Officer Shot During Arrest of Suspect

A Long Beach police officer was shot in the back of her left thigh Friday morning, most likely by a fellow officer’s errant bullet fired during the arrest of a car theft suspect, police said.

Long Beach Police Officer Brenda Relph, 33, was treated and released at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, said Sgt. Steve Filippini.

The bullet passed through Relph’s leg, missing bone, veins and arteries, he said.

Relph was struck about 7:30 a.m. while standing outside a house in the 6900 block of Lake Avenue. Police had surrounded the house to flush out a man suspected of stealing a van, Filippini said.

Although they are still investigating, police believe the most likely explanation for the shooting was that an officer on the other side of the house fired a shot, he said.

Relph, a seven-year veteran of the department, was part of a backup team of officers called to help arrest two suspects in a stolen 1978 Astro van. The men were later identified as James Noel Flanagan, 20, of Paramount, and Clement Sepulveda, 30, of Long Beach. Both men ran when police arrived, Filippini said. One was caught and the other ran to a relative’s house nearby.

Police surrounded the house and a short time later the second suspect emerged from an attic window and got onto the roof. As the suspect ran along the roof, the unidentified officer at the back of the house fired his weapon, Filippini said.

Flanagan and Sepulveda were arrested on suspicion of auto theft and evading arrest. Police found no weapons in their possession.