Posted on 05/10/2005 8:03:54 AM PDT by ChefKeith
Wild Police Shooting Caught On Tape Deputy, Suspect Wounded In California Shooting
May 10, 2005 5:30 am US/Pacific COMPTON, CA (AP) A 15-minute car chase through a Los Angeles neighborhood that ended in a barrage of bullets is spurring a host of questions.
CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes notes that, even in gang-hardened Compton, Calif., the middle of the night gun battle just yards away from people's homes was a startling wakeup call.
"I'm hearing Fourth of July. That's exactly what it was. Gunfire everywhere," says freelance cameraman Jesse Escochea, who caught the shootout on tape, following along as sheriff's deputies chased a sport utility vehicle driven by a man suspected in a shooting.
Ten deputies unleashed a hail of bullets, Hughes says. Eleven shots hit nearby homes.
"Get out of here! There's shots fired!" one deputy screamed at Escochea when he spotted him shooting the video.
"He yells several times to get out of here, so I pop up, and when I popped up, I'm seeing several deputies with their guns pointed down range towards me," Escochea says.
It happened so fast, but when the smoke cleared, police found no weapon inside the vehicle. The suspect, 44-year-old Winston Hayes, was injured, along with one sheriff's deputy, shot by other deputies.
"I saw three deputies to my left," Escochea continued. "They were trying to take cover, they didn't know who was firing. I know that had to be going through their minds, 'cause they were just dunking for cover."
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca vows an investigation into the shooting: "There's no such thing as a safe shooting. and that's why we want to take a look at this very closely, because the aspect of shooting in urban areas is very problematic and dangerous under all circumstances," he says.
In the light of day, Hughes adds, Hayes' bullet-riddled car shows just how problematic and dangerous.
It is a miracle that these doughnut eaters did not kill any residents in the houses.
What say you about this one?
Begs the question...how do you fire 120 rounds and not kill SOMETHING?
yeah I would say thats a lot of gunfire, even for Compton....
They cops need to show more restraint within a neighborhood....
I'm assuming the "doughnut eaters' were chasing the car for a reason.
This shows that guns really aren't that dangerous.
Especially in the hands of cops.
120 rounds fired, suspect was hit...four times.
But the gun-grabbers think that cops should be the only ones who can legally own/carry guns!
Heck I can shoot better groups than these guys with my eyes closed.
120 rounds by 10 deputies is only 12 rounds each, not even allowing for whatever rounds the bad guys loosed. Not even a full magazine. I'd say they showed remarkable restraint. However I'd also say that they need to get in a more range time, lots more range time.
"how do you fire 120 rounds and not kill SOMETHING?"
Answer: 9mm
And 11 houses were hit, plus the cops shot one of their own.
Gotta love that 3% chance of getting hit don't you?
I think my yet to be conceived children could shoot better than that!!
I work in LA, my understanding right now is that the bad guy did not even have a gun. The officers were just firing all over the place - guess now we have to see who is doing all this shooting.
This is going to get ugly if the new reports show the only ones shooting are the officers.
Even with that reason it STILL does not warrant the amount of rounds fired and that went astray.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.