OFFICIALS SUPPORT PURSUIT OFFICER INVOLVED IN CRASH FOLLOWED POLICY, POLICE SAY.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

GLENDALE - While investigators worked to determine the cause of a pursuit crash that critically injured a Glendale police officer and wounded two bystanders, officials said Tuesday that the city's pursuit policy is sound.

``Over the years, the department has evaluated its pursuit policy, and we are well within the guidelines established by California law,'' said Sgt. Kirk Palmer of the Glendale Police Department.

``We think it has the appropriate safeguards, and anytime we're involved in a pursuit, we're continuously weighing public safety and balancing those factors in making a determination whether to continue the pursuit or employ other tactics,'' he said.

On Wednesday evening, two-year Officer Candice Mudgett, 28, was en route to assist a police unit involved in a high-speed chase of a motorcycle that failed to yield, when she was involved in a collision with two other vehicles near the intersection of East York Boulevard and Verdugo Road in Glendale at about 8:40 p.m.

Mudgett, who suffered multiple injuries and had to be extracted from her car with the Jaws of Life, remained in fair condition Thursday at Huntington Memorial Hospital.

She appears not to have been the cause of the crash, Palmer said.

``Preliminary investigations would indicate that the officer was not at fault in this accident and that she was following appropriate procedures,'' he said, ``but further investigation has to be conducted before we come to an official conclusion.''

The officer's speed and whether she crashed into the bystanders' vehicles has not yet been determined.

Los Angeles residents Roxanne Beltran, 30, and Manuel Araujo, 40, were driving separate vans when the collision happened.

Beltran's legs were broken, and she is recovering at a local hospital. Araujo, who complained of pain, was treated and released from a hospital the night of the crash.

Motorcycle rider Victor Didenko, 31, was taken into custody shortly after fleeing on foot near Occidental College and was charged with felony evading, officials said.

He is being held on $500,000 bail at Glendale City Jail. He could be held liable for the injuries even though he was not involved in the crash, Palmer said.

In May, the Los Angeles Police Department implemented a new pursuit policy, which mandates that officers chase only serious offenders, with a helicopter tracking overhead.

The policy came months after the Police Commission urged the Los Angeles Police Department to find ways to reduce the threat of injury or death to innocent bystanders.

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com