A domestic violence suspect was shot by police after attempting to carjack a vehicle on a busy California interstate, according to body camera footage released by the Lathrop Police Department.
The incident began on January 27, when officers responded to a 911 call reporting that Juan Miguel Valdez, 40, had allegedly threatened to kill a woman he had nearly killed the night before. The audio recording of the call revealed the severity of the threat and prompted an immediate police response.
Upon arrival, officers encountered Valdez, who fled the scene in a vehicle, leading authorities on a high-speed pursuit from a residential neighborhood onto Interstate 5. During the chase, one of the tires on Valdez’s vehicle failed, forcing him to abandon it and attempt to hijack another car.
Body camera footage shows Valdez clinging to the side of a moving vehicle, grasping the driver’s side door in a desperate effort to stop the car. As the vehicle slowed and pulled over to the shoulder, Valdez ran to the passenger side and tried to force his way inside.
Multiple police units quickly surrounded the scene. One officer discharged his firearm, striking Valdez several times and bringing him to the ground.
As officers provided medical aid, Valdez could be heard saying, “Ah, bro, why’d you shoot me?” while one officer cut away his shirt to assess gunshot wounds on his chest and arm. A responding officer noted a through-and-through bullet wound in Valdez’s forearm.
While receiving treatment, Valdez told officers, “My son’s a f—g Marine, bro. I have respect, I was just trying to get away.”
Valdez was later hospitalized, treated for his injuries, and subsequently booked on five felony charges: carjacking, false imprisonment, felony evasion, resisting arrest, and committing a felony while on release or parole for a previous conviction.
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