A woman faces three-and-a-half years in prison after she pointed a gun at her ex-boyfriend who tried to break into her home to get his belongings back after their break-up.
Catherine Bonner was inside her home when the unnamed man – who had brought a cop with him – tried to break a window to gain entry.
The officer’s bodycam filmed everything that happened – including the moment she poked the nose of the gun out of the window.
The woman’s attorney, David Pilato, explained how the pair had rowed the night before – and claimed Bonner had ended up breaking her foot.
When her ex came back to collect his belongings, she refused him entry and so he called police.
In the footage the officer spoke to a neighbour, confirming the ex had lived there for more than 10 days, then assured him: "If you can break a window glass, it’s cheaper to repair.
"You can gain entry anyway you want, and you won’t be held (criminally) accountable."
The ex, asks the officers if he can just be given a report, so he can pursue the case through small claims court, but the officer reiterated he was fine to break in.
The man finally gives in, and breaks a window with his hand, before using a shoe to clear the remaining shards.
Seconds later the barrel of a 9mm rifle appears through the broken window, and the officers act.
The cops break in to the home, forcing Bonner on to the ground and arrest her.
She was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, menacing a police officer, and menacing her boyfriend and faces up to up to three-and-a-half years behind bars on the menacing a police officer charge.
Rochester Police Department in the USA has since issued a new police training bulletin on how officers should act in a similar situation.
It read: "Employees shall not use the powers of their office to render assistance in the pursuit of matters which are strictly private or civil in nature, except in those matters where they are required by law to to exercise their powers or where a breach of the peace has occurred or is imminent."
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