Harbor Patrol Officer Shot; Gunmen Flee

In a bizarre shooting incident, a Ventura Harbor Patrol officer was wounded in the leg and chest Wednesday night by three gunmen who later fled the scene in an inflatable boat, and were still at large late into the night, police said.

In what appeared to be the first shooting of a Harbor Patrol officer in recent years, Deputy Harbor Master Dave Shapiro was shot twice and transported to Ventura County Medical Center, where he was listed in fair and stable condition, hospital officials said.

The strange twist of events began about 8 p.m. when the officer was apparently shot by the suspects after they had boarded his boat at the mouth of the Ventura Marina, police said.

Shapiro, 59, was alone in his Harbor Patrol boat when he came upon some suspected wrongdoing, said Deputy Harbor Master Merv Larson.

“Apparently he stopped the inflatable boat for some sort of violation. We don’t stop people until they’re committing a violation. At that time, a fight ensued and they boarded his boat and shot him,” Larson said.

The gunmen then fled in their boat, which was described by police as a black and gray, 18-foot inflatable with a yellow stripe and a black outboard motor.

Though wounded, Shapiro was able to return his boat to shore.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, working with the Ventura Police Department, canvassed an area as far south as Channel Islands Harbor, and to the Santa Barbara County line with police units, boats and helicopters. Authorities also alerted Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol to keep an eye out for the three gunmen, said Lt. Brad Talbot of the Ventura Police Department.

Shapiro’s injuries were described by Pat Hummer, a deputy with the Ventura Harbor Patrol, as going “straight through” without hurting any internal body parts.

“I was just on the phone with his daughter,” Hummer said. “He’s in pretty good condition, he might be able to come home tonight.”

Officials at the hospital concurred that the 10-year veteran’s injuries could have been much worse.

“At the moment he’s stable and we’re not calling his condition life-threatening,” said Rose Elliot, nursing supervisor. “We’re just trying to find out first the level of his injuries; then we’ll get to the rest of the stuff.”

Back at Ventura Harbor, authorities set up their command post at Alexander’s restaurant, a few blocks from the incident off Spinnaker Drive and Harbor Boulevard in Ventura.

Some restaurant patrons dancing at a weekly country music gathering said it was eerie to hear so many police sirens only a few days after the San Fernando Valley bank robbery where two robbers were shot dead.

“Some people said, ‘Oh My God’ we’ve got L.A. breaking out here,’ and they took off,” said patron Doyle LaDassor.