On Sunday, one passenger on a police ride along got way more than they bargained for when a gunman sprayed gunfire at the police officer’s vehicle while patrolling the streets in Madera, California.
During the shooting, the officer was uninjured and the passenger suffered minor cuts from the broken glass, according to the Los Angeles Times. On Monday, Lt. Gino Chiaramonte of the Madera Police Department addressed the issue mentioned that the detectives were continuing their investigation into the shooting, which was all captured on a dash camera inside the police cruiser.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“There was nothing suspicious about the vehicle upon initially [stopping] it with the lights,” Chief of Police, Steve Frazier said. “Everything appeared fairly normal.”
The frightening footage shows the police officer following behind a white Mazda. The officer tried to stop the motorist at about 4:34 a.m. on Howard Road at Schnoor Avenue. However, the driver did not stop and sped through a residential neighborhood all while blowing through all the stop signs.
“We are thankful and blessed that both the officer and civilian were not injured,” Chiaramonte said. “The officer’s decisive actions prevented the civilian ride-along from being seriously injured. The officer demonstrated a very cool demeanor for such a short time with the department.”
In the video, the passenger can be heard saying, “He is not stopping. You’re kidding me.”
The police officer was trailing behind the speeding car when the passenger said, “He has a gun. No, no, no, no, no.”
At this moment the police officer reported the shots being fired. About nine shots were fired at the vehicle. Several other shots could be heard as the officer pulled over and the passenger began sobbing.
“Are you OK?” the officer said to the passenger.
In all, there were 13 shots fired with three rounds striking the police cruiser, according to the authorities.
Lt. Chiaramonte said that the police officer was forced to stop following the gunman because his vehicle was disabled from the gunfire.
For the police officer involved in the incident, this was his second week working solo after being released from training.
“By the grace of God, this officer and this civilian ride-along are with us today,” Chief Frazier said at a news conference, “because the individuals that they were trying to stop clearly [had] other designs.”
Anyone with details about the shooting is urged to call Sgt. Johnny Smith at (559) 675-4291.
How would you have reacted if you were on a police ride along when a gunman opened fire?
