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The California Highway Patrol today mourns the
loss of Officer Douglas
Scott Russell, a 46 year old officer assigned to the Placerville Office.
Russell was intentionally run down yesterday by a 38 year old Sacramento man
that was leading Rancho Cordova Police on a high speed chase east bound on Hwy
50.
David
Charles Zanon, 38 years of age, first tried to ram a Rancho Cordova police
department car, then swerved and another officer laying spike strips across the
roadway before hitting
and killing Russell just after Russell had completed laying a spike strip
across Hwy 50’s east bound lanes near Shingle Springs. "We
are treating this as a homicide," said Jasper Begay, a CHP spokesman. The
chase began when employees at a Rancho Cordova business noticed an apparently
unconscious man in a car parked outside their offices at 9975 Horn Road and
called police. When authorities came to check on the man, he immediately fled
in his four-door Eagle, said Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. "As
soon as he opened his eyes, he threw it into gear," Curran said. As Rancho
Cordova police pursued Zanon he
tried to ram a Rancho Cordova police officer's car but missed, Curran
said.
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The pursuit moved to Highway 50 as Zanon led officers past Gold River
and Folsom, sometimes at speeds of 100 miles per hour, Curran said. At the
intersection of El Dorado Hills Boulevard, an officer attempted to lay out
spikes to stop Zanon, according to CHP Officer Begay said. Zanon swerved and
tried to hit the officer, who was unable to deploy the spikes. By the time Zanon got close to the
Ponderosa Road intersection, the pursuit included two CHP units and two
helicopters -- one from the CHP and one from the Sacramento County Sheriff's
Department. Officer Russell was waiting for Zanon with the spike strip that he had laid out on the highway. But Zanon
"intentionally aimed his vehicle right at the officer," Begay said. Begay
said CHP procedure is to keep the spike strip on the road for as short a time
as possible -- laying it out just before a suspect arrives and pulling it back
after he passes. Zanon had to swerve off the roadway to hit Russell, who had
just finished deploying the strip. The CHP helicopter flying overhead witnessed
the event and immediately landed on the side of the road. Within two minutes officers
had pulled Russell inside the chopper and headed to UC Davis Medical Center
where he was pronounced dead. Zanon
continued driving until Mother Lode Drive where Officers finally knocked him
off the highway. Zanon
was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with non-life-threatening
injuries. He appeared to have been living out of his car, Curran said. Zanon
has a long list of criminal activity in Sacramento County, including multiple
arrests on theft and drug charges. At the time of the chase, he had an active
warrant out for resisting arrest, Curran said. Officer Russell is survived by
his wife and CHP family.