U.S. Marshals Fall Through Wooden Deck While Serving Warrant at Sex Offender's Home

U.S. Marshals in Missouri didn't get the drop on their suspect like they wanted ... instead, they did the dropping themselves when a wooden deck collapsed as they tried to serve a warrant.

Body cam footage from a raid in Huntsville, Missouri, last month shows nine officers standing outside a local residence on an elevated walkway ... weapons at the ready as they prepare to breach the home.

It seems the deck -- which appears to be on the older side -- couldn't withstand the weight of justice ... because the whole thing collapsed and dropped the Marshals straight on their backsides.

Officers on the ground rush forward to help their fallen comrades before the clip ends.

Nine members of a federal task force were on the deck when it collapsed ... and five were hospitalized due to a mix of broken bones, concussions and torn muscles ... according to multiple reports.

The federal task force, a combination of U.S. Marshals and Randolph County Sheriff's deputies, was serving warrants for convicted sex offenders who failed to register their addresses when they encountered the faulty deck.

Sounds like the long arm of the law might be in a cast for a while!