More Than 20 Officers Involved In Shootout With Stockton Bank Robbery Suspects Placed On Leave

STOCKTON (KCBS) – At a news conference on Thursday, Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said more than 20 police officers involved in a shootout with three suspects, who robbed a bank and took three people hostage on Wednesday, have been placed on paid administrative leave.

"We do have multiple officers on paid administrative leave, which is protocol for this type of investigation. There were a significant amount of officers that returned fire at some point during this entire scene," Jones said.

Jones said the incident covered a big portion of San Joaquin County and the assailants were shooting almost the entire time. He said despite such a large number of officers being placed on paid administrative leave, the department will still be able to provide public safety services, per usual.

"It is a strain for the department, but we've called in off-duty officers, we have people working on overtime. Other agencies have offered assistance so if we have to go into that mode, we're ready and prepared to do that," Jones said.

The suspects took three women hostage on Wednesday afternoon as they were attempting their getaway, after robbing a Stockton bank. They were engaged in an hour-long high-speed chase and shootout with officers, until their getaway vehicle was disabled, and they engaged in more gunfire with authorities.

Two of the suspects were killed, as was one of the hostages. The third suspect , 19-year-old Jaime Ramos, has been booked into San Joaquin County Jail.

No police officers were injured in the chase and shootout.