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CHP Fatally Shoot Suspect After High Speed Chase on 101

by KCBS
A high speed chase up and down the San Francisco peninsula ended in death Sunday when California Highway Patrol officers shot and killed a domestic violence suspect.
CHP Fatally Shoot Suspect After High Speed Chase on 101
Source: kcbs
Publication date: 2005-03-06


(KCBS / AP) - A high speed chase up and down the San Francisco peninsula ended in death Sunday when California Highway Patrol officers shot and killed a domestic violence suspect.

CHP officer Christian Oliver said South San Francisco police initially responded to a domestic violence call that afternoon. When officers located the suspect driving his vehicle in downtown South San Francisco, he sped onto Highway 101 leading police on an hour-long chase to Redwood City, back to San Francisco, and finally to Belmont.

A witness who saw the suspect crash his car into a drainage ditch at Belmont’s Ralston exit told KCBS reporter Doug Sovern at the scene that the driver climbed out of his car and began throwing rocks and boulders at approaching CHP officers.

CHP officer Oliver said the suspect “came at [police] in an aggressive manner with an unknown weapon” when the police opened fire and killed the man.

The same witness, who observed the sequence of events from his car, told KCBS he counted 20 to 35 shots fired.

The Belmont Police Department is investigating the incident.

The number of high speed chases in the state has grown from 5,895 in 2001 to 7,171 in 2003, the latest year for which statistics are available.

Fifty-one people died in 2003 as a result, or nearly one each week. Of the dead, 18 were not involved in the pursuit, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Law enforcement groups have started lobbying Sacramento to increase penalties for fleeing drivers, while a bipartisan group of legislators is pushing a proposal that would include penalties for police who recklessly pursue drivers.

A bill sponsored by several police agencies would promote educating drivers about the stiffer criminal penalties and make suspects liable if anyone is injured or killed. Bystanders would also be eligible for monetary compensation from the state's victims' fund.

(Copyright 2004 by KCBS. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

(updated 9:30pm, jro)
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