Wanted El Monte man jailed after chase, officer-involved shooting

EL MONTE -- El Monte police officers opened fire on a man Sunday, but did not hit him, after he allegedly rammed the officers' car with his SUV, authorities said.
Sergio Farias, 29, of El Monte was booked on suspicion of domestic violence and assaulting a police officer in connection with the incident, El Monte police Lt. Chuck Carlson said.
Two officers fired several shots at him as he tried to back his SUV into their car during a chase at Cogswell and Ferris Roads, Sgt. Ken Clark of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau said.
"He intentionally tried to run them over," he said.
Officers encountered Farias driving away from his home in the 3700 of La Madera Avenue as they were responding to a report he was attacking his girlfriend about 1:40 a.m., officials said.
The officers chased Farias in his Ford SUV until he reached the intersection of Cogswell and Ferris roads, where he threw the truck into reverse and "gunned" the engine to ram the officers' car, Clark said.
The officer backed up to avoid the collision, but the SUV collided with their patrol car, he said.
The officers fired on the man, and he continued driving back to his home where he was arrested without further incident, Clark said.
His common-law wife, a 26-year-old woman, was hospitalized due to the assault and has since been released, officials said.
Following his arrest, police learned Farias was a wanted man.
He had two outstanding warrants, Clark said. One was a $1 million warrant for a narcotics offense, and the other was related to a previous domestic violence charge involving a different woman.
"It's pretty obvious that he's a violent person," Clark said.
Sheriff's officials commonly investigate officer-involved shootings for Los Angeles County police departments in order to eliminate a perceived conflict of interest, Carlson said.
"Anytime we discharge a weapon, we prefer (the investigation) be done by an outside agency," he said.
According to sheriff's booking records, Farias was being held in lieu of $2,025,000 bail. No information was available regarding his initial court appearance.