Officer Fires Shots at Car That Hit His Motorcycle

Westminster police arrested a man Friday night on suspicion of attempting to run down a motorcycle officer with his car after leading police on a high-speed chase.

The officer, who managed to leap off his motorcycle just as it was hit by the car, fired two shots at the suspect’s vehicle, which stopped after it crashed into a parked vehicle, Westminster Police Lt. Bob Burnett said.

The officer was not hurt, Burnett said, adding that the identity of the suspect had not yet been determined.

The incident began about 8:50 p.m. in the area of Bushard Street and Hazard Avenue when a patrol officer observed a speeding car and suspected that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Burnett said.

The officer attempted to stop the car, but the driver sped off. The officer chased the car at speeds of up to 70 m.p.h. through the cities of Westminster and Garden Grove before winding up in unincorporated territory in an area near Lampson Avenue and Dale Street.

There, the suspect headed down a dead-end residential street, Burnett said, where he “attempted to run down an officer on a motorcycle.”

The officer, Mitch Waller, managed to jump from his cycle just as the car hit it and fired two rounds, hitting the car, Burnett said. The suspect then crashed his car into a parked vehicle.

The unidentified suspect was being questioned late Friday night.