RIPPLE EFFECT

A DETECTIVE was snapped pulling out a GUN during a SNOWBALL FIGHT.
The off-duty officer drew the weapon after his car was pelted with snowballs during the friendly battle.

The footage has since been posted on YouTube.

Washington police are investigating the incident, which happened during a mass snowball fight involving around 200 people.

Eyewitness Matthew Bradley told Washington City Paper: "We showed up to see the snowball fight already in progress.

"It was pretty friendly, mostly OK. At one point, a cop got stuck in the snow. People stopped and helped him out.

"A couple moments later, this big maroon Hummer turned up. A small faction of people decided to target it with snowballs.

"It turned out the driver was a detective. He got out waving a walkie-talkie. Then he starts waving a gun."

He added: "There was a point where it got really tense. The experience for many people was snowball fight, kind of fun...and then there's a guy with a gun."

Uniformed police arrived on the scene, at which point the detective - who identified himself as Detective Baylor - calmed down.

Assistant Chief Pete Newsham said: "We have to see what the entire circumstance was. But just a snowball fight, not in my mind, that doesn't seem a situation where we would pull out a service weapon."

The officer has been placed on desk duty pending the results of an investigation.

Click HERE to see more images from the dramatic scene.