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Officer and suspect shot in Paso Robles

October 27, 2012

Article and photos by DANIEL BLACKBURN

Investigators at suspect’s car.

A high-speed, early-morning car chase in Paso Robles ended Saturday in a fusillade of bullets, leaving a California Highway Patrol officer and a suspected parolee hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

At about 5:50 a.m., a CHP officer attempted to pull over a vehicle during a routine traffic stop on Highway 101 near the northbound Spring Street exit.

The driver sped off, down Spring Street, at a high rate of speed before crashing into a tree and an antique store near 13th Street. The suspect then fled on foot several blocks to the east, where he encountered more Highway Patrol officers and Paso Robles police.

Small red flags on the street marked where the suspect fell. A reporter was awakened by the barrage of gunfire and, minutes later, the scream of sirens.

Cmdr. Brian Hascall of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department said the wounded officer was treated and scheduled to be released from the hospital midday Saturday. The suspect was said to be in surgery at 2 p.m. suffering from multiple bullet and shotgun slug wounds. Neither has yet been identified.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Brian Hascall talks to reporters.

Hascall said his department is handling the primary investigation, with help from special units of the Highway Patrol, Paso Robles Police Department, and the county district attorney’s office.

This article was posted at 2:30 p.m. and will be updated as more information becomes available. (As of 7:30 a.m. Sunday, no additional information or identifications have been forthcoming from sheriff’s investigators.)

Suspect was shot at 14th and Park streets.

A deputy interviews witness.

 


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How much money, time, compassion is enough here. This has been going on for years and the situation just keeps getting worst. This County spends $47 M on Enviroment Health (use to be mental health but we have to be politically correct now), we spend millions on public safety locally (each city and the counties) and then we have the millions we spend on schools where kids are failing, drugs are rampant, smoking is increasing, truancy is high and you think we don’t do enough to help the idiots of the world. We cloth them, feed them, house them, remove their tattoos, give them special education, medical care, and lots of attention. They give us abuse by robbing, killing, raping and abusing law and order and now it is our fault according to you. REALLY!!!


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SLOBIRD,


I feel your pain. What is more important; Jesus does too.


All of your disturbing aforementioned entities that you’ve shown, can only propose that the end times are near. “In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.” Matthew 24:33


Yes, I know, we’ve been waiting for over 2000 years to date for Jesus’ return. Even though it was specifically stated within scripture that it would be within the generation at that time. Let us pray that within our lifetime, we’ll see Jesus walking down on a beam of light from the eastern skies with His eventful and long overdo return, praise!


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That makes 2 of us. There are very likely thousands more who feel the same. Our society has swung way to far to the side of ‘babying’ the criminal element in this country, state, and county. All the millions and millions of dollars spent and the bare facts do not support the idea that this is getting any real results.


There needs to be a groundswell of public outcry and real demands put on our elected officials – changes have to be made to how our laws are enforced, and how justice needs to meted out swiftly.


In the Old West (circa the 1870’s) justice was swiftly meted out. How many horsethieves got the chance to

appeal their conviction and got off on some technicality so they could steal more horses? Very few, most were quickly hung from the nearest tree and that was the end of that. Now, the tree-huggers will say “Oh my, my, but a benevolent society can not do that, shame, shame” A few innocent people probably got hung, but so be it. For the good of society, as a whole, some mistakes will happen. But what about the lesson to those who may have had ideas of stealing horses? The guarantee of swift justice had to be a deterrent.


No we have criiminals living off the money of the law-abiding, tax-paying citizens; having appeals upon appeals paid for by us.. Do we, as a society, really feel any safer? Or do we just fall in line and tell ourselves we are being good by looking after the scum of the earth. We need less of this “goody 2 shoes”

feeling and a little more of swift and absolute enforcement of our laws.


We, again as a whole society, have to open our eyes and realize that just throwing more and more money at a problem is never the best answer.


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California’s problems in the areas in question can be taken care of with bringing back the “Code of the West”, reestablishing the Civilian Conservation Corps, and if you can work, and you don’t, then it’s the military. If anyone refuses the above propositions, then it’s internment camps for them in the Mojave Desert until the hot sun changes their minds. Or, they can “self-deport” themselves to another country, period!


Enough.


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Chief Dan Matthew’s, of the 1950’s Highway Patrol fame, would have handled this situation a whole lot different! If he had to use his gun, the criminal would have been dead, dead!


In the picture within the link below, you can almost here Dan calling in the runaway car and saying “I’ll handle this one, 10-4”

http://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads//2010/06/bcrawford.jpg


Like Smiley proposed, enough candy @ssing around with this type of element. We’ve had enough coddling of criminals in court, appeals ad infinitum, getting off on a technicality, etc. This criminal put many in harms way with his reckless driving and evading law enforcement. Therefore, it’s just too bad that Dan Matthew’s wasn’t chasing him in is 1955 Buick Century 68, because we’d be reading his obituary right about now instead. Cause of death; LEAD POISONING!


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Plain and simple {Paso Robles has and will always be a sh*&*()e


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Slowtime – you are correct in saying ‘gun laws do not deter criminals’. Strict and swift enforcement of those gun laws would have an impact. That seems, to me, to be a big reason why our society has became what it is – there are a humongous bunch of laws on the books, but very few of them get swift and strict

enforcement. Those who break the law know they will seldom pay the ‘full price’ of their crimes. Look at our overcrowded prisons – convicted criminals on death row for 15 – 20 years or longer. Appeals, appeals, and more appeals. Lawyers, many paid for by the taxpayers, are the only ones that benefit.

I, for one, am against abolishing the death penalty. I beleive it should be carried out much more quickly – say in no more than 1 year after sentencing. What we have now is not working – change it. Enforce the laws, not write more laws.


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They should have pumped a few more rounds into him and saved the taxpayers an expensive trial and incarceration after. Glad the officer survived.


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If only Pete Evans or Matt Strzepeck would have been there I’m sure they would have been able to talk some sense into this peaceful misunderstood young man. They are of course experts in the use of force by law enforcement as demonstrated by their recent commentaries. This is what happens even here in Mayberry, a traffic stop turns into the attempted murder of one of our peace officers. Same as the routine contact with a homeless man who refuses to remove his hands from his pockets could end the same way. So before the monday morning quarterbacks come to weigh in their “expert” opinions on how this should have gone, A simple THANK YOU to the brave CHP Officer and his family will be sufficient.


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Wow, a textbook example of contradictions and foolery. Say, are you from the cops? Maybe you are since you seem to know the suspect is a young man, a fact not mentioned in the story.

This whole thing is way different than the take down of the homeless man (known to the police) , and while you do some quarterbacking after the fact you chastise us to not do the same. Way to go, ignorant commenter of the year!


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Parolee with a gun?? How can that be? If we’re not going to build more jails to keep these criminals in then how about increasing the probation department so there can be more frequent searches of parolees.


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Cali has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. Proof once again that gun laws do not deter criminals. Only law abiding people obey ridiculous gun laws.


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Kudos to our Law Enforcement agencies! Thanks for taking another dirtbag down. That looks like our Sheriff interviewing a witness.Good to see him out in the field. I wish for a speedy recovery to our injured Officer.


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The deputy pictured is not Parkinson.


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Maybe not, but sure has a likeness about him. and the uniform?


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I am afraid if we vote out the three strikes law this will happen more often.


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Or it could be that the person involved already had 2 strikes and was willing to put his life on the line because he was facing life this time around. We don’t know enough at this time to know. On balance, your scenario may be more common than the one I just mentioned, but the 3 Strikes law has negative aspects to it too. I am more concerned about unjust and unreasonable applications of it.


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We could reduce the prison population by untold thousands if we would spend the some $40.000 a year that it cost tax payers to house an inmate if we would use that money for rehabilitation.

Majority of prison inmates are sentenced for making bad judgement decisions, not because their a hard core criminal.

Most become institutionalized after going to prison, learning how to be hard core, for to be anything other while incarcerated is a sign of weakness, one to be prayed upon.

Unless you’ve come from the underprivileged class, grown up in an abusive environment, then you could never understand the situation that causes some people to do what they do.

Growing up for an example as being unwanted, told your unworthy and will never amount to anything, for those who are outcast seek companionship with such like people, for do gooders of society are to good to pay any attention to lost souls, so for them, bad choices are often made, for them, prison bound will be their home.

I would say, “something has to change, that is if we truly care and want to live our lives as our brothers keepers”.


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Pretty obvious by the thumbs you got the current readers here are out of touch with reality. Anyone smarter than a bag of rocks knows the prison system is a breeding ground for more crime and many or most who get out are pretty motivated to re commit a crime since their options are so limited.

If we help folks out, from when they are very young (with pre school, school lunches etc) all the way up through college they will have the tools to compete and the motivation to succeed in legal arenas. Too bad that there seems to be a ‘lock ’em up and throw the key away’ attitude running things in our so called justice system.

I don’t like crime or criminals but the fact remains that what is the best and most cost effective way to deal with crime is prevention, not just punishment.

3 strikes is unfair, the death penalty is costly and threatens the innocent and does not seem to be an effective deterrent.


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I see by the number of dislikes that most disagree with my view point.

That’s truly sad, for it go’s to prove my point, I was really hoping that there would be more understanding and compassion shown for those who unlike you didn’t come from the same environment.

Imagine for a second if you will that rolls were reversed and you came from, say southern California area, like Watts or Compton, or Pacoima which are low income areas consisting mostly of racial minorities, growing up without a father, perhaps a mother on drugs, or perhaps from a abusive home where you where abused both mentally and physically, never traveling much further beyond your own neighborhood, tell me, how would you handle life’s challenges?.

I can assure you that you would have no concept and therefor would be unable to address that question sensibly, that is why compassion and understanding is needed.

It amazes me how that many who claim to be so God like are in fact not when the test of loving your fellow man is required of you.

I can guarantee you with that kind of mind set, our prisons will remain over crowded, and those who come back into society will be treating you in kind.

Have we not learned anything!


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Here is the problem that both you and Hotdog have. You are trying to make something more simplistic than it is. Your solution is that we have to help them through rehabilition. We have!! Things in the prison system have changed DRAMATICALLY since the 60’s. We have numerous education oppertunities in prison for them. They have training programs. They have better medical than most people on the outside.


Do you know what the recidivism rate is? I can’t say for the whole but when the Paso boys school was open it was 80%!!! I know this from talking to the second in command at the time. The boys school had all kinds of programs to help.


Here is the problem. You can’t fix an adult!!! You are going to have to give up on the existing population of inmates and start with kids in the inner city now to get them away from crime. Have you ever read studies about people and that most kids are set in their thought process by seven? So how in the hell are you going to change an adult criminals thought process? Is my suggestion harsh? You bet. I don’t get into the simplistic bleeding heart non-realities of life. I deal in REALITY! Again deal with the young one’s now before it is to late. As for the others may God help them in the next life. Sorry that’s life and as they say it isn’t always fair.


For the record I have been on a field trip both inside the Boys school in Paso and CMC in San Luis. CMC for a Cuesta College Psy. class and Paso with a men’s organization trying to help troubled youth.


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Yes something needs to change. More prisons so that we can be our brothers keepers.


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