Crime & Safety
Alleged DUI Driver Tries To Hit I.E. CHP Officers, Who Open Fire
The incident happened during an Inland Empire police chase, California Highway Patrol officials say.
JURUPA VALLEY, CA — A drunken driving suspect led California Highway Patrol officers on a pursuit Monday through Jurupa Valley, where he allegedly tried to hit the lawmen with his SUV, prompting one of them to open fire.
Jason Knapp, who was not struck by the gunfire, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, felony evading and assault on a peace officer following the chase that ended just before daybreak in the hills south of Fontana. The 25- year-old Rancho Cucamonga resident was booked at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. Bail information was not immediately available.
According to CHP Officer Dan Olivas, a patrolman going west on the Pomona (60) Freeway near Rubidoux Boulevard spotted Knapp's Jeep Cherokee weaving about 2:30 a.m. and signaled him to stop for a sobriety check. Olivas alleged that the suspect stomped on the Jeep's accelerator and began "recklessly evading officers."
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Multiple units pursued Knapp, who allegedly went on and off the freeway, alternately going east- and westbound, according to Olivas. He said that as the suspect neared Pyrite Street, he veered off the 60 and steered toward a perimeter fence in an attempt to drive into the brush. Several officers pulled in close behind the Jeep and got out of their patrol units, then prepared to move toward the SUV, at which point Knapp allegedly "shifted into reverse and aggressively backed up, directly toward the officers."
"One of the officers began retreating and fired several rounds at the suspect," Olivas said.
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The suspect drove back onto the freeway and sped east, with officers trying to ram his Jeep and deploy spike strips to stop him, according to Olivas. Knapp ultimately left the freeway and traveled onto a side road, then drove into open space in the Jurupa Hills, abandoning his vehicle, the officer said.
CHP and Fontana police officers established a perimeter and soon located Knapp hiding in the hills, where he was taken into custody without further incident, Knapp said.
No officers were injured.
— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone
