On February 2, 2006, at approximately 5:00 am, a Santa Monica Police Officer saw a van with two suspicious persons in a grocery store parking lot at 1600 Cloverfield Boulevard. He requested an undercover unit, which was in the area on a robbery suppression detail, to obtain a license plate.
The undercover unit followed the van but lost them in the area of Pico Boulevard and 18th Street. While driving southbound on 17th Street the officers saw the van pulled into a driveway on the east side of the street. As the officer’s vehicle approached the van a suspect appeared from the passenger side of the van holding a gun.
The suspect shot his gun at the approaching undercover officers multiple times. One round struck the front windshield of the police vehicle. A final round struck the right rear passenger window of the police car. One of the rounds struck the driver officer in the right wrist. The passenger officer was not injured. The officers moved to a position of safety and requested assistance. Additional officers responded to the area and a perimeter was established.
Two suspects were taken into custody without incident. The primary suspect was arrested and booked for attempted murder on a police officer, with a gang enhancement and being an ex-convict in possession of a firearm. He has been identified as Michael Espindola, Male, Hispanic, 20 years old, of Santa Monica and a known gang member. Suspect two has not been identified at this time
The officer injured is identified as Officer Walter Ramirez, 25 years old, and is a 4 year veteran of the Santa Monica Police Department. Officer Ramirez was treated at a local hospital for a gunshot wound to his right hand and later released.
