El Cajon police shoot driver who they said struck officer with pickup and tried to hit a second
Dec 11, 2024
El Cajon police fired “multiple times” at a person who allegedly drove a pickup into an officer who was on foot and then tried to hit a second officer near the police station Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The shooting occurred shortly after 12:40 p.m. on Civic Center Way as department staffers were preparing to celebrate the retirement of an El Cajon police captain, said police Lt. Keith MacArthur. Officers had been moving vehicles to the department’s parking lot to be used in the ceremony when a driver in a pickup struck one of the officers, MacArthur said.
A black pickup truck sits behind crime scene tape outisde El Cajon Police Department on Wednesday afternoon. (Alejandro Tamayo/San Diego Union-Tribune)
“The vehicle then tried to hit a second officer,” MacArthur said.
At least two officers fired their guns “multiple times” at the driver. MacArthur said he believed the suspect was hit but said he did not have an update on the suspect’s condition. The suspect was transported to a hospital, he said.
The injured officer also was taken by ambulance to a hospital. His injuries were believed to be non-life threatening, MacArthur said.
The lieutenant said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Photos of the scene show a black pickup near the entrance to the police station. “The truck is on the property, up on the sidewalk,” MacArthur said.
The shooting will be investigated by San Diego police homicide detectives under a countywide protocol that ensures agencies don’t investigate shooting incidents involving their own personnel.