FBI agent charged with assault for gunshot in Denver distillery

The FBI agent who fired his gun into a crowded Denver distillery after it fell out of his waistband when he performed a backflip is now facing a criminal charge.

Chase Bishop is being held on a charge of second-degree assault, according to online court records. He was booked into the downtown Denver detention center Tuesday. His bond was set at $1,000.

Bishop, 29, was dancing in a circle on June 2 at Mile High Spirits when he did the backflip. Several viewers caught the dance on video. When Bishop’s handgun fell out of his waistband, he reached for it on the floor and appears to pull the trigger, causing it to discharge into the crowd.

One person, 24-year-old Tom Reddington was struck in the leg and is currently recovering.

Bishop’s status with the FBI isn’t clear at this point — the agency had previously said it was waiting on test results to see if Bishop had been drinking. No update has been given on those results.

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For the first time, we are hearing from the young man who was inadvertently shot by an off-duty FBI agent at Mile High Spirits in Denver this past weekend.

Tom Reddington, 24, was enjoying a fun night with a friend Saturday at Mile High Spirits. At the same time, 29-year-old Chase Bishop was dancing in a circle and performed a backflip. In the middle of the backflip, Bishop’s gun fell from his holster, and when he went to pick it up from the ground, he hit the trigger, causing it to fire into the crowd.

Reddington was shot in the leg.

“There’s a swelling, aching pain in my calf and a massive cramp,” said Reddington in an exclusive interview with ABC.

The very clear bullet hole in Reddington’s leg will be a constant reminder for him.

“All of a sudden from the knee down became completely red and that’s when it clicked in my head, ‘oh I’ve been shot'”, Reddington said.

He was in and out of consciousness as people tied a belt around his leg as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. The fact that the agent caused serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon would bring the case to second-degree felony assault.

However, while the FBI has said Bishop will be held accountable and could face criminal charges, many wondered why Bishop wasn’t immediately arrested.

“The main thing I am concerned about is that he is being given incredibly special treatment because he’s an FBI agent,” said attorney David Lane. “If that had been Joe Citizen in that bar doing exactly the same thing, the cops would have been there in a heartbeat and would have slapped the cuffs on him.”

Denver police say they’re waiting for test results to see if Bishop had been drinking.

Reddington is being represented by Frank D. Azar. Azar says he’s been in contact with the FBI about the incident.

“They voiced very sincere concern about the health of [Reddington] and I was very appreciative of that,” Azar said. “I hope that we can get this resolved without any litigation. I think that would be the right thing to do.”

And Reddington — who was already offered free drinks for life from Mile High Spirits — says he’s not asking for much.

“I don’t blame the guy. I don’t want to ruin his life. I just want a private phone call from this guy,” Reddington said.