A Northern California sheriff’s deputy mistakenly shot at another deputy Tuesday after confusing him for a possible suspect, authorities said.

The deputy was not injured, and an investigation has been launched into the shooting, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

At 4:40 a.m. Tuesday, Sacramento sheriff’s deputies received a report of a man who was hearing voices taunting him across the street from his home in Rancho Cordova.

A sheriff’s deputy arrived and talked to the man, who the deputy believed was intoxicated. The man was able to care for himself and was not posing a threat to others, sheriff’s officials said.


As the officer left the man’s apartment and entered a dimly lit, self-enclosed stairwell, he saw a darkened figure at the bottom of the stairs, the sheriff’s department said. The officer believed the person was holding a weapon and fired a shot.

The shot missed the figure, and the bullet lodged into the stairwell door frame.

That’s when the officer realized the person he had shot at was another uniformed officer providing assistance and cover during the call.

The officer who fired the shot has been with the sheriff’s department for 10 years and is assigned to Rancho Cordova Police Department.


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