An officer-involved shooting that injured a suspect on Valentine’s Day in Fremont was triggered when a police dog bit a police sergeant and caused him to unintentionally fire his gun, authorities said Thursday.
About 9:45 p.m. Saturday, as police Sgt. James Taylor was trying to apprehend a suspect, he “was bitten by a police canine and he unintentionally discharged his service weapon, striking the suspect,” Fremont police said in an update on Thursday.
Taylor has 17 years of service with the Fremont Police Department, 12 years as an officer and about five years as a sergeant. He was treated for the dog bite at a local trauma center.
The suspect who was shot, 25-year-old Freddy Magana Gonzales of Redwood City, was taken to a hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury. When he is released from the hospital, Fremont police said he will be booked on suspicion of multiple outstanding residential burglary warrants by Bay Area municipal law enforcement agencies.
The officer-involved shooting happened in the area of Blacow Road and Mattos Court, near Alta Drive and Racine Avenue.
Fremont officers had been assisting outside agencies in catching alleged vehicle and residential burglary suspects. Fremont police believe the same suspects were involved in similar crimes in their city last year.
The suspects allegedly committed multiple burglaries on Saturday in other cities before returning to Fremont. When officers there attempted to arrest them, a vehicle pursuit began. After the suspect’s car was disabled, four suspects fled on foot.
The shooting happened as Taylor was trying to apprehend Gonzales, police said.
The three other suspects were taken into custody by Fremont police and later turned over to another Bay Area law enforcement agency and were booked on suspicion of crimes that include burglary, possession of stolen property, and possession of burglary tools.
Fremont Police Department will also be pursuing a variety of criminal charges on all four suspects, including reckless evasion of a peace officer, possession of a concealed firearm, a felon in possession of a firearm, obliteration of a serial number on a firearm, resisting arrest, and theft.
The Fremont Police Department is conducting an investigation into the officer-involved shooting and will released additional information as required by state law.
Bay City News
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