NorCalN00b
11-30-1999, 12:00 AM
http://officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=31947
Shot California Officer Fights For Life
Posted: August 4th, 2006 05:02 PM EDT
MATT LEEDY
Fresno Bee (California)
Officer.Com Editor's Note: The Fresno Bee has reported that suspect Joaquin Maltos Figueroa was shot and killed by police Aug. 3 after allegedly trying to flee capture. Officer Nieto is still listed in critical condition.
Fresno police officer Brian Nieto was fighting for his life Tuesday after being shot at least three times by assailants in a car that sped away.
Meanwhile, authorities mounted a massive hunt for two men who were in the car.
"This is truly an all-out effort to be able to bring these suspects to justice," said an emotional Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer in a news conference Tuesday morning.
"It's a very, very difficult day for me as a police chief and for the officers that are in his department," Dyer said.
He took a long moment to compose himself before speaking to reporters.
Dyer was flanked by 14 somber motorcycle officers.
Nieto, 32, remained in critical condition after having a second surgery Tuesday at University Medical Center, police said. He was shot once in the leg and at least twice in the upper body Monday night while attempting to stop two men who were in a stolen car with no license plates.
Seconds before the shooting, the driver of the car slammed on his brakes, forcing Nieto to catch up with the car. It's a maneuver that Dyer said was meant to put pursuing officers in a vulnerable position.
Nieto was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, but was shot in areas not protected by the vest.
Nieto and his partner, whose name wasn't released, are motorcycle officers who patrol neighborhoods to monitor traffic and look for "hard-core criminals," Dyer said.
The two officers were in central Fresno on Monday, near the intersection of Thesta Street and Clay Avenue, at 8:27 p.m. when they saw the car stopped in the middle of a road. When the officers neared, the car sped away.
The two officers followed from a short distance with their lights and sirens on before the car came to an abrupt stop near Fresno Street and Floradora Avenue. Nieto also slammed on his brakes and stopped just behind the car on the driver's side.
Someone inside the car fired six shots before Nieto had a chance to get off his motorcycle. Nieto's partner pulled next to him and shot at the suspects as they drove off.
Nieto's partner immediately gave him emergency aid, called other officers for help and called for an ambulance.
"We're really thankful he was there by his side," Dyer said of Nieto's partner. "Because who knows what these suspects would have done had the second officer not been there.
"He is going through some very difficult times now, because they're not just partners, they're close friends."
The suspects' car was found less than a mile from the shooting, and police are searching it for evidence.
No one has been arrested. In addition to the two occupants of the car, police are looking for people the men talked to after the shooting. Authorities say there are several "persons of interest" in the case. They identified one as Joaquin Figueroa, 25. Figueroa, who is Hispanic, is
5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds.
The car's occupants are described as Hispanic and one was wearing a baseball cap at the time of the shooting.
Dyer said every available Fresno police officer is working to track down the suspects in addition to authorities from other police agencies, including the Fresno County Sheriff's Department, FBI, and the state parole department.
He said investigators have very good leads, but he wouldn't elaborate.
Dyer described Nieto's condition as "touch and go." Family members were with him at UMC on Tuesday, some at his bedside. Many officers waited outside the hospital, waiting to hear word about Nieto's health.
Nieto has been a Fresno police officer for three years and nine months. He drove a patrol car in central Fresno before becoming a motorcycle officer.
He is a motorcycle enthusiast who was eager to become a motorcycle officer, said Phil Gilchrist, a former sergeant who supervised him in the central policing direct before retiring in January.
"He legitimately cared about the people of Fresno," Gilchrist said.
Motorcycle officers face added danger, Dyer said, because more of their bodies are exposed and they can't duck behind the engine block of a patrol car to avoid gunfire.
Julian Cruz Vinton Jr. was the last Fresno police officer shot in the line of duty. During a drug bust in 2001, he was badly wounded -- and a suspect killed -- in a shootout in a narrow hallway of a northwest Fresno motel.
The two suspects in the Nieto case are wanted on attempted murder of a police officer. Dyer said they are armed and dangerous: "If they're willing to shoot a police officer, I guarantee they're willing to shoot anyone."
Bee staff writers Erik Lacayo and Jim Guy contributed to this report. The reporter can be reached at mleedy @fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6208.
INFOBOX
To help
To report information on the shooting of officer Brian Nieto, call detective Brad Alcorn at (559) 621-2442. To report information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP; $10,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest of each suspect.
INFOBOX
To help
Police have been overwhelmed by hundreds of calls from people expressing sympathy for officer Brian Nieto and his family. Authorities ask that such calls be made to the Fresno Police Officers Association at (559) 442-3762. Cards and flowers can be sent to the FPOA at 994 N. Van Ness Ave., Fresno, CA 93728-3428.
Pray for the officer!
Shot California Officer Fights For Life
Posted: August 4th, 2006 05:02 PM EDT
MATT LEEDY
Fresno Bee (California)
Officer.Com Editor's Note: The Fresno Bee has reported that suspect Joaquin Maltos Figueroa was shot and killed by police Aug. 3 after allegedly trying to flee capture. Officer Nieto is still listed in critical condition.
Fresno police officer Brian Nieto was fighting for his life Tuesday after being shot at least three times by assailants in a car that sped away.
Meanwhile, authorities mounted a massive hunt for two men who were in the car.
"This is truly an all-out effort to be able to bring these suspects to justice," said an emotional Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer in a news conference Tuesday morning.
"It's a very, very difficult day for me as a police chief and for the officers that are in his department," Dyer said.
He took a long moment to compose himself before speaking to reporters.
Dyer was flanked by 14 somber motorcycle officers.
Nieto, 32, remained in critical condition after having a second surgery Tuesday at University Medical Center, police said. He was shot once in the leg and at least twice in the upper body Monday night while attempting to stop two men who were in a stolen car with no license plates.
Seconds before the shooting, the driver of the car slammed on his brakes, forcing Nieto to catch up with the car. It's a maneuver that Dyer said was meant to put pursuing officers in a vulnerable position.
Nieto was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, but was shot in areas not protected by the vest.
Nieto and his partner, whose name wasn't released, are motorcycle officers who patrol neighborhoods to monitor traffic and look for "hard-core criminals," Dyer said.
The two officers were in central Fresno on Monday, near the intersection of Thesta Street and Clay Avenue, at 8:27 p.m. when they saw the car stopped in the middle of a road. When the officers neared, the car sped away.
The two officers followed from a short distance with their lights and sirens on before the car came to an abrupt stop near Fresno Street and Floradora Avenue. Nieto also slammed on his brakes and stopped just behind the car on the driver's side.
Someone inside the car fired six shots before Nieto had a chance to get off his motorcycle. Nieto's partner pulled next to him and shot at the suspects as they drove off.
Nieto's partner immediately gave him emergency aid, called other officers for help and called for an ambulance.
"We're really thankful he was there by his side," Dyer said of Nieto's partner. "Because who knows what these suspects would have done had the second officer not been there.
"He is going through some very difficult times now, because they're not just partners, they're close friends."
The suspects' car was found less than a mile from the shooting, and police are searching it for evidence.
No one has been arrested. In addition to the two occupants of the car, police are looking for people the men talked to after the shooting. Authorities say there are several "persons of interest" in the case. They identified one as Joaquin Figueroa, 25. Figueroa, who is Hispanic, is
5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds.
The car's occupants are described as Hispanic and one was wearing a baseball cap at the time of the shooting.
Dyer said every available Fresno police officer is working to track down the suspects in addition to authorities from other police agencies, including the Fresno County Sheriff's Department, FBI, and the state parole department.
He said investigators have very good leads, but he wouldn't elaborate.
Dyer described Nieto's condition as "touch and go." Family members were with him at UMC on Tuesday, some at his bedside. Many officers waited outside the hospital, waiting to hear word about Nieto's health.
Nieto has been a Fresno police officer for three years and nine months. He drove a patrol car in central Fresno before becoming a motorcycle officer.
He is a motorcycle enthusiast who was eager to become a motorcycle officer, said Phil Gilchrist, a former sergeant who supervised him in the central policing direct before retiring in January.
"He legitimately cared about the people of Fresno," Gilchrist said.
Motorcycle officers face added danger, Dyer said, because more of their bodies are exposed and they can't duck behind the engine block of a patrol car to avoid gunfire.
Julian Cruz Vinton Jr. was the last Fresno police officer shot in the line of duty. During a drug bust in 2001, he was badly wounded -- and a suspect killed -- in a shootout in a narrow hallway of a northwest Fresno motel.
The two suspects in the Nieto case are wanted on attempted murder of a police officer. Dyer said they are armed and dangerous: "If they're willing to shoot a police officer, I guarantee they're willing to shoot anyone."
Bee staff writers Erik Lacayo and Jim Guy contributed to this report. The reporter can be reached at mleedy @fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6208.
INFOBOX
To help
To report information on the shooting of officer Brian Nieto, call detective Brad Alcorn at (559) 621-2442. To report information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP; $10,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest of each suspect.
INFOBOX
To help
Police have been overwhelmed by hundreds of calls from people expressing sympathy for officer Brian Nieto and his family. Authorities ask that such calls be made to the Fresno Police Officers Association at (559) 442-3762. Cards and flowers can be sent to the FPOA at 994 N. Van Ness Ave., Fresno, CA 93728-3428.
Pray for the officer!