CHP Officer Shot; Police Kill Gunman

A CHP officer was shot early Wednesday by a deeply troubled 25-year-old Granada Hills man after a high-speed chase, two years after the man led police on a similar chase and barricaded himself in the same house, authorities said.

Terry James Parker was killed by police in his Granada Hills neighborhood after he shot CHP Officer Rafael Casillas, 31, in the abdomen, thigh and wrist.

Casillas was listed Wednesday night in critical condition and was on a respirator at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. Alfredo Casillas, a cousin of the patrolman, said about 10 p.m. that Casillas had improved slightly and that the family was optimistic.

Eight Southern California law enforcement officers have lost their lives in recent months. Casillas was the second CHP officer to be shot in the line of duty in as many weeks. CHP Officer Don Burt was killed in Fullerton on July 13 by a gunman who shot him six times and then fired a seventh, and fatal, shot into his eye.

In both violent confrontations with police, Parker was chased by officers over a speeding violation, left the San Diego Freeway by the same exit and holed up in his Granada Hills home, which he shared with his father.

On Wednesday, after police arrived, Parker opened the front door, shot Casillas and then fled. He was tracked by police dogs before being cornered several blocks away, where he fired at police and then was fatally shot as three officers returned his fire, police said.

About 100 officers from local law enforcement agencies streamed into Holy Cross Medical Center to offer support to Casillas and his parents and sister, who were keeping a vigil at his side.

Casillas joined the CHP eight years ago and preferred to work nights because the shift was the most active, CHP Officer Wendy Moore said. He has worked out of the Newhall office for the past two years, and before that spent six years in the West San Fernando Valley. The Santa Monica native is single.

The shooting occurred just a few weeks before Casillas, an avid dirt bike rider and restorer of classic cars, was to have taken colleagues to Baja California on an annual trip he organized.

“This department cannot stand to lose another good person. . . . I think there are too many people out there with guns,” said CHP Deputy Chief Edward Gomez.

Parker’s death ended a lengthy history of clashes with authorities. Numerous criminal charges had been filed against him dating back four years and he had been convicted in cases involving drugs and alcohol. Several times, judges recommended that he undergo psychiatric evaluation.

His father, James, said his son believed that police were conspiring against him and that he would never escape trouble. He said that his son had been released from prison just a month ago and that they had planned to move to Arizona today.

“He would say, ‘Dad, they’re not going to let me leave here,’ ” said James Parker, who turned 63 Wednesday. “ ‘This is where I get into all my trouble.’ ”

Parker described his son as “paranoid” and said his son had been drinking and “kind of went crazy” Wednesday.

The incident began when Casillas and his partner tried to pull Parker over for speeding on the San Diego Freeway. Parker, who police said was traveling at 75 mph, refused to stop. Instead, he left the freeway at Rinaldi Street and sped to his home. Police gave pursuit, apparently not realizing that it was the same man driving the same truck who had had a run-in with other officers two years ago, a CHP spokesman said.

When his son arrived home, James Parker said, he heard the door slam and then someone kicking and pounding on the door.

Next, he said, he heard gunshots.

“There were bullets flying everywhere,” he said.

Police said Parker shot Casillas as Parker opened the door.

Both Casillas and his partner, James Portilla, returned fire. Then Portilla dragged Casillas away from the doorway and called for help.

Officers from several LAPD divisions arrived and SWAT team members surrounded the house.

But Parker had fled through the backyard and hid near a tennis court at Rinaldi and Blucher Avenue, according to his father and police accounts.

Meanwhile, officers received a tip from a local business owner. Police with dogs began searching the area.

Police cornered Parker on a hill near the tennis court. When he fired at them, LAPD Officers Mark Tico, 34, Jack Schanley, 36, and Chris Warren, 35, each with 10 years experience on the force, returned the fire, killing Parker.

Parker’s father said the 9-millimeter gun that his son used had been wrapped in a rag and hidden in the truck’s console. Parker said he didn’t think that his son would find his weapon, which he said he kept for his own protection.

Neighbors in the tree-lined, quiet area just west of the freeway said that from a very early age Parker had discipline and behavioral problems. Several alleged that Parker broke into their homes when he was much younger.

Jose Freire said he knew when he heard the gunshots about 1:40 a.m. Wednesday that Parker was in trouble with the law again. “I knew right away what was happening. I knew it was Terry.”

Jim Whitt, who lives on the street, said: “The real issue is why he wasn’t dealt with sooner. . . .”

Parker’s most serious troubles began with an April 1994 incident when police officers wounded him after he allegedly tried to run over them in the same black truck that he drove Wednesday.

A probation report written after that incident stated that Parker was depressed by alcohol and drugs, which he had been using since he was a young boy.

“The defendant has used rock cocaine for approximately 10 years,” the report said. “He currently uses up to $80 of rock cocaine per day. He would get money from his father, claiming he needed it for food or entertainment, or by selling items given to him as presents.”

The report concluded that Parker “needs psychiatric treatment immediately. He is hearing voices and is suicidal.”

Police provided this account of the 1994 incident:

Officers tried to stop Parker for speeding. When he sped away, the officers chased him about a mile, when he stopped at the Rinaldi Street exit of the San Diego Freeway.

Two officers pulled up in front of his truck. When one got out and started walking toward the truck, Parker drove forward, hitting the police car’s passenger side. As he reversed the truck in the direction of other officers, the officer who had approached Parker shot him in the chest and leg.

Although wounded, Parker managed to drive away, leading police on a chase to his home. Within minutes, the house was surrounded and Parker surrendered.

Three months later, police were called back to the Harvest Street home after Parker fired shots into the air. Parker had been released pending a trial for the earlier incident. This time, officers used tear gas to get him out. He surrendered without incident and told investigators that he had “wanted the police officers to kill him when they arrived,” according to a later probation report.

Suzanne Childs, a spokeswoman for Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, said Parker was sentenced in October 1994 to 3 years and 8 months in state prison for three incidents--including a cocaine possession charge and the April and July shooting incidents. He also was ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling. Parker was released from prison a month ago, his father said.

Deputy Chief Martin Pomeroy, who oversees the LAPD’s Valley Bureau and was at the crime scene when Parker was wounded in 1994, said he knew then that police would meet Parker again.

“Two years ago, the thought struck me that this was a troubled young man that we would have to deal with in the future--possibly under serious circumstances,” Pomeroy said.

After the 1994 shooting, Parker’s father said he filed a $1-million lawsuit against police when the city denied an earlier claim. The two officers involved, including Michael Clark, who joined the Simi Valley Police Department and was killed in a shooting in December, were reprimanded by LAPD Chief Willie L. Williams for their tactics.

Williams’ review of the incident concluded that the officers allowed their car to nearly ram Parker’s truck, “beginning a series of tactical errors that precipitated an officer-involved shooting.”

The second officer, Carl Oschmann, was suspended for eight days.

Gary Casselman, a West Los Angeles attorney, said he prepared the claim and lawsuit over the 1994 shooting involving Parker. But Casselman said he advised the Parkers that he did not think they could win in court.

The suit contended that police used excessive force and violated Parker’s civil rights, Casselman said.

In the latest shooting, police said they believed that the CHP and LAPD officers were justified in their actions. “It looks like a clean shooting,” said LAPD Cmdr. Tim McBride.

“From what I know, the officers have done nothing wrong here,” said CHP Sgt. Rick Linson, who teaches enforcement tactics at the CHP academy in Sacramento.

The eight officers who died recently were involved in a variety of incidents leading to their deaths. Some died in domestic disputes, some were struck by fleeing criminals, one was hit by a train and another was shot by a colleague.

Times staff writers Ann W. O’Neill, Hugo Martin and Timothy Williams and correspondent Darrell Saltzman contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Fatal Encounter

Early Wednesday in Granada Hills, California Highway Patrol Officer Rafael Casillas was shot by a gunman who was later shot and killed by LAPD officers. Casillas is in critical condition. How it happened, according to authorities:

1) CHP officers pursue a motorist speeding south on the San Diego Freeway.

2) The suspect, later identified as Terry James Parker, drives to his house on Harvest Street and goes in. He comes out on porch and shoots CHP officer.

3) Parker flees on foot and is found by LAPD K-9 officers. He shoots at officers, who return fire and kill him.

Sources: CHP and LAPD reports