Long Beach Officer Pleads Not Guilty at Arraignment : Shooting: The incident was merely a tragic accident, Alan B. Ice’s attorney says.

A suspended Long Beach police officer facing criminal charges for shooting a man during a traffic dispute pleaded not guilty Wednesday. His attorney claimed that the shooting was merely a tragic accident.

Officer Alan B. Ice, accompanied by his brother and three daughters, made his first appearance in court for his arraignment in Municipal Court in Westminster. He declined to speak with the press, but his defense attorney offered his first public explanation of the Sept. 28 shooting in Fountain Valley.

“This is simply an accident,” attorney John D. Barnett said after the brief arraignment. “His actions were reasonable.”

Ice, 45, who is out of jail on $25,000 bail, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted on assault and weapons charges. The Long Beach Police Department has suspended the 21-year police veteran without pay pending an internal investigation.

The incident occurred one Saturday morning nearly six weeks ago at an intersection in Fountain Valley. According to court documents, Ice was heading to a store when Neil Cramer of Santa Ana, driving with his daughter and fiancee, swerved in the road to avoid a fallen biker.

Ice pulled alongside Cramer and a heated verbal dispute began, authorities said.

According to the version of events offered Wednesday by Barnett, “Mr. Cramer went for a hammer. Officer Ice had reason to obtain the gun . . . reason enough to arm himself.” But Cramer denied he went for a weapon and has said that he was totally surprised by the officer’s actions.

Ice said he grabbed his 9-millimeter handgun for protection, but then decided to leave the scene rather than continue the fight, documents show. As he was attempting to drive away, Ice told investigators, his car lurched forward and the gun accidentally fired.

“Accidental (shootings) happen all the time,” Barnett said.

The bullet struck Cramer’s shoulder, collapsing a lung and lodging near his heart. Cramer has since been released from the hospital and is expected to fully recover.