Sept. 19--Cases of police shooting suspects from helicopters -- as happened Friday during a pursuit of wrong-way vehicle on the 215 Freeway in San Bernardino County -- are definitely unusual, but they have occurred.
Perhaps the most famous case in Southern California occurred in 1982 and involved a bank robbery suspect.
According to Times reports at the time, Stephen Moreland Redd, 37, robbed a bank in Orange County and was pursued by authorities during a wild 110-mph chase and gun battle through three counties.
RELATED: Car chase suspect killed by deputy who opened fire from helicopter
Police said Redd fired at officers with an automatic weapon in one hand while steering his car with the other. One officer was wounded.
He surrendered after a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputy in a helicopter hovering 20 feet above the freeway fired on his car with a .357 Magnum pistol. Officials told The Times that the deputy waited for a break in freeway traffic before firing the shot, which hit Redd's rear-view mirror.
Retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Cmdr. Charles "Sid" Heal said the department used to practice such manuevers "all the time."
The Los Angeles Police Department's SWAT team has practiced using sharpshooters aboard helicopters for tactical assaults.
As in the Redd case, Friday's shooting on the 215 Freeway involved San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies.
The suspect, who was wanted in connection with a home-invasion robbery, died after a deputy in a helicopter opened fire on the wrong-way vehicle and the man jumped out of the moving car.
The unidentified man leaped from the Chevy Yukon he was driving before it crashed head-on into an oncoming vehicle, said Deputy Deon Filer.
The man died at the scene.
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Deputies say they don't know whether the suspect was struck by gunfire or fatally injured by his leap from the vehicle.
Sheriff's Department authorities had attempted to pull the man over during a traffic stop in Fontana about 12:50 p.m. but he tried to flee. Within minutes, the pursuit from Fontana to San Bernardino reached speeds of more than 100 mph. The suspect then drove the wrong way onto the 215, Filer said.
The Yukon sideswiped at least one vehicle during the chase. After the suspect jumped out of the SUV, it crashed into another SUV with three people inside, officials said. The pursuit ended near Palm Avenue and Kendall Drive.
Three people were taken to a hospital with unknown injuries, Sheriff's Department officials said. No additional information was immediately available on their condition, officials said.
"Our Aviation Division has been involved in an [officer-involved shooting] before," department spokeswoman Jodi Miller said in an email. "I don't have an exact time frame when that occurred but understand it was a long time ago."
As for Redd, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the 1982 shooting spree and was released on parole in 1993.
By June 1994, Redd -- a former sheriff's deputy and Medal of Valor recipient -- was wanted in connection with a series of robberies and shootings, including the attempted murder of a security guard. On June 10, 1994, he shot and killed a supermarket manager during a robbery.
According to Times reports at the time, Redd had vowed not to be taken alive and eluded a nationwide manhunt until March 6, 1995, when he was arrested by a U.S. Park Police detective in San Francisco. He was later convicted and sentenced to death.
Staff writer Shelby Grad contributed to this report.
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