The plan itself seems solid enough. Two Muskegon, Michigan, police officers, investigating a possible kidnapping, arrive at a suspect’s home. They suit up, ready their weapons and discuss their roles: one cop takes the front entrance, the other comes in from the back. They take their positions. Each kicks in his respective door and enters.

Suddenly, one officer is startled to see a man with a gun approaching. He levels his sidearm and fires. The other officer, finding himself being shot at, fires back. In the basement of the house, three people minding their own business wonder what the hell is going on upstairs.

Saying that the matter is a private one, the Muskegon chief of police hasn’t revealed the names of the officers, nor offered an explanation as to how neither man seemed to realize the other armed man was his partner. Though more than a dozen shots were fired, neither officer managed to hit the other. The occupants of the house were mystified but uninjured.

» Scott Saxon