Motorist Snatches Squad Car, Drags Officer

A 19-year-old man pulled over for making an illegal U-turn jumped into a Buena Park policeman’s patrol car and drove off as the officer wrestled for control of the steering wheel and was dragged through a market parking area, authorities said Sunday.

The officer suffered a broken collarbone and cuts that required stitches on his elbow and head. The suspect was spotted in the marked squad car half an hour later in Orange and, after a 20-minute chase, was captured.

Officer Recuperating at Home

Buena Park Police Lt. Tony Kelly said the officer had been hospitalized but was recuperating at home Sunday. Kelly would not identify the officer because the official press release did not and because “there might be some embarrassment to the poor kid. He’s injured and kind of sitting at home.”

Adolph Denny Chavez, 19, of Buena Park was arrested on suspicion of auto theft, assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon and related charges. He was taken to Orange County Jail, where he was being held Sunday in lieu of $10,000 bail.

“He had no previous record, he was a local kid,” Kelly said of Chavez, who told police that he is a student. “As for motive, we have no idea why he would decide to steal a police car instead of signing a ticket.”

The incident began at 8:25 p.m. Saturday, when the Buena Park officer stopped a Volkswagen bus in the 7700 block of 8th Street--a 100-foot-long stretch of pavement that Kelly said is better known as the parking area for Jack’s Market at Beach Boulevard and Manchester Avenue.

Chavez and the officer were standing between their vehicles as the ticket was written. Kelly said the officer was near the rear of the squad car, the suspect closer to the passenger door. Suddenly, Chavez opened the passenger door and climbed over the police equipment, Kelly said.

The officer ran around to the driver’s door as Chavez allegedly started the car. They struggled over the wheel, “but Chavez had the upper hand because he was behind the wheel in the seat,” Kelly said. As the officer tried to hang on, the suspect stepped on the gas, briefly dragging the policeman before the officer was thrown off the car.

Buena Park Police Officer Rich McMillan in a prepared statement said: “For unknown reasons” the motorist “attacked and overpowered the officer and fled in the marked Buena Park police unit.”

Description of Suspect and Car Broadcast

Buena Park police broadcast a description of the suspect and car over countywide police radio channels.

Thirty minutes later in Orange, police spotted the patrol car traveling east on Chapman Avenue, McMillan stated. Orange police followed it onto Santiago Canyon Road, and Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies joined the pursuit. Chavez was arrested without trouble near El Toro Road and Muirlands Boulevard in El Toro, police said.