Officer, Motorist Exchange Gunshots

A police officer and a fleeing motorist traded gunshots early Monday after a brief car pursuit ended in a minor crash, police said.

The officer was not injured, and police believe that the motorist and a companion were also unharmed as they escaped on foot after their vehicle was disabled.

Police spokesman Matt Reynolds said that just after midnight, a patrol officer pulled over a 1976 Cadillac headed west on La Jolla Street for a traffic violation.

As the officer approached the car, the driver quickly drove off, he said.

The speeding Cadillac headed into Anaheim on La Jolla before the driver “just lost it and went out of control,” Reynolds said.

The car jumped the curb and rammed into a light pole.

As the officer got out of his car, the Cadillac’s driver opened fire with a handgun, according to the officer’s account.

The officer returned fire, and the two men in the Cadillac fled on foot.

The officer was not identified and described by Reynolds only as a one-year veteran of the Placentia force and a police officer for eight years.

Reynolds said the shooting is being investigated by Anaheim police.

Detectives questioned a man Monday who might be the owner of the car, but no arrests had been made by Monday evening, Reynolds said.