Officer Shoots Parolee After Chase in Stolen Car

A parolee fleeing police in a stolen car Tuesday was shot and wounded by a Long Beach officer who thought the man was reaching for a gun, police said.

Joseph Jay Burr, 29, recently released from prison for robbery, was shot in the right side and in the wrist and taken to St. Mary Medical Center, where he is listed in good condition, Long Beach police spokeswoman Karen Kerr Owen said.

When officers tried to pull over Burr’s vehicle about 1:20 a.m., he sped away, police said. The car smashed through a chain-link fence in the 1100 block of East Hill Street.

Burr began to run from the officers but then reached into his coat pocket, took out a dark object and pointed it at officers, said Owen. Thinking it was a weapon, one officer, whose name was withheld, fired at Burr three times, hitting him twice.

The object Burr produced from his pocket was not a gun, Owen said. She would not elaborate.