Officer, 2 Suspects Wounded in Exchange of Fire Outside Bar

A state policeman from Pasadena was critically wounded by shotgun fire early Friday outside a saloon near here, according to authorities, who added that the officer evidently managed to shoot both his assailants as he was hit.

William Pattison, 25, a two-year state police veteran, had gone to Northern California with other officers to pick up new patrol cars and ferry them back to Los Angeles, a Sacramento County sheriff’s spokesman said.

Investigators have not been able to determine how Pattison came to be in the parking lot outside the Carmichael saloon early Friday morning when the shooting started. Deputies have been unable to interview either Pattison, or the two suspects, David Peterson, 26, and James Emslander, 25, both of Rancho Cordova, because of their wounds. Pattison and Peterson were in critical condition and Emslander in serious condition at University Medical Center after undergoing surgery for various chest wounds.

Deputies believe the incident began around 12:30 a.m. outside the El Dorado Saloon, where Pattison was hit in the chest by a shotgun blast. A state police officer said Pattison shot back, wounding the suspects.

The pair fled to their Rancho Cordova home, the sheriff’s spokesman said, where their roommate called authorities. Sheriff’s deputies were investigating the shootings.