Two men who risked their lives to help Riverside police officers who had been shot by rogue ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner were honored Thursday by the inland city’s police chief.
After watching in horror as Dorner ambushed officers Michael Crain and Andrew Tachias, spraying their car with bullets as they sat at a stoplight, taxi driver Karam Kaoud rushed to the scene.
He found Crain already dead or dying, and Tachias unable to punch the buttons on the radio microphone that would allow him to call for help.
Kaoud held up the mike for Tachias and punched in the codes so the officer could rasp out his call.
At the same time, Jack Chilson was chasing after Dorner in his own car.
Imagine the scene, said Riverside Lt. Guy Toussaint, spokesman for the Riverside police department.
“You’re sitting at the stoplight minding your own business and a car pulls up and starts shooting over the hood of your car into a police car,” Toussaint said.
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Instead of fleeing, however, Chilson began to chase after Dorner, risking his own life to help track down the gun-wielding driver, Touissant said. He then returned to help at the bloody scene.
On Thursday, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz thanked Kaoud and Chilson for their heroic and selfless acts.
At a breakfast the chief holds annually to benefit a department charity, Diaz called the two to the podium, and presented them with plaques honoring their service. The breakfast was held at the Riverside Mission Inn.
