'Cops' crew member killed by police officers

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Published April 13, 2016

A crew member from the long-running police reality show “Cops” was killed by Omaha police officers while disrupting a robbery, authorities said. The suspect was also killed.

Officer Michael Pecha, of the Omaha Police Department told FOX411 that the crew member had been injured, and authorities later confirmed he had been killed.

“There was a robbery in progress, and then there were shots fired and the robbery suspect died from gunshot wounds, and then a ‘Cops’ crew member was injured,” Pecha said.

Police Chief Todd Schmaderer later confirmed the crew member's death and said that witnesses and officers thought the robbery suspect's Airsoft handgun was real, but that it fires only plastic pellets.

Schmaderer said he believes the three officers involved acted properly during the attempted robbery Tuesday at a Wendy's in midtown Omaha.

Schmaderer says 38-year-old Bryce Dion who worked for Langley Productions and the suspect, 32-year-old Cortez Washington, were killed.

The incident will be investigated and all three officers are on leave.

The reality series has been on the air since 1989. According to Fox 42 KPTM, the show has been filming in Omaha for the past month.

Spike TV did not return FOX411’s request for comment regarding the crew member’s injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/cops-crew-member-killed-by-police-officers