Back-flipping FBI agent who accidentally shot Denver nightclub-goer charged with assault

The back-flipping FBI agent who shot Denver nightclub-goer was arrested.

June 12, 2018, 6:11 PM

The FBI agent who accidentally shot a nightclub-goer when he did a backflip on a dance floor in Denver turned himself in Tuesday and was charged with assault, according to the district attorney.

Chase Bishop is pictured in this undated photo released by the Denver Sheriff’s Department.
Denver Sheriff’s Department

The agent, 29-year-old Chase Bishop, who is stationed in Washington, D.C., surrendered on a warrant in connection with the June 2 incident at the Mile High Spirits Tasting Room, officials said.

Bishop was charged with second-degree assault by Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, who said additional charges are possible pending the results of a blood-alcohol-content, or BAC, analysis.

An FBI agent did a back-flip and his gun fell out at Mile High Spirits bar near downtown Denver, June 4, 2018.
Google

"We are filing this charge now rather than waiting until the BAC report is received, which we understand could take another week, because sufficient evidence has been presented to file it," McCann said in a statement. "If an additional charge needs to be filed after further evidence is received, we can file those charges then."

Thomas Reddington, 24, was shot in his left leg.

"It's bizarre. It's beyond bizarre," Reddington told ABC News last week, describing the incident. "It's beyond comprehension I think right now for me, just with all the factors involved."

Cellphone video of the incident that has since gone viral on social media shows Bishop dancing on a dance floor in the crowded bar when he suddenly does a backflip, falls forward and his gun slips out of his waistband, landing on the dance floor. It went off when it went to retrieve it.

Tom Reddington is interviewed at his home in Denver, June 6, 2018. He was accidentally shot by the back-flipping FBI agent.
ABC News

The FBI declined to comment on the charge against Bishop, but an FBI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, previously told ABC News that he "will be held accountable."

ABC News has reached out to Bishop's attorney for comment but has not gotten a response.

Bishop is scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on Wednesday morning.