Cab Driver Aided Wounded Riverside Officer

Cab driver Karam Kaoud stopped his yellow taxi facing north at a red light opposite a Riverside (Calif.) Police cruiser at the intersection of Magnolia and Arlington avenues at 1:45 a.m. Feb. 7.

He couldn't believe what he saw next.

A Nissan Titan pickup that had just passed him pulled next to the police car and the driver opened fire with about a dozen rounds from an assault rifle. Kaoud expected police to give chase, but instead the police car rolled slowly into the middle of the intersection.

Kaoud jumped out of his cab and ran to the police car. Inside the Riverside cruiser, Officer Michael Crain was in the passenger seat unconscious and Officer Andrew Tachias was slumped to the right and unable to move behind the steering wheel. Tachias instructed Kaoud to press down his radio so he could call dispatch.

"The driver told me to push the radio because he can't use his hand," Kaoud said. "I pressed the button on the walkie-talkie and I hear, 'Officer down' and he started to call for help."

Read the full Press Enterprise story.