CHP officer fires on motorcyclist on I-80 [SFGate.com]

A California Highway Patrol officer fired at a speeding motorcyclist who refused to pull over Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

It was unclear whether the shot struck the motorcyclist, who got away and was still being sought Sunday night, authorities said.

The incident began at 12:07 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 80 in American Canyon, where a CHP officer clocked two motorcycles speeding at 85 mph, according to CHP spokesman Marvin Williford. The CHP officer began pursuing the riders and attempted to pull over both of them. One, however, exited I-80 at Red Top Road and then re-entered I-80 westbound while the second motorcyclist continued east on I-80.

A second CHP officer was west on I-80 and had been monitoring the pursuit. At the Columbus Parkway exit in Vallejo, the officer pulled over a motorcyclist who matched the description of the first fleeing biker. The officer, however, realized he had the wrong biker when he spotted the fleeing motorcyclist coming off Columbus Parkway in his direction, Williford said.

The officer stepped off his bike and waved for the fleeing motorcyclist to stop, but the rider instead accelerated toward the officer and the officer opened fire, Williford said.

[snip]

Accelerating your motorcycle towards a police officer can be considered a "threatening move", apparently. Never mind that it's a hell of a lot easier to get out of the way of an oncoming motorcycle. Any way you slice it, this was a bad scene. I can appreciate the position a police officer might find himself in - but the action seems a bit extreme.

This story smells a bit fishy, if the newspaper reports are accurate:

• I'm surprised that a CHP motorcycle officer would step off his bike to wave down an oncoming motorcyclist - I'd expect him to prepare for hot pursuit.
• By definition, a motorcyclist heading towards a CHP officer who is waving him down, is, well, heading towards the officer.. and if the motorcyclist intends to flee, he's going to accelerate - which makes him eligible for a death penalty, apparently. Of course, if the guy was truly threatening the officer's life, firing at the oncoming rider would be justifiable.
• Were there any other vehicles on the road, or other potential victims of a missed shot? Firing at a moving motorcycle is pretty risky.

Anyway, I don't advocate this kind of behavior - it's plain stupid. And apparently, can get you shot.