Dallas

Weatherford Police Officer Accidentally Shot by Fellow Officer, Stable After Surgery: Police

"The officer that fired his weapon has been placed on routine administrative leave, per department policy"

A North Texas police officer is on administrative leave after shooting another officer and the man he was trying to arrest during a traffic stop Thursday night.

Weatherford police said Officer Chris Bumpas is in stable condition after undergoing surgery Thursday night. Bumpas has been on the police force for less than a year and was recently named the Weatherford Police Department's "Rookie of the Year."

At about 9:15 p.m., Bumpas stopped a driver outside the Tequila Bar and Grill on the 2100 block of Tin Top Road. After learning one of the three occupants of the vehicle was wanted, he tried to place the man under arrest.

The man, whose name has not yet been released, became combative and hit Bumpas with a metal flashlight, police said. An officer called to backup Bumpas used a stun gun to try to disable the man, but it had no effect. The backup officer then fired his weapon multiple times, striking the man.

A preliminary investigation revealed the backup officer, whose name has also not been released, accidentally shot Bumpas in the stomach, police said.

"The officer that fired his weapon has been placed on routine administrative leave, per department policy," police spokesman Jason Hayes said.

Weatherford police said Bumpas was transported to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where he underwent surgery.

The wanted man was also hospitalized and was listed as "guarded," police said. Once he's recovered, he'll be taken to jail where he is expected to face a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer.

A man and woman riding in the wanted man's vehicle were not injured in the incident.

Detectives with the Weatherford Police Department and a member of the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting. The Texas Rangers are expected to take the lead in the case, which police said is normal protocol for officer-involved shootings in Weatherford.

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