By Dean Murray
Shocking scenes show US Marshals plummeting to the ground when a wooden deck collapsed.
The law enforcement officials were injured after the deck gave way while they were serving an arrest warrant on a child sex offender in Huntsville, Missouri.
Bodycam footage shows four deputy US Marshals and five local deputies falling to the ground.
They were attempting to serve Jacob Alexander Munoz, a 26-year-old convicted of child pornography possession who had stopped reporting to his parole officer after he failed to register his address. Munoz was taken into custody later that day.
Several officers were treated at local hospitals for injuries that included broken bones, and all have since been released.
The US Marshals Service said: "Unexpected hazards can arise at any moment during an enforcement operation. During a recent operation, a deck collapsed, injuring several U.S. Marshals personnel. We're grateful for the swift response on scene and with those injured a safe and speedy recovery."
A US Marshals bodycam video of the July 21 incident detailed: "So the danger is usually on the other side of the door. You don't necessarily always think about what's under your feet. Your focus is on the safety of yourself and the person standing next to you.
"They're focused on the windows and the unknown threats that are inside this apartment. So it also only took them two seconds to hit the ground, so it happened so quickly.
"The discipline of the TFOs, the task force officers, and the deputies involved in not pulling a trigger and having an accidental discharge or something like that is very impressive.
"It definitely could have ended up a lot worse with more extensive injuries. So our team always has a medical plan, an emergency plan in place. The team basically started triaging the injuries.
"A couple of deputies and task force officers were transported via ambulance to Moberly Hospital and then one actually went to Columbia, Missouri Hospital.
"The fugitive was taken into custody shortly after. Luckily for the team, nothing occurred on that end and the fugitive did not have any intent on injuring any of our team at the time."