Officer in chase had prior suspension

The Huntington Beach police officer who shot at an SUV after its driver led police on a chase this month was involved in a highly publicized police beating of a teenager in Inglewood, according to authorities.

Huntington Beach police confirmed that the officer involved in the Oct. 1 shooting was Bijan Darvish. He had been placed on administrative leave after the shooting, which is normal police procedure, but he is back on the job, authorities said Wednesday.

Darvish, who was off-duty at the time, joined the police chase near Warner Avenue and Newland Street when he noticed the officer leading it did not have any backup.

Darvish reported he fired several shots once he saw the Chevrolet Suburban’s driver slam on his brakes and back up toward the officer, who was stopped at the time, according to a statement released by Huntington Beach police.

Guadalupe Martinez, 26, of Huntington Beach, was arrested on suspicion of leading police on the chase, police said.

Police received a call around 6 p.m. of someone driving erratically near Newland Street and Warner Avenue. The caller reported that the driver was yelling at children and chasing them with his vehicle, a green Chevy Suburban, police said.

The chase ended in the Lowe’s parking lot on Warner, where Darvish fired three times at the car, Lt. Craig Junginger said.

Martinez surrendered uninjured to the officers at that time. He was arrested on suspicion of evading police, driving while under the influence and assault with a deadly weapon, police said.

Martinez is scheduled for a pretrial hearing today in West Justice Center in Westminster.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office is investigating the shooting, Junginger said.

Darvish was hired in January after his involvement in a videotaped beating of a teenager in 2002 in Inglewood.

He was suspended after the incident for failing to report that his partner had slammed 16-year-old Donovan Jackson’s head on the hood of a car. But Darvish was later awarded $811,000 in a lawsuit claiming that he and partner Jeremy Morse were punished more severely than a black officer who also struck the teen.