Duty Death: Jim Capoot - [Vallejo]
Associated Press
VALLEJO, Calif. — A veteran police officer was killed Thursday when he was shot during a pursuit of bank robbery suspects, authorities said Thursday.
Vallejo Police Officer Jim Capoot was chasing suspects who had abandoned a getaway vehicle after a robbery at Bank of America around 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Sgt. Jeff Bassett said at a news conference Thursday night.
Capoot, 43, died in a hospital after the shooting. He had been with the department for 19 years, Bassett said.
“He was a guy who was loved by everybody,” Bassett said in describing the veteran officer. “There is nobody at the police department who is not deeply affected by this.”
Capoot was married with three daughters, Bassett said.
Police arrested one person but were still looking for a second suspect. It was unclear if the person arrested was the suspect believed to have shot Capoot.
After the shooting, officers from surrounding communities, California Highway Patrol officers and SWAT teams were called in to the area to search for the second suspect.
Bassett did not say how many officers were involved in the search but described it as “numerous.”
“Keep your doors locked. If you hear anything unusual, please call us,” he said.
Capoot’s death is the first killing of a Vallejo officer since Jeffrey Azuar was killed on April 12, 2000, while trying to arrest a suspect on an outstanding warrant, The Times-Herald reported.
Capoot was the fourth Vallejo officer killed in the line of the duty in the city’s 155-year history.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press