Friday, 08 June 2007 02:18

Sutter Creek Police Vehicle Hit During Enforcement Stop

slide2A Sutter Creek Police Officer was uninjured yesterday morning in a vehicle collision after his patrol vehicle was hit by the vehicle of the driver he was pulling over. According to the California Highway Patrol report written by Officer Brain Hagemann, Sutter Creek Officer Jeff Phillips was conducting a routine traffic stop on a 99 Honda for a lighting violation. The driver, 20 year old Shawn Compton of Volcano, pulled into a parking lot and then into a stall in that lot.
Officer Phillips parked behind Compton, set off to the left of the rear of Compton’s Honda. As Officer Phillips exited his car Compton began backing up- Officer Phillips then reactivated his siren and finally began honking at Compton as Compton continued to back up eventually hitting the Sutter Creek Patrol car. The CHP report states that Compton was responsible for the collision by backing up unsafely.