Officer Survival: TC Suspect Goes For CHP Officer's Handgun

From the Auburn Journal, March 29th:

Law enforcement officials were keeping a close eye Tuesday on Victor Manuel Hernandez, who tried to disarm an officer Monday.

The suspect was placed on suicide watch at Placer County Jail.

Hernandez, 28, was arrested Monday morning after trying to take a pistol from Officer Larry Olveda of the California Highway Patrol. Five officers of the California Highway Patrol have been killed in the line of duty in the past six months.

"(Hernandez) is in a safety cell for his own protection," said Capt. John Fitzgerald, commander of the Placer County Jail. "He tried to injure himself while in a regular cell (Monday)."

Officers arrived at the scene of a crash on westbound Interstate 80 near the Elm Avenue off-ramp to assist Sgt. Mark Reed, of the Placer County Sheriff's Department Monday morning around 11 a.m.

Within moments of making contact with the driver of a smashed maroon Chevy, Olveda found himself involved in a potential life-or-death situation as Hernandez attempted, unsuccessfully, to take Olveda's gun.

This time, no one was injured.

"Easily the suspect or one of the officers could have been killed," said Steve D'Arcy, under sheriff for Placer County.

In the past six months five CHP officers were killed in the line of duty and if not for the quick action of multiple law enforcement agencies Monday there could have been one more.

"In any emergency everyone hopes that jurisdictional boundaries disappear as they did in (Monday's) incident," D'Arcy said. "There were Placer County sheriff's deputies, local police, CHP and two detectives from another agency stopped and the paramedic who all helped get this guy under control without anyone being injured."

Mike Peters, of Auburn, is retired from the Sacramento Police Department after a 26-year career. He said Tuesday he knows all too well what Olveda was going through.

"I've been in that exact situation before, but it was just me and the suspect, no witnesses, no photographer," Peters said.

When his case got to court it was Peters' word against the suspect's.

"With a photographer on the scene it's a done deal," Peters said. "It's absolutely phenomenal that the photographer was there."

Dan Kirkpatrick is an instructor at the CHP Academy in West Sacramento and requested some of the photographs that ran in the Auburn Journal for his class.

"The incident is a perfect example of someone trying to disarm an officer," Kirkpatrick said. 'The main thing is to make sure the gun doesn't leave the holster. What you see in the photo is textbook."

Both officers involved in the scuffle were back on the job Tuesday. Reed said the entire event unfolded quickly.

"You don't have time to think," Reed said. "Your instinct is to end the threat and I think officer Olveda did an outstanding job with his gun retention."

Reed said that as soon as he made contact with Hernandez he knew something was amiss.
"He immediately was acting strange," Reed said. "I had a pretty good idea that the fight would be on."

Officer Kelly Baraga, spokeswoman for the CHP's Newcastle office, said Tuesday that in light of five officers killed in the line of duty recently, a traffic stop or crash scene is no longer routine.
"A lot of us have a heightened sense of awareness because of recent shootings," she said. "We're definitely not complacent and know every stop has the potential of becoming violent."

The event began to unfold just before 11 a.m. Monday when Rodriguez, driving a maroon Chevrolet sedan westbound on Interstate 80, crashed into the right guardrail near Elm Avenue, bounced off and slid into the center divide, officials said.

Firefighters were in the process of accessing the driver's injuries and treating him when he began to fight and reach for Olveda's gun. Fortunately, for all involved, no one was injured.
"This could have happened anyplace, and I think you'd see every officer in the area respond," D'Arcy said. "Cooperation is not unique, here it just happens on a regular basis."

"Hernandez arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and attempting to take a peace officer's gun. He remains in custody on $20,000 bail.

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I became privy to these photographs from an individual at the California DOJ, and felt it would be important for as many officers as possible to see an actual attempted disarming in progress. The tall officer in the green uniform is Placer County Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Reed; the man in the dark blue coat, sunglasses and blue gloves is an assisting paramedic who got into the fight. If Officer Olveda did not have assistance present, this event would very likely have had an entirely different conclusion. I might suggest printing and copying these photos along with the accompanying article and disseminating them in training sessions and briefings.