ANAHEIM, Calif. - A police officer was shot and seriously wounded while making a traffic stop early Monday.
Officer Thomas ''Kasey'' Geary, 39, was shot in the jaw and neck.
Geary arrived at Irvine's UCI Medical Center in critical condition but was later upgraded to serious, said police Sgt. Rick Martinez.
Law enforcement authorities throughout Southern California, along the U.S.-Mexican border, and in Nevada were alerted to look out for a car that may have been driven by the assailant. Police, however, did not release a description.
Geary stopped a car on the East Ball Road on-ramp to the southbound Orange Freeway about 1:50 a.m., and called in the car's license plate information. About five minutes later a citizen reported finding the officer down.
The 18-year veteran was scheduled for surgery late Monday to repair his jaw, but it remained uncertain whether the bullet would be removed because it was close to the spinal cord, said Dr. Michael Lekawa.
''I think in terms of distance, it's just a few centimeters away from a very serious injury,'' the doctor said. ''So while he is obviously very unfortunate for having the event, he is very fortunate for doing as well as he has.''
Geary is married to an Orange County sheriff's deputy and has three children. He was a past recipient of the department's medal of valor for entering a burning building to save someone.
Geary didn't call in to dispatchers after reporting the license plate.
A motorist driving by saw the police car with its lights on and the officer lying on the ground. The citizen gave first aid and called for help on the officer's radio. The motorist's name was not released.