California IN BRIEF : WALNUT CREEK : Bulletproof Vest Saves CHP Officer

A bulletproof vest saved the life of a California Highway Patrol officer when he was shot six times during what began as a routine traffic stop, authorities said. Eugene Mulata, 32, was in fair condition at John Muir Hospital with bruises on his chest and a shallow wound in the back, for which he will undergo surgery today. The attack occurred on California 4, near Martinez, when Mulata, a seven-year CHP veteran, stopped a vehicle that turned out to be stolen. “One of the occupants shot him twice in the chest, then the officer fell to the ground and four more shots were fired into his back,” CHP Capt. Bob Tindel said. “At this time, the officer returned the fire,” at the fleeing vehicle, which was later abandoned in Crockett, where the gunmen apparently escaped in a green Jeep, Tindel said. The CHP said investigators do not believe any of Mulata’s shots hit the fleeing gunmen because no blood was found in the pickup.