Police officer acted lawfully when he shot escapee

Tim Willert

A Burbank Police officer followed department policy when he shot a

man who escaped from handcuffs, stole a patrol car and drove off with

another officer hanging from the vehicle, an administrative review

concluded.

Officer Mark Armendariz shot 25-year-old Raymond Salaiz of

Monterey Park on Aug. 1 following an early morning traffic stop on

Verdugo Avenue near the Toluca Lake border.

According to a police report, Officer Stephen Maxwell attempted to

restrain Salaiz in the front seat of the patrol car but was thrown

toward the open driver’s door. With Maxwell hanging from the car,

Salaiz continued to drive toward a parked police car. Armendariz,

fearing for Maxwell’s safety, fired two shots and wounded the

suspect, police said. The suspect drove off and Maxwell was thrown

from the car.

The department’s Shooting Review Board determined that Armendariz

acted within department policy in defense of another officer, and

that the use of deadly force was reasonable and necessary under the

circumstances.

Salaiz, who was captured three hours later following the search of

a residential area, was charged with escape, auto theft and assault

with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer. A subsequent investigation

resulted in the arrest of six others.