Merced police officer, dispatcher arrested for firing gun from moving car

A Merced police officer and dispatcher have been arrested on suspicion of firing a gun from a moving vehicle, according to the Merced County Sheriff's Office.

Officer Lance O'Brien and dispatcher Grace Gordon were in a vehicle with two other people early Wednesday morning when they reportedly shot a gun from a moving vehicle in several unincorporated areas of Merced County, including near Livingston and Atwater, authorities said in a news release.

No one was injured and no damage was reported.

O'Brien and Gordon were off-duty at the time. They were in a private vehicle and the gun involved also was privately owned, Sheriff Vern Warnke said,.

It was determined the two other occupants of the vehicle weren't involved in shooting and weren't arrested, the release states.

The Atwater Police Department responded to reports of an alleged shooting at about 3:45 a.m. Wednesday near Bell Drive and Applegate Boulevard in Atwater.

Merced County Sheriff's Office Detectives Bureau took over the investigation and determined that O'Brien and Gordon discharged the gun from the vehicle.

Detectives made contact with O'Brien and Gordon at their homes and they were placed under arrest for willful negligent discharge of a firearm in a gross negligent manner, according to the release.

Gordon and O'Brien were booked into a Merced County jail at 12:35 p.m. with a $10,000 bond each, and bailed out at 2:35 p.m., according to jail records.

O'Brien and Gordon have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation into their conduct, according to Merced Police Capt. Bimley West.

O'Brien has been an officer since June 27, 2016, while Gordon has been employed by the City of Merced as a dispatcher since July 20, 2015, city spokesman Mike Conway said.

"It's a personnel matter at this time," West said, explaining he couldn't release more information on O'Brien and Gordon. "It's definitely going to be investigated thoroughly by our agency in cooperation with the Sheriff's Office."

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Merced police officer, dispatcher arrested for firing gun from moving car."