Officer Shot in Head in Police Station Gunfight

A Los Angeles police officer was shot once in the head Saturday during a brief but chaotic gun battle that began when a man drove up and fired at his wife as she ran into the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Station, police officials said.

The officer, George Andrew Rose, 30, underwent three hours of surgery at County-USC Medical Center and was listed in extremely critical condition. Spokeswoman Adelaida de la Cerda said Rose’s condition worsened after he arrived at the hospital, but she would not say if Rose was expected to live.

“A lot of damage was done,” she said.

Police Lt. William Hall said it is unclear whether the officer was shot by the gunman or hit by police fire in the confusion. The incident occurred during a shift change and a number of officers were outside the station when the gunfire began.

“We don’t know for sure who shot him,” Hall said. “It could have been the husband. It could have been a bullet from one of our officers.”

Police officials said Rose was standing with 20 or 30 other officers in the parking lot of the police station on West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard during the 2:50 p.m. change of shifts. Hall said he did not know if Rose was beginning or ending his workday, but an officer said Rose was beginning his shift and was heading outside at the time of the shooting.

At the same time, a woman was being dropped off by a friend at the police station, reportedly seeking refuge from her violent husband. Police said the husband was following in another car and began shooting at his wife as she ran toward the station, which is located on a busy street near the Coliseum.

At least two officers in the parking lot returned fire, Hall said. Rose was the only officer struck during the gunfight.

The gunman raced away in his car as police returned fire. The car was pursued by police cars and a helicopter, and stopped less than two miles away near the Harvard Playground at Denker Avenue and 61st Street.

Police identified the driver as Ray Phillips, 56, and said he was wearing a navy blue security guard’s uniform. Phillips was arrested on charges of attempted murder, and a handgun was seized, police said.

Neither Phillips nor the woman identified as his wife was injured.

After the shooting, a one-block section of Martin Luther King Boulevard in front of the single-story station was cordoned off. Many officers milled around the station, talking among themselves. There was a pile of bloodstained sheets in a driveway.

Witness Charles Smith, 35, described the shooting as “awfully bold.”

“You would think it is safe to be at a police station,” he said.

Myung Chon, owner of King Jr. Auto Service across the street from the police station, said one bullet tore through the stucco wall of his shop, another punched a hole in a windshield and a third clipped a sign in front of his shop.

Chon, who was unhurt, said he fell to the floor when he heard the first burst of shots.

Rose had joined the department in May, 1989, and was assigned to the Southwest Division. His wife was rushed to the hospital and was met by Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, who said nothing publicly about the shooting.

At the station, Officer Suzy Regan said Rose was a popular officer who had worked there for the last two years. “He’s a great guy, a team player,” she said. “Very energetic, conscientious, hard working.”

His shooting, she said, particularly shocked officers at the division because so many of them saw it. “We were all standing out there,” she said. “I believe it was just a cross-fire situation, a stray bullet. I’ve been on the force eight years and have never seen it happen. It is a horrible tragedy.”

Times staff writer Mark Stein contributed to this story.