Officer Shot and Saved by Badge, Suspect Dies In Fiery Crash

Authorities say a bullet fired by a domestic violence suspect was deflected by the badge of Huntington Beach police officer.

An armed man died Friday in a fiery crash after leading police on a wild chase through the Southland.

“You wouldn’t even expect it to hit probably the smallest area of your uniform”, HBPD Officer Jennifer Marlatt said.

The man began driving eastbound on Yorktown with officers in pursuit.

As officers trailed the suspect on Yorktown, the man made a U-turn in the vehicle and then opened fire on his pursuers, Marlatt said.

One of the officers was struck in what was described as a “one shot in a million”. The officer was later treated at a hospital and released on Friday morning, said a spokesperson for the Huntington Beach Police Department. The officers turned their cars around and continued to chase the man.

It was unclear what led the suspect to lose control and fly down the embankment. “Adrenaline kicked in and he didn’t even know he was hit until he pulled over in Costa Mesa”, Marlatt said of the officer whose badge absorbed the impact of a bullet, which also passed struck the officers’ bulletproof vest after passing through his windshield.

Authorities followed the suspect for more than 70 miles into the Cajon Pass on Interstate 15 near the Cleghorn Road exit until he careened off the road down an embankment, where his vehicle burst into flames.

The vehicle erupted in flames, which consumed the suspect, Marlatt said. Bushard was closed between Indianapolis Avenue and Garfield Avenue, police said. “Fortunately for that officer it did”, stated Steve Carapia with the California Highway Patrol.