Newly Released Body Camera Footage Shows Miami Beach Police Officer Accidentally Shooting Fellow Officer
Body camera footage has been released showing the moment a Miami Beach Police officer accidentally shot a fellow officer in the leg while struggling with a man on a busy Florida roadway.
Officer Shenaqua Stringer was responding to a 911 call reporting a suspicious person possibly carrying a gun when she encountered the man on Venetian Causeway. The suspect reached into his pocket to grab an “unknown object” as Stringer approached him, prompting her to draw her gun and begin struggling with the man.
Fellow officer Fabio Balanos arrived on the scene and ran towards the struggle, at which point Stringer accidentally fired, striking Balanos in his left leg. The body camera footage shows Balanos lying on the ground, bleeding, and asking why Stringer shot him.
Stringer handcuffed the suspect, who was later found to be a missing person from nearby Collier County. The suspected handgun turned out to be a metallic cigarette lighter. The district attorney determined there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Stringer.
Balanos, a Coast Guard veteran with 18 years of combined law enforcement experience, has made a full recovery and returned to work. The incident remains under investigation by the Miami Beach Police Department.
