CULVER CITY : Officer Wounded While Chasing Suspect

A 24 year-old Culver City police officer was in fair condition Wednesday with a gunshot wound in his neck as police continued their hunt for the gunman.

Officer Travis Marschall, a five-year veteran of the Culver City Police Department, was shot after responding to a 911 call placed about 10 p.m. Saturday by a couple who had been robbed at gunpoint in the driveway of their home in the 4400 block of Le Bourget Avenue.

One of the victims gave police a description of two male suspects and a vehicle. Marschall and a partner spotted the suspects’ car heading east on Washington Boulevard. The car then turned south on Higuera Street into the Hayden industrial area, where the officers tried to halt the vehicle.

“The (car) then sped away but collided with the center median at Hayden Avenue and National Boulevard,” police spokesman Sgt. Dave Paroda said. The two suspects ran in different directions, and the officers pursued them on foot.

“(Marschall) gave chase for quite a while, jumping over fences and walls,” Paroda said. “He got within five feet of one of the suspects, when the suspect turned and shot the officer in the neck.”

About 60 officers from Burbank, Santa Monica, and the Los Angeles Police and Sheriff’s departments surrounded the area for more than 9 1/2 hours, but the suspects eluded capture.

The wounding of Marschall has caused concern on Culver City’s tight-knit, 117-officer department, which has not had an officer shot in more than a decade.

“He’s a young, aggressive officer who has been doing an outstanding job--no one is better in that type of situation,” said Culver City Police Sgt. Gary McEwen. “Everyone here feels more vulnerable. It could have been any one of us.”

Said Culver City Mayor Mike Balkman: “I just feel awful. It’s one of those things that just shouldn’t happen. He was just doing his job. Any time an officer is shot, it hits close to home.”

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Culver City Police Department at (310) 202-5648.