Anaheim Cop Shooter Hunted

Hundreds of police officers from Southern California to the Mexican border were searching late Monday for a possible weapons smuggler who may have been involved in the shooting of an Anaheim officer during a predawn traffic stop.

Veteran patrol Officer Thomas “Kasey” Geary, a Medal of Valor winner and father of three, was recovering from surgery after being shot once in the face at a freeway onramp. He was listed in serious condition, although his injury was not life-threatening.

The bullet tore through Geary’s cheek, fractured his jaw and came to rest in his neck, within half an inch of major blood vessels and the spinal cord, officials said.

Police dispatchers learned of the 1:50 a.m. shooting only when a passing motorist wearing a security guard shirt saw Geary lying on the ground, his face bleeding, and grabbed the officer’s radio to make a desperate call for help. The good Samaritan then tore off his shirt and used it as a compress to slow the bleeding.

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Investigators scrambled Monday to piece together the five minutes that followed Geary’s last call on his radio, following tips that the shooting might be linked to gunrunners and hunting for the vehicle they believe Geary pulled over--possibly a brown Ford Explorer or Bronco.

When Geary stopped the vehicle, he was pursuing a tip that an informant had given him, according to Investigator Bruce Bottolfson, who is probing the shooting but would not disclose details of Geary’s tip.

Within minutes of the shooting, police asked nearby agencies to look out for the car. San Diego police said investigators believed the car was being driven by a Latino man possibly called “Chino” who may have been heading to Mexico.

The request described the driver as having a shaved head and goatee and wearing a white button-down shirt with dark pants. Federal, local and Mexican authorities helped in the manhunt without success, backing up traffic for several miles at the San Ysidro border Monday evening as cars crossing the border were checked.

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While much of the investigation focused on the mysterious driver who was pulled over, an Anaheim police spokesman cautioned that detectives remain unsure whether that driver was involved in the shooting, which occurred on the Ball Road onramp to the Orange Freeway.

“We do know that [Geary] made a car stop, and five minutes later he’s been shot,” Sgt. Rick Martinez said. “But what happened in between, we don’t know. He may have let the guy go and then got shot.”

As doctors at UCI Medical Center in Orange evaluated the condition of the 18-year department veteran, Geary’s friends and his wife--an Orange County sheriff’s deputy--waited anxiously in the hospital’s intensive care unit, clutching rosaries and each other.

Doctors kept Geary on a ventilator with a breathing tube and said he may require more surgery over the next few days.

Hospital officials said Geary, 39, suffered nerve damage, causing him some weakness in his left arm, but added that the officer was lucky the wound was not more serious.

“It’s obvious that this was a great misfortune, but considering how close [the bullet] was to other things, he is reasonably fortunate,” said Dr. Michael Lekawa, chief of trauma services at UCI Medical Center.

Geary worked as an Anaheim reserve officer for five years before spending 13 as a sworn officer, police said. He quickly established a reputation for courage, receiving a Medal of Valor in recent years for saving a disabled person from a burning building.

“He is dedicated,” Officer Ed Thaete said. “He never used sick time; if he was [scheduled for] a shift, he would be there. Kasey is pretty good about giving 110%.”

But it is his sense of humor and his ability to win friends that are appreciated most by the officers he works with. They recalled how Geary, who walks with a slow swagger, loves to play pranks on colleagues and regularly invites friends to spend time with him on his boat at Lake Havasu in Arizona.

“If you could clone him, I really would,” said Lt. Ray Welch, who has worked with Geary since the wounded officer’s first day on patrol.

Maria Ockunzzi, a longtime neighbor of Geary’s before the officer moved from Anaheim last September, said he is a well-liked officer who enjoyed boating and jet-skiing.

“You meet him and you’re instantly captivated,” she said. “You can tell right away that he’s the kind of person who really cares.”

Back at the Police Department, officers were somber as they discussed details of the shooting, the first of an Anaheim officer since 1995.

Firearm assaults on California police officers have plunged in recent years, from 719 in 1992 to 264 in 1998, the last year for which figures are available. But the shooting of a colleague served as a powerful reminder Monday to Anaheim officers about how risky police work is.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to be reminded this way,” Martinez said.

Times staff writer Tony Perry contributed to this report.

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On the Run

Authorities continued to search for the man who seriously wounded an Anaheim police officer Monday during a routine traffic stop.