was pointing a BB gun ata Fargo police officer. Yelling at the top of his lungs, the officer repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon, to no avail.This tense situation is depicted in a video released to The Forum this week as a result of a public records request made last month.The encounter ended with the officer, Patrick Thomas, shooting the man with the BB pistol, 31-year-old Karmen Redshirt. Authorities said the pistol had a laser light and looked like a real handgun.Cameras in Thomas' squad car captured the video that shows the officer pulling into the parking lot of the Pizza Hut at 4701 13th Ave. S., near the Fargo Wal-Mart. Thomas steps out of the car and right away starts shouting at Redshirt, telling him he'll be fired upon if he doesn't drop the gun.The video shows that Thomas spent close to 40 seconds telling Redshirt to drop the gun.Ultimately, Thomas fired three shots. One round hit Redshirt in the abdomen, causing a wound that required surgery and months of recovery.