The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has released body-worn camera footage from a traffic stop that has gone viral on social media, where the police handcuffs a guy who is mistaken for a suspect of an attempted murder.

The traffic stop took place on the 24th of June. The KCSO issued a statement on the traffic stop and the viral mobile phone footage from the incident on the 2nd of July.

The police offered background information for the incident, stating: The Bakersfield Police Department responded to a victim of a shooting in the 100 block of H Street on 29th of April. Officers located the victim with a gunshot wound to the back. BPD issued a warrant for the arrest of the suspect, Andrew Ward, for attempted murder.

According to the police, a metro patrol Sergeant, who was formerly assigned to the gang unit and had prior contacts with Ward, was in the area of North Chester Avenue and Merle Haggard Drive, an area that Ward is known to frequent. The Sergeant located a man, who very closely resembled Ward on 23rd of June, at approximately 6:49 p.m.

The Sergeant believed the man in question was Ward based on appearance and the area he was located in.

According to police files, Andrew Ward, 27, is a black male, 5 feet tall and weighing 165 lbs.

The man located by the Sergeant was a black male, 28, 6 feet tall and 150 Ibs.

The officer noted that both men have black hair and brown eyes, short haircuts, mustaches, and beards.

The police added: “The Sergeant followed the man’s car to a Walmart parking lot on North Chester Avenue, where he was arrested. The Sergeant assumed the individual in the car was armed since the handgun used in the shooting was not found at the scene and was still outstanding at the time of this traffic check. As a result, other units, including canine units, came at that moment to help.”

Officers performed a high-risk traffic stop, which compels deputies to draw their firearms and force the driver out of the vehicle, as is the usual procedure when a suspect is thought to be armed and suspected of committing a violent crime such as attempted murder.

The individual cooperated with the deputies and agreed to have his car searched for a weapon.

Since there was no firearm in the vehicle, deputies released the driver of the car once the search was completed and deputies determined he was not the sought suspect.

Additional Sheriff’s Office employees spoke with the individual and answered any questions he had regarding the investigation and why he was stopped.

The footage was examined by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, and an internal investigation into the event is underway.