People v. Horton CA4/2
Opinion
Opinion
BACKGROUND
On March 23, 2012, at approximately 4:00 a.m., Officer Pap was on patrol when
he came across a black Toyota truck, driven by defendant, with an expired registration
tag. A passenger also occupied the truck. The officer made a U-turn and activated his
2 lights and siren to make an enforcement stop, but the truck took off on a high speed
chase. Officer Pap’s speed was approximately 80 to 90 miles per hour trying to catch up.
Defendant drove through a red light and the pursuit was joined by three other police
units. After going through an intersection, defendant made a U-turn and the chase
resumed, at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. At some points, defendant drove on the
wrong side of a divided road.
Eventually, defendant’s truck spun out, one hundred eighty degrees, so that his
vehicle and the patrol car faced each other. Defendant rammed the patrol car as Officer
Pap was in the process of opening the door of his vehicle with his gun drawn. Officer
Pap started shooting as he stepped out his car; then he heard tires squealing, saw smoke,
and felt another impact as defendant had rammed the vehicle a second time. By this time,