Police body camera footage shows the shocking moment an officer opened fire on an actor filming a bank robbery scene for a movie in Indiana.
Indiana State Police were called to the Back Step Brewing Company in Crawfordsville on last Tuesday after someone called 911 to report seeing a masked man with a gun enter the back of the building, RTV6 reported.
When officers arrived from the Crawfordsville Police Department, they saw a masked man coming out of the door of the eatery with what appeared to be a gun and ordered him to drop it.
An officer fired at the man, later identified as Jeff Duff, striking the building nearby and not hitting him.
Body camera footage that was released by authorities begins by showing the actor wearing a mask backing out of a bar while holding the fake gun, which appears to be pointed at officers.
Police body camera footage shows the moment an officer opened fire on an actor filming a bank robbery scene for a movie last Tuesday at Back Step Brewing Company in Crawfordsville. The actor, later identified as Jeff Duff, was not hit with the bullet
Duff kept telling officers that they were filming a movie scene as he was ordered to get down on the ground. Duff said: ‘We’re filming a movie, I ain’t lying to you’
Police can be heard ordering Duff to drop the gun, but the actor doesn’t comply.
Moments later, an officer fired one shot towards Duff, who pulled his mask off and turned towards officer saying they were filming a movie.
Duff dropped the gun and kept repeating that they were filming a movie. Officers ordered him to step back before telling him to get on the ground.
‘We’re filming a movie, I ain’t lying to you,’ Duff can be heard saying before the clip ends.
At the time of the incident, actor Phillip Demoret told RTV6: ‘The bullet went by his head. It was very close.
‘I don’t want to think about it. If it had hit him, we’d be having a whole different conversation. Thank goodness he wasn’t.’
ISP Sgt. Kim Riley told the television station: ‘When the police said drop the gun he turns toward police pointing the gun – if you don’t know it is a movie scene how are you supposed to react.
Someone called 911 to report seeing a masked man with a gun enter the back of the building (above)
Duff was holding what at first appeared to be a gun (above) during the incident. It was later determined to be a prop for the movie. No charges will be filed against anyone involved
‘I know if it was my situation. I probably would have done the same thing.’
Shortly after the incident, Indiana State Police determined that Montgomery County Production was filming at the location, but no one, including the bar or the production company, had notified police or businesses nearby that filming would be occurring.
In addition, the gun Duff was using during the scene was a prop.
Last week, Kodi Swank, co-owner of Montgomery County Production, released a statement: ‘There’s lesson to be learned on both sides of the spectrum from us as a low budget movie company and from the police department on their quick reaction.
‘I’m very grateful that the police department did their job to the best of their ability with an unknown situation.’
Montgomery County Prosecutor Joe Buser reviewed the evidence and will not file charges against anyone involved in the incident, according to a news release published Monday afternoon.