Posted on 12/21/2006 4:42:54 AM PST by radar101
Law enforcement members gathered last night in Oceanside near North River Road and Vandegrift Boulevard after an Oceanside police officer was shot during a traffic stop nearby. The officer later died.
OCEANSIDE – An Oceanside police officer was shot and killed last night while assisting with a traffic stop, officials said.
The shooting happened about 6:30 p.m. near Gold Drive and Arthur Avenue. The officer was flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he died, Oceanside Capt. David Heering said. A suspect had not been arrested last night.
The officer's name had not been released.
He had come to assist the initial officer who made the traffic stop about 6:20 p.m., Heering said. He apparently was shot from behind, Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood said. The bullet got past his protective vest, Wood said. It was unclear where the shots came from.
The mayor, a former police officer who came to the scene to lend his moral support, said the officer was recently married and had a 2-month-old baby.
About 6:20 p.m., as the first officer made the traffic stop, she asked for another officer to assist, Heering said. About 10 minutes into the traffic stop, the same female officer radioed that shots had been fired and asked for additional officers to respond, Heering said.
Heering said police were searching the area and had about two blocks cordoned off. Officers were interviewing several people, including those involved in the traffic stop, Heering said.
“We're going to stay out here all night until we find the person that did this,” he said.
Law enforcement officers from as far as Coronado, National City and Chula Vista were at the scene, as were sheriff's deputies, California Highway Patrol officers, and officers from the county Probation Department, Carlsbad and Escondido.
This is the second Oceanside police officer shot and killed in the past three years. On June 13, 2003, Tony Zeppetella, 27, died.
Zeppetella was shot in the parking lot of the Navy Federal Credit Union in Oceanside during a traffic stop.
Adrian Camacho, a former gang member and drug dealer, was found guilty and is on death row. Camacho shot the rookie officer 13 times.
The officer's wife, Jamie Zeppetella, won a settlement this summer in a wrongful-death lawsuit she filed against the manufacturers of the officer's bullet-resistant vest.
In his memory, his wife formed the Tony W. Zeppetella Memorial Foundation in November. The foundation's goal is to encourage North County youngsters to avoid gangs and drugs. She said the organization will also delve into other charitable acts.
She also said the nonprofit is a way for her and her toddler son Jakob to thank those who helped ease the pain during the most traumatic period of her life.
Kristina Davis: (760) 476-8233; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com
"Adrian Camacho, a former gang member....."
What was he like when he was still in a gang? I think the punk was still very much in a gang.
You don't understand. Camacho wanted to stay in the gang, but the gang's executive committee had a meeting over high tea following the incident and blackballed him for "behavior unbecoming a cholo."
"adrian camacho, a former gang member..."
should read, "adrian camacho, a socialist revolutionary sc^%bag, still a product of many hours of liberal indoctrination, both in school and on the couches of
liberal "therapists"."
Where he will die of old age long before he would have been executed in CA. CA may as well abolish the death penalty for all the good it does, it's useless as a crime deterrent if it's never carried out.
Prayers for this officer's family. I was so hoping he would make it.
I feel bad for the officer's wife and family. After this settlement, warning lapels are probably going to read: "Do not stand in direct or indirect fire of a speeding bullet while wearing this vest". I hope the lawyers defending the vest company NEVER finds work again.
In fact, Zeppetella had actually upgraded to the Second Chance vest because he thought there would be less risk because of the company's claims about its effectiveness. He owned the vest for about seven months before his death, Emerson said, and had paid an additional $300 of his own money for the upgrade.
"It's one thing to know there are risks and know you are taking those risks," said Emerson.
He said the most dramatic moment in the trial occurred when the plaintiffs introduced a memo from a Second Chance official saying that because of the degradation issue, the company had two choices: pull the vests off the market or "do nothing and let a cop" get killed.
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/tactical/body-armor/articles/1187179/
Thanks for the info. I hope the widow got a bundle.
CC
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