A fender bender on Interstate 280 ended with a light grazing of road rage early Sunday morning when an off-duty SFPD sergeant and the other motorist involved in the accident got into a confrontation at a Bayview gas station.
The cop and the other motorist got into "a minor, noninjury crash" on Interstate 280 and both drivers pulled off to stop at a Chevron station at the corner of Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue. An off-duty San Francisco firefighter who witnessed the incident also pulled over to help the pair sort out the dinger. According to the Chronicle, the firefighter heard the sergeant identify herself as a cop, but the other driver responded that he didn't care and took a swing at her.
During the ensuing scuffle, the female officer pulled her firearm and fired off a shot, grazing the motorist in the ankle. Bay City News reports the motorist was hit by the shot, while the Chronicle claims the bullet hit the ground and a piece of debris actually hit the man. Either way: the man refused medical treatment, but was booked for his belligerent attack on the cop.
Had the motorist ever watched a procedural cop drama, he would have known that the whole incident was being captured by security cameras at the gas station. Still, the incident is currently under investigation and the off-duty sergeant will be placed on paid administrative leave for the time being. SFPD Chief Greg Suhr, meanwhile, praised the off-duty firefighter for pulling over to provide witness to the fender bender, saying: "I would hope that every citizen was as conscientious a witness."
