By Veronica Rocha and Richard Winton
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — A Pomona police SWAT officer shot early Tuesday while assisting with a search warrant operation in San Gabriel is recovering in an intensive care unit, authorities said.
The law enforcement veteran of at least 15 years, eight of them with Pomona police, was shot while making entry into the suspect’s home about 2 a.m., authorities said.
Pomona police initially said the 45-year-old officer was struck in the face, but at a news conference later in the morning, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials, who are handling the investigation, would say only that he was hit in the upper torso.
The officer’s family has been flown from Orange County to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, officials said.
“We are hoping for the best,” Pomona police Lt. Michael Keltner said. “He is very passionate about law enforcement... He’s a top notch guy.”
Officials did not identify the 36-year-old shooting suspect, who remains in custody. His father, who was at the small single-family home, was also struck in the arm by the gunfire, sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said.
Officers did not return fire, Nishida said, adding that the investigation was still in its early stages.
The search warrant was being served as part of a multi-jurisdictional investigation into a motorcycle gang, which they also did not identify.
The shooting shocked the quiet neighborhood, where residents awoke to find a heavy police presence.
“This is unheard of,” said Delta Uyenoyama, a 20-year resident who lives near where the shooting occurred.
Copyright 2014 Los Angeles Times