MADERA - The lesson that all police officers know proved true in Madera Sunday morning, there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop. During a early morning stop of a new white Mazda SUV on the west side of Madera, one Madera police officer and his civilian ride-along passenger began a high speed pursuit of a suspect through a residential area that ended in gunfire and a disabled police vehicle.
Around 4:30am Sunday morning a police officer, who the department has yet to identify, was attempting to pull the suspect over at Howard Road and Mainberry Drive when the suspect's just took off at speeds of over 50 mph. The chase went through two stop signs before it entered the Venturi subdivision across Sunset Avenue.
At this point the ride along passenger, who was a member of the Madera Police Citizen's Academy, noticed a gun coming out the passengers window of the suspects vehicle. Two or three blocks ahead at Lighthouse Drive and Mainberry the suspect began firing a weapon at the police car, striking it and surrounding homes several times.
The dashboard camera caught all the action, including the pleas from the civilian ride along to not follow the suspect. She got her wish for the chase to end when the last volley of bullets disabled the police car on Lighthouse just a block from Shannon Avenue where the officer lost sight of the vehicle.
Later Madera Police recovered the suspect's car at the 400 block of Krest Street just four blocks from the shooting. That is when Madera Police learned the vehicle was stolen out of Fresno. Officer’s searched the area and located an AR15 style pistol and other evidence. The stolen vehicle had paper dealer advertising plates.
The officer was not injured during the incident. The civilian ride along received minor scratches from broken glass. The officer had recently been released from (FTO) training and was on his second week as a solo officer.
The investigation is ongoing into identifying all persons in the vehicle. Madera Police will hold a press conference later this morning. If you have any information, please contact Detective Sergeant Johnny Smith at (559) 675-4291.
