THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512040040
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
A police officer who was being beaten by a man wielding a two-by-four shot and killed the attacker late Sunday, police said. The officer was hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. at 27th and Gazel streets near downtown, just moments after the man had jumped from a stolen van that was wrecked during a brief police chase.
A third man was hospitalized after the car he was driving was hit broadside by the van and totaled.
The officer's name was being withheld until relatives could be notified, and police said they did not know the identity of the dead man.
The injured driver was identified as Richard Barrera, 21, of Norfolk. His condition was not available, although his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Police spokesman Larry Hill said details were sketchy late Sunday. Investigators had been unable to interview the injured officer, who was being treated at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
``We don't know when or where the chase started,'' Hill said. ``The first word we had was when the officer called for assistance'' just after he stopped his cruiser at the accident scene.
Hill said the stolen 1995 Plymouth Voyager was being chased north on Gazel Street when it slammed into a 1981 Toyota Corolla heading west on 27th Street. The impact crushed the front of the car, spun it around 90 degrees and left it pointed south on Gazel.
The van then ran up on the sidewalk and crashed into a small tree, toppling the tree over a parked car.
``The driver jumped out and attempted to flee,'' Hill said. The police officer drove his car onto the opposite sidewalk and gave chase.
Neighborhood residents said they heard the police officer shout at the man to halt. Then they heard yelling in the back yard of a home at the corner of Gazel and 27th streets. Seconds later, a single shot was fired, police said.
Otis Smith, 28, said he was resting in bed on the second floor of a house at the intersection when he heard the speeding van, followed by the police car.
``By the time I got to the window, the police car was coming by and then I heard the `boom.' I looked up the street and I saw that the van hit the car,'' Smith said. He said he saw the officer chase the suspect behind a house on the opposite side of the street.
Smith said a man who lives in that house went outside and began hollering. ``I heard him back there yelling, `Get out of my yard,' '' Smith said. ``Next thing I know, I heard a gunshot. Then all the other police started getting here.''
Hill said the officer struggled with the suspect for several moments.
``The suspect beat the officer in the head with the two-by-four,'' Hill said. ``He hit him in the head a couple times. It was a self-defense situation and the officer shot the man.''
The suspect also was taken to Sentara Norfolk General where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the emergency room.
Hill said the Navy blue van had been reported stolen Oct. 24 in Virginia Beach.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC HIGH SPEED CHASE NORFOLK POLICE STOLEN
CAR by CNB