Attempted vehicle stop ends with officer-involved shooting at H.B. beach; no one injured, suspects arrested

An attempted patrol stop in Huntington Beach early Wednesday ended in an officer-involved shooting on the city beach after a driver failed to stop, led a high-speed pursuit before crashing with a police vehicle and then fled on foot, according to authorities.

Huntington Beach police tried to stop a vehicle without license plates in the area of Bushard Street and Adams Avenue at about 2:50 a.m., police said. The driver didn’t stop and police pursued him to the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway, where the driver lost control and the vehicle collided with one of the pursuing police units, authorities said.

The driver ran onto Huntington City Beach with police in pursuit, and an officer fired a weapon.

The suspect was not hit and was arrested. A passenger in the vehicle also was taken into custody, police said.

No officers were injured.

Authorities said the vehicle was later determined to be stolen and that a knife was recovered from the scene.

Police would not release any other details, including how many shots were fired and why, the status of the investigation of the shooting, and the type of vehicle involved and where it was reported stolen.

Qyon McCode, 19, of Costa Mesa was arrested on suspicion of first-degree vehicle theft, possession of burglary tools and evading a peace officer with wanton disregard for safety, according to the city arrest log.

The passenger, Robert Rotherham, 23, of La Palma, was arrested on suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, possession of burglary tools, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and assault, according to the arrest log.

Both suspects were booked at Huntington Beach Jail. McCode’s bail was set at $50,000 and Rotherham’s at $20,000, according to police. Both were to be transferred to Orange County Jail, police said.

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