LAPD Officer 'Relieved Of Police Powers' After Being Arrested In The Shooting Of Fellow Officer While Camping

APPLE VALLEY (CBSLA) — An officer from the Los Angeles Police Department's Newton Division is now on the other side of the law after allegedly shooting a fellow off-duty officer during a camping trip over the weekend.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office said the shooting happened just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, near the Stoddard Wells Off-Highway Vehicle area in unincorporated Apple Valley.

According to investigators, 44-year-old Ismael Tamayo, a 13-year veteran of the LAPD, was camping and shooting guns there with two friends who are also LAPD officers, when for reasons still under investigation, Tamayo shot the unidentified 48-year-old officer once in the upper body.

The LAPD said the third off-duty officer, a supervisor, was not injured. Tamayo was arrested for attempted murder.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore released a statement Sunday saying, "The events overnight culminating in the serious injury to our off-duty officer, apparently at the hands of another member of this department, give me great concern. I spoke earlier this morning with Sheriff John McMahon, pledging our full support of their criminal investigation. I am thankful our injured officer is in stable condition and expected to survive. I am committed to determining what and how this occurred."

On Monday Tamayo's attorney sent CBSLA a statement saying Tamayo served honorably in the military for over 21 years and is a tenured LAPD officer.

"We are cooperating with authorities and we are confident that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing once the facts are made known. We ask that due process be allowed to run its course and that the privacy of Ismael and his family is respected," the attorney said.

The LAPD said Tamayo has been relieved of his police powers pending the outcome of the criminal and administrative investigations.

He's being held on $1 million bail and his arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday in Victorville.