White supremacist allegedly shoots police officer seven times, may have been repaying criminal debt

VANCOUVER, Wash., July 2 (UPI) -- A police officer in Vancouver, Wash., is in stable condition after a man associated with the Aryan Brotherhood allegedly shot him seven times upon being pulled over.

On Monday, Officer Dustin Goudschaal pulled over a black pickup truck he believed may have been stolen and the driver, convicted felon James Sapp, allegedly opened fire before attempting to flee.

Sapp crashed the pickup truck only a few blocks away when frightened passenger Timothy Plantenberg grabbed the steering wheel, forcing the vehicle to veer off the road. Sapp then allegedly shot at Plantenberg, fled and stole an 88-year-old man's truck at gunpoint.

Sapp eventually crashed that truck and police took him into custody.

Portland State University Professor Randy Blazak researches hate groups and discovered that in 2012 Sapp was investigated on federal weapons charges that were eventually dismissed.

According to court documents, in 2005 Sapp told authorities "he is an active member of the Aryan Brotherhood," and "kept in touch with his brothers behind bars." In 2008, Sapp again put his affiliation with the hate group on the record, telling prison officers "he would not be housed with anyone of color" because "he is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood."

"There's this thing called 'doing the dirt' while you're in prison," Blazak told Northern California CBS affiliate KION.

"You're protected by the brotherhood, but for that, you have to pay a price. It's called 'credit.' Sometimes that price is paid inside, but sometimes it's paid outside. You have to kill somebody."