A police officer shot at two men in a car when the driver
attempted to run over another officer, police said.
A police officer shot at two men in a car when the driver attempted to run over another officer, police said.
About 9:35 p.m. Wednesday, two officers and a sergeant were wrapping up an unrelated narcotics investigation along the 100 block of Ronan Avenue, just north of Las Animas Veterans Park, when the sergeant passed a mid-size sedan carrying a “well known” Norteño gang member wanted for parole violation, Sgt. Jim Gillio said. The sergeant, having known the suspect for “a long time,” called out to the other two officers, one of whom attempted to block the road with his cruiser ahead of the sedan. He then got out of his patrol car and signaled with his flashlight for the sedan to stop, Gillio said.
As the officer approached the idling vehicle from the front, the other officer came up form behind while the sergeant turned his vehicle around, Gillio said. As the two officers closed in, the driver slowed down but then sped off, endangering the life of the officer standing in front of the car at an unspecified distance away, Gillio said.
The officer managed to dodge the vehicle, but the officer behind – also a veteran cop – feared for his colleague’s life and fired an undisclosed number of shots, striking the vehicle at least once. The incident took place in “a matter of seconds,” Gillio said, too soon for the sergeant to re-join his team.
“It was apparent to the officers that the suspects willingly tried to flee even after weapons were pointed at them,” a press release stated.
The suspects fled the scene and police gave chase, but the sedan made a series of “evasive” turns, causing the three officers to “immediately” lose sight of the suspects. Five to 10 minutes later, officers discovered the abandoned car in an unspecified apartment parking lot in the “immediate area.” The suspects were gone by the time officers arrived, but there were several witnesses to the incident and police interviewed them.
Gillio, who ended his shift about 1 p.m. Thursday after more than 24 hours on the clock, would not say where officers discovered the car or if there were additional occupants aside from the unknown driver and suspect. He also would not say what evidence police recovered from the sedan or if anyone inside caught gunfire, but he did say detectives were reviewing evidence. A spokesperson for Saint Louise Regional Hospital said nobody came in for treatment of gunshot wounds immediately after the incident.
Police said they did not have the suspects names as of Thursday morning but were “working to firm up” their identities. Police also did not release a description of the suspects.
Police often withhold information from the public immediately after an incident to give officers the upper hand when questioning suspects later, police have said. Gillio also could not provide information on the chief suspect’s criminal history or parole terms because the wanted notices police receive from state parole authorities do not include specifics, he said.
Whenever an officer uses any type of deadly force, he or she takes a “routine leave” while the department conducts an internal investigation. The investigation is still ongoing, and the standard leave is anywhere from two to 14 days. Only the officer who fired his weapon is on leave.
This puts added pressure on a department already stressed by under-staffing, and exacerbates what many officers have described as low morale due to recent budget cuts.
One senior officer retired earlier this month and another will do so next month. Another officer quit after budget woes to take a job in Watsonville, and a detective also recently left the force.
With two additional sworn officers now off the streets, the department will operate with 53 sworn officers throughout October, about two-thirds of whom patrol the streets. Overtime will likely increase because the graveyard shift is already at its minimum staffing level, police said.
A federal grant will allow the hiring of three new officers, but they likely won’t join the department until February 2010 at the earliest.
If you have information about this incident, you can contact Detective Stanley Devlin at 846-0335 or leave an anonymous tip at 846-0330.
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