CHP Officer Shot by Suspected Speeder, Drives to Hospital

A veteran California Highway Patrol officer was shot twice early Wednesday by a suspected speeder who then fled in a red pickup truck as the bleeding officer drove himself five miles to a local hospital.

The seven-year officer, who was not immediately identified, was expected to fully recover.

He was shot about 6 a.m. on southbound Interstate 5 just north of San Clemente’s Avenida Pico exit. He was reported in stable condition after undergoing surgery on his right arm at San Clemente Hospital and Medical Center.

Police searched unsuccessfully for the gunman as far south as the Mexican border. The suspect was described as male, driving alone in a newer red pickup truck with a tinted rear window and no license plate, and possibly without a rear bumper.

The investigation at the scene snarled traffic for miles as police shut down all southbound lanes for two hours.

CHP Capt. Mike Bair said the wounded officer was wearing a tape recorder, which was turned on as he approached the passenger side of the pickup truck. The officer spoke briefly with the driver, who then raised a large-caliber handgun and fired an unspecified number of shots out the passenger window.

The officer, who did not have a chance to draw his weapon, was hit in the chest and right arm. Bair would not say whether the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest, although he said such vests are required by departmental regulations. He declined to discuss evidence gathered at the scene.

One of the shots struck the officer’s tape recorder, and it was unclear whether the tape was damaged, said CHP Officer Joan Rivas. His patrol car was not outfitted with a video camera.

Bair said authorities will be unable to prepare a drawing of the suspect until they can interview the officer after he recovers from surgery.

Trauma surgeon Dr. Juan Carlos Cobo said the most serious wound was to the upper right forearm, where the bullet went through the limb. The other round struck the officer’s chest, leaving a bruise but no entry wound. It was not clear if the bullet was stopped by a vest or the officer’s recorder.

The officer was in intensive care and will spend at least 48 hours in the hospital, Cobo said, describing him as “awake and alert and talking to his family.”

Bair declined to provide personal details about the wounded officer while the suspect remained at large. Other sources said the officer is in his late 30s, will celebrate his birthday today, is married, and transferred to the San Juan Capistrano CHP station about a year ago from the Baldwin Park station.

The incident occurred during the officer’s first stop on a shift that began at 5:30 a.m. He pulled over a suspected speeder near a large blue tourist information sign in an open area just north of the Avenida Pico exit. After he was shot, the officer struggled back into his patrol car, put out a call for assistance and used his left hand to put the car in gear and drive to the hospital.

“I thought that he used extremely good judgment,” Bair said. “When he realized he was shot, he immediately put out the broadcast to other units so they would know what to look for, and was able to drive himself to the hospital.”

He arrived at the hospital in about four minutes, Bair said.

During the day, local residents stopped and asked deputies for updates on the officer’s condition, and to offer flowers or a donation of blood.

“I saw the news conference on TV and I came down here,” said Anne Christensen of San Clemente. “It puts it right at the heart. You never think in your neighborhood things like this would happen. I just wanted to give him some flowers. Our thoughts are with him.”

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Times correspondent Louise Roug contributed to this story.

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Officer Wounded

A California Highway Patrol officer was shot twice Wednesday morning during a traffic stop on the San Diego Freeway in San Clemente but managed to drive himself to the hospital.

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Graphics reporting by BRADY MacDONALD / Los Angeles Times