California Highway Patrol releases details of officer involved in Ventura shooting
Jeremy ChildsThe California Highway Patrol released more details about the officer who shot at a vehicle speeding toward him Monday in Ventura — but not his name.
Kevin Denharder, a CHP spokesman, said the agency is not releasing the name of the officer due to the ongoing investigation into the outstanding suspect by the Ventura Police Department.
Despite withholding the name, CHP released several other details about the officer. According to Denharder, the officer joined CHP in 1996 and has been assigned to the Ventura office for 22 years. He had never been involved in a shooting until Monday and remained on paid administrative leave as of Thursday, Denharder said.
The officer will remain on leave as CHP conducts an internal investigation, which is standard protocol after officer-involved shootings. Denharder said he expects the officer to return to work soon.
The officer-involved shooting took place around 11:24 a.m. Monday in the 200 block of Comstock Drive after the officer tried to pull over a vehicle for a moving violation on Highway 101, authorities said. The vehicle failed to yield for the officer and pulled off the highway onto city streets, according to authorities.
The officer pursued the vehicle until it turned onto Comstock Drive, a dead-end street in a residential area of west Ventura, authorities said. The officer waited at the intersection as the driver made a U-turn and drove back toward the officer at a high speed, which is when the shooting occurred, according to authorities. The driver fled in the vehicle, authorities said.
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Ventura police came to the scene to conduct an investigation and found the vehicle several hours later in the 2200 block of Katari Avenue, although the suspect remains at large.
Authorities have not disclosed any suspect information, including whether the suspect was injured by the shots fired in the shooting. The CHP officer was not injured, authorities said.
The shooting took place a month after another Ventura-area CHP officer was involved in a fatal shooting of a homeless person in Oak View. The CHP has not released the name of the officer involved in either shooting.
The criminal investigation into the suspect is ongoing, according to Sgt. Patrick Lindsay of the Ventura Police Department. Anyone with information for investigators is encouraged to call 805-339-4389.
Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and public safety reporter covering the night shift for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached by calling 805-437-0208 or emailing jeremy.childs@vcstar.com.
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