MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A policeman in the US state of Ohio shot a photojournalist after mistaking his camera and tripod for a gun, New York Daily News newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The incident took place in the town of New Carlisle, as Andy Grimm, a photojournalist from a local newspaper, unloaded his tripod from his car to take photos of a traffic stop.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot the journalist without warning, but rushed over to help as soon as he realized the mistake, the newspaper explained, adding that the policeman repeatedly stated that he thought the journalist was holding a gun rather than a camera.
Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation is looking into the incident, although Grimm’s father, who is the publisher of the New Carlisle News, said his son did not want the policeman to get fired and called the shooting a "misunderstanding."
The reported incident came just a week after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on lifting the ban imposed by the Obama administration on deliveries of military equipment to US police; the move has already prompted controversy among US politicians and voters.
The Pentagon's 1033 program, suspended by President Obama in 2015, envisaged giving police departments specific military equipment such as grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and armored vehicles. The restrictions came in response to fierce public discontent with how the equipment was used by the police during protests and riots in Ferguson, Missouri, back in 2014.
