Hayes was struck four times, in the toe, finger and shoulder. He was listed in stable condition at Torrance Harbor General Hospital on Monday afternoon.
A deputy, Edward Clark, was struck in the upper part of his protective vest during the crossfire. Clark's injuries were not serious, officials said. A second deputy tripped and fell during the gunfire, and his colleagues may have assumed he had been brought down by gunfire, sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
Baca said deputies can use deadly force when they believe their lives or the lives of bystanders are in jeopardy. He said he would not speak to what was in the minds of deputies but noted they were responding to a call that they believed was "gang-related gunfire."
Authorities said they have no evidence that Hayes was involved in the shooting that brought officers to the area except that he was driving a similar vehicle to one possibly involved in that incident.
Whitmore said that Hayes told deputies after his arrest that he was high on drugs. (The 44-year-old handyman has prior convictions for resisting arrest, battery, public drunkenness and reckless driving, according to court documents.)
Baca said it is difficult to put oneself in the position of officers at the scene.
"It would certainly appear that there may be some control issues, but the reality is that when the shooters are shooting, they're not hearing the other people shooting," the sheriff said. "I think there was this intensity level that was evolving here."
Baca said one issue that investigators will examine is whether the amount of gunfire was excessive.
"We have to ask ourselves why did 10 people shoot their weapons as opposed to five," he said.
The sheriff said he would also consider possible changes to the department's pursuit policy depending on the outcome of the investigation, although he doesn't believe any changes would be needed. The Los Angeles Police Department in recent months has tightened its policy on officers firing at pursuit vehicles after two fatal shootings.
Some residents say it's a miracle that the bullets did not hit bystanders.
Doris Bradford, 73, said her home was one of those hit by the gunfire.
Like many in the neighborhood, she said she was angry at the deputies for unleashing such deadly force in front of her home. As she spoke, a bullet remained embedded in a wall behind her china cabinet.
"The bullet could have come straight through, and if it did, it would have come straight through my bedroom," Bradford said. "They should be more careful when they do stuff like that. They could kill an innocent person."
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Times staff writers Nick Shields, Susana Enriquez, Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report.
