By Suzie Ziegler
SAN DIEGO — CHP Officer Antonio Pacheco is on the road to recovery thanks to fast-acting good Samaritans, including a nurse who fashioned a makeshift tourniquet. New cellphone video shows the chaotic moments after Pacheco was shot on Wednesday by a motorist.
The incident began along a San Diego highway when Pacheco stopped to help a single-vehicle crash, NBC San Diego reported. According to CHP, the driver suddenly attacked Pacheco and tried to take the officer’s service weapon. The gun went off, striking Pacheco in the leg.
Several passing motorists immediately pulled over to help. Video shows two people restraining the suspect until police arrive. Several more people are crowded around Pacheco, who is lying on the ground and bleeding heavily. One man wearing blue scrubs applies pressure to the wound on Pacheco’s thigh.
“Does anyone have a proper tourniquet?” he asks. According to CBS8, that man is a nurse who was on his way to work when he saw the shooting. He ended up making a tourniquet out of the straps on his backpack.
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The woman who filmed the video, Lilia Pineda, said she was particularly affected by the scene.
“I saw the officer on the [ground] and that impacted me because my brother recently applied for the sheriff’s department and I thought, ‘That could be my brother,’” Pineda told NBC San Diego.
Pacheco is in stable condition and is expected to survive, according to CBS8.
In a news conference, CHP Chief Scott Parker thanked the citizens who helped Pacheco.
“I am extremely grateful for the members of the public who put themselves in harm’s way to help our officer after he was shot in the leg,” Parker said. “This incident could have ended in a greater tragedy had those individuals not intervened. CHP officers put themselves at risk every day they come to work. Our thoughts and prayers are with the officer and his family as he recovers from his injuries.”
The suspect, 25-year-old Yuhao Du, is facing several charges including attempted murder of a peace officer.