A 28-year-old Orange County man is being sought in the attempted murder of a Garden Grove police officer Wednesday morning.
According to Lt. Jeff Nightengale, the suspect – identified as Marco Gonzalez – ran over the officer with a car after he had been pulled over in a traffic stop.
The incident began around 9:30 a.m. in a parking lot at 13321 Brookhurst St. A GGPD officer pulled over a car when he noticed the driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. While the citation was being written, the driver “acted very nervous” which led the officer to have the driver step out of his car for a “pat-down” search. A back-up unit was summoned.
Before the second officer could arrive, the suspect allegedly began to fight with the officer. The suspect was able to get into his car, and in the course of a struggle allegedly knocked the officer over and ran over him with the vehicle.
The officer radioed in for help and also provided a description of the suspect vehicle, a green 2002 Infiniti Q35 with tinted windows and no license plate.
The officer was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange in good condition. The preliminary medical report is that he suffered to broken bones, but large scrapes and bruises.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or can provide detectives about the location o
f the suspect is asked to contact the GGPD at (714) 741-5704.
