The moments leading up to a Stockton Police Department sergeant being shot at multiple times early Wednesday while chasing a vehicle allegedly involved in a carjacking was shown by the department Thursday afternoon.
Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said he received a call that he felt no parent, no chief, or anyone else wants to get in the middle of the night.
“That call … was that I had an officer down,” McFadden said. “That is a gut-wrenching call that you don’t want to hear to where he (the caller) had to repeat it a few times.”
Before the sergeant, whose name has not been released, was shot at several times, other officers had responded just before 3 a.m. Wednesday to a call about a carjacking that occurred in the 700 block of Bedlow and Knickerbocker drives.
Police said a 69-year-old man, located at the scene, had his vehicle stolen and was beaten with a firearm.
The man was taken to a hospital and is recovering from his moderate to severe injuries.
At 3:21 a.m., the sergeant who was in the area of northbound Kentfield Road was alerted to a vehicle that he believed was involved in the carjacking, McFadden said.
The nine-year veteran sergeant had announced over the police radio that he was in pursuit of the car.
The bodycam footage from police shows the sergeant chasing the car when suddenly several shots are fired at the sergeant while he was still inside his car.
“Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired,” yelled the sergeant.
He can be heard yelling and grunting in pain while multiple gunshots continued to go off at Gateway Court and Kentfield Road.
“I’m shot. I’m taking rounds … he’s still shooting,” the sergeant told dispatch.
Ultimately, he was struck by gunfire and suffered multiple injuries, a spokesperson for the Police Department said.
“He was wearing a ballistic vest, which saved his life,” McFadden said.
Police said they could not confirm as of Thursday how many shooters were involved, but a rifle and pistol were used.
On Wednesday, the officer was in stable condition but since then has been released from a hospital.
“There is no more lonelier place than where that sergeant was that night,” said McFadden. “He’s an incredible leader. His spirits are high.”
The suspect or suspects involved in the shootout had fled the scene, prompting several road closures as officers surrounded the area.
After many hours of a police standoff, five people were detained.
Sunthawon “Benny” Savon, 20, of Stockton, was identified by police as the person allegedly responsible for wounding the sergeant. The other four people have been released from custody.
Savon will be arraigned Friday (Aug. 4) in court, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
“Make no mistake. Everyone responsible will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas.
