Officer Lucia Wade Critically Injured

By CHRIS SMITH

When the dreadful commotion began on Santa Rosa Avenue that Sunday nine days ago, Andy Brewster was inside Steel Deli & Liquor, buying a can of beer.

Brewster is a 47-year-old trucker who came to Sonoma County recently to care for his ailing mother. He heard a woman shout, “Halt! Freeze!” and he looked out the store to see a uniformed police officer get hit by a car and thrown into the air as she chased a man across the four-lane avenue.

“It was terrible,” Brewster said. Next he saw that the fleeing man was heading toward the Steel Deli parking lot. I watched the store’s security video on Monday and saw Brewster run to intercept the man.

Brewster, who’s 6-2 and 200 pounds, stood in the smaller guy’s path and told him, “Where do you think you’re going?” Then he grabbed the man, took him down and pinned his arms behind him. Read more…

source: pressdemocrat.com

The condition of a hospitalized Santa Rosa police officer who was struck by a car while pursuing a robbery suspect Sunday has improved from critical to serious, police said this afternoon.

Lucia Wade, 38, has improved and is expected to survive her injuries, Sgt. Lisa Banayat said. She cannot have flowers or visitors, Banayat said.

“The Police Department appreciates the many inquiries from the community and allied police agencies,” Banayat said in a news release.

Wade, a six-year Police Department employee and an officer for three years, was struck by a BMW on Santa Rosa Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Sunday as she chased 43-year-old Manuel Santiago of Santa Rosa. Read more…