Getting Answers: What determines when Sacramento authorities initiate a car chase?
SACRAMENTO — A car chase and officer-involved shooting left a suspect dead and a bystander in critical condition. It happened along eastbound Interstate 80 near Greenback Lane on Sunday and has some wondering about when or how authorities decide to pursue a suspect.
Authorities said it started with a traffic violation where the suspect in the Prius refused to stop for CHP officers.
Instead, the suspect, identified Monday evening as 36-year-old Zachary Wolffscott, got on I-80 East where he crashed into a motorcyclist. The motorcycle landed in an embankment next to the road, and at last check, the man riding it was being treated in an area hospital for serious injuries but is expected to survive, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Authorities said when Wolffscott got out of a car with a knife and advanced toward law enforcement officials, he was shot by two California Highway Patrol officers and a Sacramento Sheriff's Office K-9 deputy.
The officers and deputy were not injured. Wolffscott died later at an area hospital.
So how do authorities decide when it is safe to chase? Sergeant Amar Gandhi with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said it comes down to the severity of the crime and danger to the public.
"If this person just killed your mom, do you not want us to chase that suspect?" Sgt. Gandhi said.
Sometimes, the reason for running is unknown. Sgt. Gandhi did not have the answer as to the severity of the traffic violation that led to the CHP trying to stop the suspect prior to the crash and shooting.
"No one simply runs for the sake of running," said Sergeant Gandhi.
In a separate incident on Sunday, a car being chased by Sacramento police crashed into a fence along West El Camino Avenue in south Natomas. It was just feet away from the Woodlands Apartments.
"He got out, like immediately started running. He ran right past our balcony," said Natalie Griffin who lives in the apartment complex and witnessed the whole thing.
The Sacramento Police Department told CBS13 that the pursuit was put into surveillance mode prior to the crash because of the driving conditions, following the suspect with an aircraft up above.
Griffin was grateful a hill behind the fence halted the car from hitting her apartment.
"There is a bedroom right here where the kids do play a lot and watch TV," said Griffin. "If that would have went through that would have been very bad."
Griffin said it was a close call, but she was glad there were so many police that responded quickly.
"At least I felt safer, than saying he was just running through here and no one was around to stop him or catch him," said Griffin.
Sacramento police identified the suspect in the Natomas pursuit as 30-year-old Alfred Bradley. They said he hid in a shed before he was apprehended by a K-9 officer and transported to the hospital for minor injuries. He was later booked for the pursuit and vehicle theft-related charges.
Authorities currently have two separate investigations into the crash and shooting that happened along I-80 East.
Sgt. Gandhi said there are multiple people involved in making the decision of how or when to pursue a suspect, but the public's safety is always a concern.