A newly released video shows a deadly shootout between a California Highway Patrol officer and Joseph Michael Pate during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 in Tehama County.
The incident occurred on October 15, 2023.
According to CHP, the encounter began when an officer stopped to check on what appeared to be a disabled vehicle—a white Honda parked on the shoulder of I-5 with dark-tinted windows and a sunshade covering the front windshield.
Dash camera footage from the officer’s patrol car shows the 10-year veteran approaching the vehicle on the passenger side.
“Hey, can you roll down your window?” the officer asks the man inside.
Instead of complying, the driver exits the vehicle and shoots the officer.
The situation escalated quickly, with the officer being shot just one minute after stopping to check on the driver. Two minutes later, the suspect began shooting again, striking the officer before stealing the patrol car.
Dash camera footage captures the suspect, later identified as Joseph Michael Pate, swerving through traffic in the stolen patrol car. At one point, he veered in front of an 18-wheeler, causing it to flip on its side. The patrol car then caught fire.
Pate managed to exit the vehicle and was taken into custody. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
The officer, who was shot in the abdomen, shoulder, and leg, has since recovered physically and returned to duty.
CHP helicopter footage taken after the incident shows yellow evidence markers and how dangerously close the gunshots came to other drivers.