OILDALE — One man was left dead after being shot by sheriff’s deputies following a high-speed pursuit through the streets of northeast Bakersfield last Wednesday.
Today the Kern County Sheriff’s Office talked about the shooting, which occurred at around 10 p.m. on March 26, when a deputy tried to make a traffic stop on a stolen 1998 Honda VTR 1000 motorcycle driving at a high rate of speed in the residential neighborhood near Beardsley Avenue in Oildale.
The rider, later identified as 41-year old Christopher McDaniel, failed to comply, leading the deputy on a pursuit, failing to stop for signs or traffic lights and at times driving on pedestrian sidewalks.
After a short time, additional deputies joined the chase, but lost sight of McDaniel in the area of River View Park.
“Deputies set up a perimeter near the park and began monitoring intersections where the suspect was last seen,” Ray Pruitt, sheriff’s public information officer said. “A few minutes later, the suspect was again spotted entering the intersection of South Plymouth and Beardsley Avenues, where he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed.”
Deputies said that McDaniel then began running east bound on foot on Beardsley Avenue, pulling a hand gun from his waistband and pointing it at two deputies, who fired three rounds each from their service weapons striking McDaniel. Deputies immediately began administering first aid to McDaniel, who was transported by ambulance to Kern Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
No deputies were injured during the incident, but a K9 police dog was struck by gunfire. The canine was transported to an emergency veterinarian and after undergoing surgery, is expected to survive.
Both deputies are on routine administrative leave pending a review from the Lethal Force Review Board.
Read more:
KERO: Sheriff answers questions on case
KBAK: Names, numbers of shots released
