Livermore police: Driver shot in thigh may have been intentionally driving at officers

LIVERMORE, Calif. - Livermore police say they shot the driver of a black Kia in the thigh early Wednesday morning because two officers believed he was intentionally trying to drive into them.

On Wednesday afternoon, police identified the driver as Matthew Kelly, 38. Kelly was seen handcuffed and taken by ambulance to a hospital, but his condition was not known.

No one else was injured. 

 At a news conference, Livermore police spokesman Officer Art Rosas said that two officers had originally stopped the driver of a white car, whose name has not been released, on suspicion of drunken driving about 4 a.m. near Airway Boulevard and Kitty Hawk Road next to the Interstate Highway 580 off-ramp. 

Officers ordered the driver out of the car to conduct a field sobriety test and were preparing to do the test when a black Kia came speeding toward them, Rosas said. 

"Officers took immediate action, and they ended up discharging their firearm," Rosas said. 

Rosas said there is no connection between the white car that was stopped by police and the driver of the black Kia. 

When pressed by reporters, Rosas acknowledged that Kelly could have also been making a U-turn near the darkened scene or was speeding for another reason.

"There are many possibilities," Rosas said.

Rosas said it was too soon to determine if the shooting was justified and only a thorough investigation will determine that. 

At this point, Rosas stood by the officers' version of what transpired: "Looking at the positioning and the manner of the tire marks, it would demonstrate that the driver took a very intentional action to make a turn into the officers."

Rosas also acknowledged that Kelly might not have understood exactly what the officers at the scene were asking of him, as it seemed to take a long time for him to comply with their demands. 

"What often happens is that people don’t always hear or comprehend the commands we are giving them at the time," Rosas said. "And when there is adrenaline pumping, you really never know what someone might actually hear when you’re trying to speak directly at them.”

Rosas said the driver in the white car who was originally stopped on suspicion of drunken driving was never given a field sobriety test. He was not arrested and is now cooperating with police as a witness to the shooting.  

KTVU's Lisa Fernandez contributed to this report.