A fugitive shot and killed by a police officer in El Cajon following a high-speed pursuit in a stolen car driven by another man on the run has been identified.
Kelsey Rose Hauser, 25, of Conifer, Colorado, was in a stolen red Toyota with three men in the 1300 block of E. Main Street around 1:25 a.m. when officers from the El Cajon Police Department (ECPD) tried to stop the car. The driver, identified as fugitive Geoffrey H. Sims, of Golden, Colorado, pulled over near Walter Way and Main Street.
However, when officers approached the car, Sims hit the gas and fled northbound on Second Street, then drove onto westbound Interstate 8.
A high-speed chase ensued. With emergency lights and sirens activated, ECPD officers pursued the Toyota. At one point the pursuit reached speeds of 90 mph, police said. Officers called for backup from California Highway Patrol.
Eventually, the stolen car exited the freeway at West Main Street and continued to South Pierce Street, which is a cul-de-sac.
As the car reached the dead end, police said the driver made a U-turn, bringing the Toyota head-on with pursuing officers. Sims’ car came to a halt and an officer again tried to contact the four people inside.
According to the ECPD, as the officer got out of his patrol car, the suspect allegedly drove the stolen vehicle towards the officer. The officer fired four rounds at the suspects’ vehicle investigators; he said he was fearing for his life.
The gunfire struck Hauser, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, as well as a dog inside the car.
The driver kept moving, ramming the stolen car into another police vehicle that was approaching the scene, officials said. The stolen car then finally came to a stop, police said.
Officers swarmed Sims’ car and arrested him and two men in the back seat. One has been identified as Brian Alan Blafield of El Cajon. Hauser was taken to a local hospital. She died a short time later from injuries suffered in the officer-involved shooting, the police department confirmed. The dog also died.
The ECPD said Blafield and another passenger were booked into County Jail on suspicion of narcotics possession. The passenger was released without being charged. Blafield was booked into County Jail on substance charges.
Sims was wanted in Colorado on two felony arrest warrants. He was booked into jail on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer likely to create great bodily injury and felony evading. The vehicle had been reported stolen out of Denver on Aug. 11, 2015.
Hauser was also wanted on felony warrant in Colorado, though it is not clear for what crime.
ECPD officer Samson Pak, who was involved in this deadly shooting, is assigned to the Patrol Division and has been an officer for three years. Pak has been put on administrative leave, as is standard for officers involved in a fatal incident, the department said.
No officers were injured in this incident and there are no outstanding suspects, police said.
Local
A complete investigation by the agency with jurisdiction for the area will take place, as is protocol for investigating an officer-involved shooting. The San Diego County District Attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will also review the incident. When investigators present evidence to those agencies, they will show in-camera video recorded, ECPD said.
Anyone with information on this case should call the ECPD at (619) 579-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
