A Signal Hill Police Department (SHDP) officer sustained life-threatening injuries to the upper and lower torso after responding to a burglary investigation at a local auto dealership on Tuesday, February 2, according to a press release from the Long Beach Police Department.
“On Feb. 2, 2021, at approximately 7:00 a.m., Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) Homicide detectives responded to a business in the 2800 block of Cherry Avenue to assist the Signal Hill Police Department (SHPD) with a burglary investigation, which resulted in an officer suffering life-threatening injuries to the upper and lower torso,” the press release said.
The officer’s identity is not currently being released, however the press release did state that he is a 4 year veteran of the SHPD currently assigned to patrol.
He is in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.
The detectives who arrived on scene learned that SHPD had responded to a burglary investigation at the local auto dealership. A preliminary investigation shows that the suspect entered the property of the dealership on foot, scaled a fence to access a secured area and “gained access to a vehicle.”
“The suspect then began to flee from arriving officers by recklessly driving the stolen vehicle and colliding with several objects and an unoccupied vehicle on the property,” the press release stated. “One of the collisions resulted in the first responding SHPD officer being critically injured by a gate the suspect rammed through.”
The suspect was seen going westbound on 28th Street toward Cherry Avenue.
LBPD officers were dispatched to the 6700 block of Gaviota Avenue at approximately 8:25 a.m. to respond to a single-vehicle collision. There was a report that the driver of the vehicle abandoned it and ran from the scene. Officers who responded to the scene found that the involved vehicle matched the registration information from the stolen vehicle in the local business burglary.
A subject matching the suspect description from the original crime scene was located by LBPD detectives at approximately 8:55 a.m. in the area of Artesia Boulevard and Orange Avenue, the press release said.
The subject was detained and is in police custody for interviewing.
Anyone with any information regarding the incident is urged to contact LBPD Homicide Detectives Adrian Garcia or Sean Magee at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app to your smartphone (available at the Apple app store or Google Play), or by visiting www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
