Press Release: Officer Involved Shooting on 780 Freeway
Officer Involved Shooting on 780 Freeway
On March 15, 2024, at 9:22pm, the Benicia Police Department was alerted by the City’s Automated License Plate Reader system that a vehicle involved in a previous Benicia armed robbery was driving in the Columbus Parkway/Rose Drive area. Officers located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop, but the suspect vehicle fled onto 780 and fired shots at officers as they drove away. The suspect vehicle crashed at the bottom of the eastbound off ramp at Military West. One suspect was immediately taken into custody while the other bailed on foot back towards the freeway. As officers surrounded the suspect on foot, he took multiple shots at officers who, in turn, returned fire. Ultimately, the suspect hid in the bushes in the freeway median. The scope of the incident required the closure of 780 in both directions between Columbus Parkway/Rose Drive and Southampton Road.
With assistance from a California Highway Patrol helicopter and several other responding agencies, the hidden suspect was located and taken into custody without further incident. This suspect indicated that an additional (third) suspect was also hiding in the median, so officers continued to search the area. This information was proven to be false after officers reviewed body camera footage and confirmed that only two suspects were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
K9 units conducted a search of the area to locate evidence. Multiple shell casings were found, and the firearm was recovered. Both directions of travel on 780 and the on and off ramps at Military West reopened at 5:08am.
No injuries were sustained by any persons involved. The two suspects, a 33-year-old male, and a 39-year-old male, both out of Vallejo, were arrested and booked into the Solano County Jail for numerous felonies, including attempted homicide of a police officer.
Benicia officers were assisted by the California Highway Patrol, Fairfield Police Department, Vacaville Police Department, Vallejo Police Department, Solano County Sheriff’s Office, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Rio Vista Police Department, American Canyon Police Department, Richmond Police Department, Hercules Police Department, Napa County Sheriff’s Office, Napa Police Department, San Pablo Police Department, Pleasant Hill Police Department, Concord Police Department, Cal Maritime Police Department, Emeryville Police Department, and multiple SWAT teams from within Solano County.
The Solano County Major Crimes Taskforce is the lead investigator in this incident. All media requests should go through Lieutenant Chuck Renfro with the Solano County District Attorney’s office at 707-784-6800.
For more information on the arrest, visit https://benicia.crimegraphics.com/2013/default.aspx, and click on the “Arrests” tab.