CHP Officer Hit By Suspect's Car In Hemet

HEMET, CA — A 41-year-old man allegedly struck and injured a California Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop near Hemet, triggering a short chase.

Richard Scott Stewart of Riverside was booked Monday into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and felony evading, the CHP reported. He's being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

According to the CHP, the patrolman spotted Stewart in a sedan on Chicago Avenue, near Ballew Way, in Valle Vista about 5:10 p.m. Monday and pulled him over for an alleged registration violation.

CHP Officer Matt Napier said that as the officer was approaching the vehicle, Stewart allegedly threw it into gear, hitting the patrolman and knocking him to the ground.

The officer immediately alerted dispatchers and surrounding law enforcement agencies were notified, prompting a search for the suspect. A few minutes later, a Riverside County sheriff's deputy patrolling Palm Avenue, near Fairview Drive, in Hemet caught sight of the suspect's vehicle and signaled him to stop, Napier said.

Stewart refused to yield, triggering a chase that ended moments later at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Mayflower Street in Hemet, where the suspect surrendered without further incident, he said.

The officer, whose name was withheld, was treated at Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for minor injuries and sent home to recuperate, according to Napier.

Stewart was not hurt.