By Jim Guy
Fresno Bee
GILROY, Calif. — A Fresno man who is former cop was shot at by a Gilroy police officer Sunday after allegedly driving toward the officer on a high school campus.
Gilroy police Capt. Joseph Deras identified the suspect as Chad Browning, 42, who is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, possession of methamphetamine and auto theft.
Police did not say where Browning was an officer, only that “his law-enforcement experience was not in Fresno,” according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Deras described Sunday’s bizarre series of events:
It started when Browning called Gilroy police at 1 p.m. Sunday and made reference to a car stolen in Fresno. He said that the woman reporting the car stolen had been kidnapped and that the car had in turn been stolen from him in Gilroy. Browning told a dispatcher that he was making the call on a borrowed cellular phone, but police say he stole the phone from a disabled person who had loaned it to him.
Browning called police again, made reference to athletic games being played at Gilroy High School and said that he wanted to fight officers. Arriving police witnessed Browning driving the stolen car through a playing field next to the Gilroy High stadium, where fifth- and sixth-graders were taking part in Pop Warner football games, prompting officers to quickly close stadium gates.
Deras said officers tried to contact Browning as he drove toward an exit from the complex. He drove toward an officer who had no path clear of the vehicle, prompting the officer to fire one round at the car. Browning was not hit, but lost control of the vehicle and was taken into custody.
Gilroy police want anyone who knows more about the incident to call 800-782-7463.