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.