Lodi Officer Involved In Shootout With Suspect; Officer Unhurt
LODI (CBS13) - An officer was involved in a gun battle with a suspect in Lodi early Tuesday morning, police say. The scene is along the 900 block of Industrial Way.
Lodi police say, a little after 5 a.m., an officer responded to the scene to investigate a report of shots fired. The first officer who got to the scene found that a suspect was armed with a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun.
"I was halfway asleep. I thought it was fireworks. I rolled over and I said 'Hey did you hear that?'" a woman named Jessica told CBS13. "I said 'Oh my God it sounds like it's right outside.'"
Police say the suspect and officer exchanged gunfire. Lodi police spokesperson Lieutenant Mike Manetti said sometimes officers don't know what kind of firepower they'll be facing until they arrive on the scene.
"There's a sense of urgency that goes into it, no matter how competent you feel with your firearm. You definitely don't want to be under-matched like that," Manetti said.
The suspect, a 37-year-old man, was shot multiple times. The officer was unhurt. The suspect has been taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. Manetti told CBS13 no other suspects have been identified at this time.
Several agencies are investigating the incident.
Some people who worked nearby the shooting said their coworkers were on edge once they saw police on their street.
"She waited until the manager of the office got here before she got out of her car she was afraid somebody had broken or you never know," Dwight Dagenais said.
Lodi police said that the department is glad their officer was unharmed on a somber day for California Law Enforcement with El Dorado County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Ishmael's funeral.
"Especially on a day like today when we're laying a fellow officer to rest in another county for responding to essentially a theft of burglary call, and comes under heavy fire like that," Manetti said.
