Last Updated on February 23, 2021 by CCAR Staff
A suspect in a pursuit was shot to death by Ontario police after he rammed three patrol cars late Monday, Feb. 22, the Ontario Police Department said.
The shooting happened at Beverly Court and Sixth Street, a couple of blocks from where the pursuit began at 11:55 p.m., Ontario police said in a Tuesday news release. Officers attempted to pull over a driver described as a 29-year-old Ontario man for a vehicle code violation, but he failed to stop.
The driver plowed into police vehicles when officers caught up to him, Ontario Police Lt. Bill Russell said. That prompted a single officer, described as a corporal who has been with the department for 11 years, to shoot the motorist.
The wounded man was later pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was withheld Tuesday, pending the notification of his relatives.
No officers were initially reported injured, but two later sought treatment for complaints of pain, Russell said. A 31-year-old Ontario woman who was in the passenger seat of the pursued vehicle during the chase was not injured. She was described as a family friend of the driver, and was arrested in connection with an unrelated warrant.
In a statement, police said: “Investigators continue to look into what may have led the driver to flee in such a dangerous manner.”
Other information was not immediately available Tuesday evening.
OPD is working an officer involved shooting at Beverly and 6th. The shooting occurred after a pursuit in which the suspect rammed 3 police units. The suspect is deceased. There were no officers injured during the incident. The investigation is ongoing.
— Ontario Police Dept. (@OntarioPD) February 23, 2021
The department’s use-of-force policy says that shooting at a moving vehicle is “rarely effective” and should only be done “when the officer reasonably believes there are no other reasonable means available to avert the threat of the vehicle, or if deadly force, other than the vehicle is directed at officers or others.”
The department’s internal investigation will determine whether the officer acted within that policy.
