Gerrard Kaonga
Dashcam footage has shown the moment where one cop ran over a fellow officer during a chase scene of a suspect.
The footage has begun to circulate on social media and has gone viral on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The incident occurred on Friday (October 13), however, the officer involved was not seriously injured in the collision, according to reports.
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In the dashcam footage, the driver is seen speeding down a road, in response to a stolen vehicle pursuit in Sun Valley, Los Angeles.
After turning down a road, a fellow officer running across the road on foot is then struck by the driver.
The officer is then thrown to the ground, tumbles on the floor and stops moving. Other officers already on the scene quickly come to his aide.
The LAPD released a statement about the incident and confirmed the medical status of the officer hit.
"[Police] were in pursuit of a stolen vehicle when an officer was struck at the termination sustaining non-life threatening injuries," Captain Kelly Muniz of the LAPD said in a statement.
"We are thankful our officer was not seriously injured in this accident."
Police also confirmed that they have started an extensive investigation into the pursuit.
The surprising incident has sparked a slew of jokes and debates in the comment section with many saying the same thing - that the entire incident was completely avoidable.
Some X users commented that the driving police officer easily could have taken steps to avoid the whole collision.
“I started watching this video fully bracing myself for a horrible, unavoidable accident, but it really cannot be overstated just how much easier it would have been for this cop to NOT have run over his coworker,” One X user wrote.
"He literally had full view of him for at least 5 seconds, could have made literally any other decision," another added.
With another claiming: "no awareness. The both of them", speaking of both the victim and the driver.
Some users suggested that the police officer in the car may have intentionally struck the other cop believing them to be the suspect, however.
“It looks like he did it on purpose, I wonder if he thought it was a suspect and expected to hit them and not a coworker,” An X user wrote.
“*Officer attempts to run over the suspect and realizes it was his partner*,” another joked.
"No brakes at all....all momentum into the turn, t-bones him, probably doing at least 25-30 mph at the very least," another reflected.
"The fact the officer wasn't seriously injured is really something. Def ate pavement for sure though....
"I remember so many cop shows that would hit the perp w/car."