Reality TV show "Cops" crew member got killed by a real police officer's bullet in the middle of filming an armed robbery in Omaha, Nebraska as the show is dealing with the loss.
Show executives said that the 38-year-old Bryce Dion, the audio supervisor for the long-running reality TV show "Cops" is the first crew member to be killed while documenting a real live police action scene.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer related that the distress call came from customers of Wendy's on Tuesday. Detective Darren Cunningham called for back up as he faced an armed robber in the fast food restaurant. Two members of the reality TV show Cops-Dion and his cameraman-- rode along with Officers Brooks Riley and Jason Wilhelm to film the actual action.
During the confrontation, Dion was hit by friendly fire. The bullet slipped past the bulletproof vest he was wearing and landed squarely on his chest, killing him on the spot.
Omaha police identified the robbery suspect as Cortez Washington. According to police reports, he was currently serving his parole from Missouri for a robbery conviction. Washington was apparently carrying a pellet gun with plastic bullets, was also killed. Schmaderer said that "the gun looked and sounded so real that both witnesses and officers were fooled."
Schmaderer had told the press that the video recorded by the cameraman of the TV show gave proof to the investigators and procedures that the Omaha police "had no choice but to open fire."
However, a grand jury will investigate the incident.
Dion worked for the show for seven years and was described by Langley Productions President John Langley and its Executive Producer Morgan Langley as "one of our best."
The executive producer was quoted saying, "He did something that he loved and was passionate about. We've been very fortunate over the years; we've never had an incident like this. Now, we're dealing with it, and it's a very sad day for us."
The reality TV show "Cops" launched in 1989 on Fox, and is currently being aired on the Spike Network.
