By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- San Diego police released body-worn camera footage Thursday, June 11, 2026, showing Sgt. Jeffrey Houchins fire one round at a vehicle allegedly driven toward him by 35-year-old Janet Hammel near San Dieguito Road and Derby Farms Road on May 6, 2026.
- The pursuit began around 11:05 a.m. after officers responded to a report of an occupied stolen vehicle near Tecolote Road and Morena Boulevard; the vehicle reached speeds exceeding 90 mph on Interstate 5 before police called off the active pursuit due to erratic driving.
- After officers deployed spike strips on Derby Farms Road, the vehicle allegedly avoided the strips and drove onto an embankment between Houchins and another officer; Houchins fired one round, striking the vehicle’s hood without hitting Hammel.
- Hammel continued driving east until a second set of spike strips deflated the vehicle’s tires in Poway, where she was taken into custody on suspicion of evading police and assault with a deadly weapon on an officer.
- The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting under a reciprocal agreement with the San Diego Police Department, under which neither agency investigates its own personnel in on-duty shootings.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — San Diego police released body-worn camera footage Thursday showing an officer fire a single round at a vehicle that allegedly drove toward him as officers attempted to stop a pursuit with spike strips last month, striking the vehicle’s hood without injuring the driver.
According to investigators, San Diego police received a report around 11:05 a.m. on May 6 of an occupied stolen vehicle near Tecolote Road and Morena Boulevard. A police helicopter located the vehicle, which then began driving away, prompting a pursuit. The vehicle, driven by 35-year-old Janet Hammel, reached speeds exceeding 90 mph on Interstate 5 and did not yield to officers. After the vehicle took several side streets and continued east on San Dieguito Road, police called off the active pursuit due to the vehicle’s speed and erratic driving, though a helicopter continued tracking it.
Sgt. Jeffrey Houchins and another officer positioned themselves on a grassy embankment near Derby Farms Road and deployed spike strips in anticipation of the vehicle’s return. Body-worn camera and helicopter footage released by police shows the vehicle appearing to avoid the spike strips and driving up onto the embankment between the two officers. Houchins fired a single round from his service weapon as the vehicle passed. The round struck the hood of the vehicle; Hammel was not hit or injured. “I shot into the windshield,” Houchins said over police radio, according to the video. “She drove right at me.”
The vehicle continued east into Poway, where a second deployment of spike strips deflated its tires. Hammel was taken into custody on suspicion of evading police and assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the investigation under a standing reciprocal agreement between the two agencies, under which neither department investigates its own personnel in on-duty shooting incidents. The investigation remains ongoing.