Crew member shot dead by cop while filming

Omaha police accidentally shot and killed an audio technician for reality TV show Cops while he was recording officers responding to an armed robbery.

The police also shot dead a robbery suspect who was carrying an airsoft pistol that fires plastic pellets but looks like a standard handgun, the authorities said.

Sound technician Bryce Dion, 38, from the Cops crew, was wearing a bulletproof vest but was struck by a bullet that went through a gap in the protective shielding under his arm, Omaha police spokesman Michael Pecha said on Wednesday.

The Cops crew travels across the US documenting the work of law enforcement officers for its TV show, Reuters reported.

Mr Dion, along with a cameraman, was filming Omaha police on Tuesday night when officers responded to an armed robbery at a fast-food restaurant, police chief Todd Schmaderer said.

Officers confronted Cortez Washington, 32, who fired at them. The officers shot back, striking the suspect, Mr Schmaderer said.

Washington fled the building and collapsed in the restaurant's parking lot, he said.

Washington, who died at an Omaha hospital a short time later, had a lengthy criminal history, police said.

Investigators determined later that Washington had been carrying an airsoft pistol that fires plastic pellets but looks and functions like a handgun.

Mr Dion, who also entered the restaurant while capturing the incident, was shot once, the authorities said.

The three Omaha police officers involved in the shooting were ordered to go on leave for the investigation, Mr Schmaderer said.

Mr Dion's company, Langley Productions, said this was the first time one of its crew members had been fatally shot while filming.

This article was first published on Aug 29, 2014.
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