Detective praised for stopping motorcyclist accused of killing San Bernardino County deputy
A San Bernardino County Sheriff's detective is being praised for his swift actions to stop a motorcyclist accused of killing a deputy in October.
Two months ago, Detective Shaun Wallen was driving around on his day off when Angelo Saldovar, the man charged in the deadly shooting of Deputy Andrew Nunez, led a high-speed chase through the 210 Freeway near Rancho Cucamonga and Ontario. The pursuit, which reached 200 mph at times, ended when a gray sedan collided with Saldovar's motorcycle.
"It was me driving the gray car on the freeway, and it was me involved in that incident," Wallen said.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus commended Wallen's actions, saying that it's what the department looks for in recruits.
"We need people like Shaun out there that are willing to do the things that, as a civilized public, we're not willing to do," Dicus said. "They're willing to stop the things that go bump in the night."
This wasn't the first time Wallen jumped into action. A decade ago, he was involved in a shootout with the suspects in the Inland Regional Center terrorist attack that killed 14 people.
"This incident happened, when the IRC thing happened 10 years ago, everyone wasn't surprised that it was me," Wallen said.
Dicus and Wallen did not provide details of what motivated Wallen to crash into Saldovar because of the case is still working through the court system.
"Very proud of all the actions that Shaun took in this case," Dicus said. "I would just say to the public, as we saw it, I would certainly hope that they expect that we have men and women out there that are willing to go out and take actions like this in order to protect us."
In his 14 years with the department, Wallen said he was well-trained for both scenarios and swore to continue to protect his community even in its darkest moments.
"The right thing for the right reasons," Wallen said. "If you have the capability and the ability to do something to help the public, to help your partners, and you don't do it, then the job's not for you."