It is clear that communication is vital when making a movie in a public place, especially if it involves guns. Police bodycam footage was released on Tuesday, showing a police officer in Indiana shooting at a man he thought was a gunman, who turned out to be playing the role of a bank robber in a movie.

When the masked man didn’t immediately drop his weapon, one shot was fired by the officer before it was understood they were making a film.

911 call warns of ongoing robbery at a bar

According to a report by WDRB, the incident happened in Crawfordsville, Ind., last week.

Police had responded to a 911 call, where a concerned citizen thought a robbery was ongoing at a local bar. When officers arrived at the bar, located a short distance from the police station, they spotted a masked man backing out of the bar with a weapon in his hand. As can be seen in the bodycam video below, one officer tells the man to “drop the gun now.”

The masked man was 48-year-old James Duff, an actor busy filming a scene and holding a prop gun at the time. Obviously confused and shocked, Duff did not immediately react when told to drop the weapon and tries to remove his mask instead. One officer shoots off around when he doesn’t comply. As reported by the Washington Post, the bullet missed Duff’s head by approximately two inches, while officers continue to shout at him to drop his weapon and get down.

While this is going on, Duff can be heard shouting back, telling them they were doing a movie. The officer can then be heard to say “Excuse me?” while other officers continue to tell Duff to drop his weapon.

Low-budget movie filmed at a Crawfordsville bar

WNDU reports that Duff and another actor were shooting a scene for a low-budget movie “10 to Fire” when it happened.

The movie is reportedly about a dystopian future where everyone carries a weapon. After the incident, where fortunately no one was injured, Duff told WDRB he was pretty shaken up by what happened. Duff described the passing of the bullet close to his head as “a big breeze.” He told the Washington Post that the officer didn’t give him a chance to drop the gun and said the incident is now stuck in his mind.

He has nightmares about it every night and reportedly woke up screaming on Thursday.

WNDU quotes police as saying they hadn’t been informed by either the bar or the film production company that the movie was being shot in that area. Other businesses in the area were also allegedly unaware the filming was ongoing. The filming equipment and other actors in the scene were inside the bar and out of sight, making it unclear a film was being shot.

The Indiana State Police later said in a statement that no one was injured during the incident and that the subject – the actor Duff – was temporarily taken into custody until police could authenticate his story and release him.
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