Police Shoot Driver After Car Chase

A Santa Ana man suspected of trying to run down officers after a 30-minute chase through Irvine and Newport Beach early Monday was shot and wounded by Irvine police.

The chase began about 1:30 a.m. on Jamboree Road near MacArthur Boulevard, just south of John Wayne Airport, where police tried to stop Bernardo Ibarra, 21, for traffic violations, said Irvine Lt. Jeff Love.

Ibarra allegedly sped away and led officers on a chase through the two cities and down Coast Highway, reaching about 60 mph, driving at times on the wrong side of the street, over medians and trying to hit other drivers and police cruisers, Love said. Using a “pursuit intervention technique,” officers bumped Ibarra’s Mazda Protege, causing it to spin and stop in front of a Rite-Aid on East Coast Highway near Marguerite Avenue in Corona del Mar.

As police approached the stopped car, Ibarra tried to run the officers down, Love said, and they fired at him several times. Ibarra then was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was in stable condition, Love said.

Ibarra was arrested on suspicion of evading police and assault with a deadly weapon. No officers were reported hurt during the chase.

Because the chase led Irvine police into Newport Beach, police in that city will handle the investigation of the pursuit and alleged assault. No Newport police were involved in the chase or shooting.

The Orange County district attorney’s office will investigate the shooting, which is standard practice.

Love said he believed that the unidentified officers involved in the shooting would be placed on leave for a few days.