An FBI agent dancing wouldn’t ordinarily be news. At least, not for most of us. While the typical Bureau man is supposedly stiff as they come, that’s a stereotype as all kinds join the FBI. If the Marines can’t beat the fun-loving out of people, I seriously doubt the FBI can.

But it becomes news when a dancing FBI agent loses his weapon, and then while retrieving it, discharges the firearm into an innocent bystander, then wanders off as if nothing happened.

Especially now that it appears the man shot was injured a whole lot worse than originally thought.

The attorney for the man shot at a Denver bar over the weekend by a dancing FBI agent says the injury to his client’s leg is much worse than first reported.

Attorney Frank Azar says the gunshot hit a main artery and his client could have bled to death. The owners of Mile High Spirits and Distillery say it was one of their quick-thinking security guards who took off his belt and applied a tourniquet to the victim’s leg.

However, witnesses dispute the claim that it was a bar security guard who applied the tourniquet. A witness told Denver7’s Lance Hernandez that he used his belt to apply the tourniquet, and he is not employed, nor is he affiliated with the bar in any capacity.

…

There is now a chorus of growing outrage among the public as the agent waits to see if he will face charges in the case. The agent’s name is Chase Bishop, 29. He was visiting Denver, but works out of Washington D.C.

Some experts say after reviewing the videos several times, the case rises to the level of felony assault. Denver police say they are waiting on laboratory tests to determine whether Bishop will face charges.

“The main thing I’m concerned about is that he’s being given incredibly special treatment because he’s an FBI agent,” said attorney and legal expert David Lane. “Had that been ‘Joe Citizen’ in that bar doing exactly the same thing, the cops would have been there in a heartbeat. They would have slapped the cuffs on him and he would have been in jail on a fairly high bond. Because anybody acting that ridiculously stupid should be in jail on a high bond.”

I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know about what charges are appropriate. What I do know is that if you or I had pulled something like that, we’d be in a world of hurt.

While I haven’t seen a definitive word that Bishop was drinking, I’m inclined to believe he was. I mean, he was at a bar while off-duty. I’m inclined to believe he was doing what people tend to do at bars, which is drink.

And he was carrying a firearm. While he’s a federal law enforcement officer and can carry pretty much anywhere he wants, alcohol and guns don’t mix, and it doesn’t matter what kind of a badge you have. That doesn’t make you immune to acting stupid when you’re drinking.

Drinking may well also explain why Bishop decided to just walk away from the incident rather than checking on the crowd to see if he’d injured anyone with his negligent discharge.

I’m just glad the man injured in the incident is OK, even if he has to get surgery for arterial damage. He could easily be dead, after all. My prayers are with him for a full and speedy recovery.