A San Diego police officer wounded when a fleeing suspect opened fire during a chase was released from the hospital May 19.
Officer Heather Seddon, a five-year member of the force, was treated at Sharp Memorial Hospital for bullet wounds to her neck, where a round initially struck her, and shoulder, where it lodged.
Seddon and other patrol personnel were running after 34-year-old Dennis Fiel of San Diego on the morning of May 17 in a neighborhood just north of Sharp Memorial Hospital when Fiel pulled a gun and shot her, prompting fellow officers Joshua Hodge and Mario Larrea to return fire, Lt. Mike Hastings said. Fiel died at the scene.
Medics took Seddon to the medical center.
Police had come across Fiel — a suspect in a months-long series of noninjury shootings at buildings in Kearny Mesa — as he was driving on Interstate 805 near Convoy Street, according to Hastings. As officers gave chase, Fiel merged onto State Route 163 before exiting at Mesa College Drive, where the pursuing officers lost sight of his vehicle.
Police soon spotted the suspect walking nearby, and he fled when they tried to contact him, Hastings said. Moments later, the volley of gunfire erupted.
Body cameras recorded the chase and shootings, Hastings said. Police have reviewed the footage and forwarded it to the District Attorney’s Office, which will determine if the officers’ use of lethal force was justified, the lieutenant said.
During a subsequent search of Fiel’s home, investigators found an assault rifle, ammunition and a large marijuana-growing setup, according to Hastings.
— Fox 5