Officers shoot suspect after vehicle chase

Marisa O’Neil

Coast Highway was shut down for about eight hours Monday morning when

a police pursuit ended with officers shooting a Santa Ana man

multiple times.

Irvine police officers shot 21-year-old Bernardo Ibarra after he

led them on a 30-minute chase that ended in Corona del Mar, Irvine

Police Lt. Jeff Love said. Three officers shot at Ibarra after he

allegedly tried to run them down.

“He attempted to use the vehicle as a weapon against the

officers,” Love said. “Fearing for their lives and safety, they were

forced to use their weapons.”

Ibarra was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. His

wounds were not life-threatening, Love said.

The chase started in Irvine at 1:25 a.m. Monday near the

intersection of Jamboree Road and MacArthur Boulevard, near the

Newport Beach border. Officers initially stopped the driver to

investigate a traffic violation, but he immediately sped away, Love

said.

Irvine police chased the car down to Newport Beach, where it

continued along Coast Highway.

During the chase, Ibarra drove in excess of 60 mph, drove over

medians and on the wrong side of the road, Newport Beach Police Sgt.

Steve Shulman said. He also knocked a mirror off a parked vehicle and

nearly struck a person on a motorcycle, Love said.

Irvine police ended the chase at about 2 a.m., just north of

Marguerite Parkway, using the pursuit-intervention technique, which

includes hitting the car from behind, sending it out of control, Love

said.

Newport Beach police were monitoring the chase on radio channels

and got involved after its conclusion, Shulman said. Newport officers

arrested Ibarra on suspicion of felony evading and assault with a

deadly weapon, his car.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the

three officers involved in the shooting. Their names have not been

released.

During rush hour Monday morning, Ibarra’s vehicle remained up on

the curb in front of a pharmacy, with the Irvine patrol car still

against its bumper. Police tape closed off the entire street, leaving

some residents to postpone their plans to pick up food or dry

cleaning.

Bill Fowler, who lives three blocks from where the chase ended,

managed to walk his dog down to the pharmacy to pick up a

prescription. Looking through the window of the shop, he said he

could see a car with four or five bullet holes and smashed glass.

Newport Beach police closed the road from MacArthur Boulevard to

Newport Coast Drive until about 10 a.m. for the investigation.

Traffic was diverted at Newport Coast Drive, well south of the scene,

to keep it from piling up in Corona del Mar’s streets, Love said.

This is the second shooting in a year involving police officers in

Irvine, a typically quiet city. On June 29 of last year, an officer

shot and killed Joseph Hunter Parker inside an Albertson’s store.

Police believe Parker, a store employee, killed two other workers in

the store with a samurai-style sword.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].