By Morgan Cook
The San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis on Friday released investigative details of 10 officer-involved shootings — all of which the office determined were legally justified.
Her news conference, which included release of videos for eight of the cases, was part of the office’s recent efforts to answer calls for greater transparency about police shootings.
The 10 cases discussed Friday were those available for release from 2014 and 2015. The DA typically reviews about 18 cases per year, some more complex than others.
Common themes in the 10 latest cases to be released are troubling, Dumanis said. In eight of 10 instances, the suspects who were shot had drugs in their system. In seven instances, the suspect had documented mental health issues. At least three of the shootings were “suicide by cop.”
“These commonalities are really telling and reinforce the need for discussion about how to better help those who suffer from mental illness and substance abuse in San Diego County,” Dumanis said.
Six of the cases were fatal to the person shot by an officer, and four were not. Eight of the cases involved the San Diego Police Department, and the harbor police and El Cajon police were each involved in one case.
Like many law enforcement agencies throughout the country, the DA has faced a public outcry in recent years about police shootings of minorities, unarmed civilians and mentally ill people. Civil rights advocates have pointed out that officers who shoot people rarely face criminal charges, even when there might be grounds.
In San Diego County, there have been prosecutions in six of the hundreds of officer-involved-shootings since 1980.
San Diego police and other law enforcement agencies have responded to the public’s concerns by outfitting officers with body cameras. They have been reluctant to release footage collected, and they have fought to withhold video of shootings at their discretion.
“The public release of body camera footage is essential for the cameras to function as tools for transparency and increased public trust,” said Christie Hill, senior policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego. “A good body-worn camera policy can protect privacy, increase transparency and accountability, improve community-police relations, and bolster public safety.”
Hill said she could not comment on the content of the videos released Friday because the organization had not had time to fully review them.
Dumanis said her office was still working on its written policy on releasing videos, and she expects it to be finished soon.
The District Attorney’s Office edited much of the footage released Friday — collected from body cameras, dashboard cameras, helicopter cameras and video captured by civilians — to include only what it has deemed “relevant to the legal analysis regarding shootings,” Dumanis said.
People’s faces are blurred in the videos, out of respect for privacy, Dumanis said. The footage includes only the moments leading up to the shooting and end when the suspect is no longer a threat, and the last shot has been fired. The office enhanced the footage in a couple instances to show things that are otherwise hard to see, Dumanis said.
There was no video for two of the shootings because officers had not yet been issued body cameras, Dumanis said.
Videos released Friday ranged in length and quality. Some videos were less than 30 seconds long, and others ran more than 4 minutes. Some showed the suspects close up and captured the shootings, while others were filmed at a distance, and police and suspects were not visible when shots were fired.
One three-minute video shows the May 15, 2014, shooting of Jose Alberto Garcia, 34, of El Cajon. Officers Nicholas Sprecco, Brandon Stanley and Robert Wining shot at Garcia after he fired a pistol at them. Two bullets struck Garcia. The video was taken by a dashboard camera, and neither police nor Garcia were visible.
The video did, however, include clear audio describing what was happening: “He’s putting the gun in his mouth.” “Less-lethal was not effective.” “Suspect just racked the gun again.” “Several gunshots ring out.” “Suspect down. I do not see see his upper body; he’s in the garage.” “He’s moving, he’s moving.” More gunshots. “He’s not moving.” “Does he have the gun still?” “Can’t see. Can’t see. Let me see your hands!” Another gunshot. “He’s moving again. Legs are moving.” Another gunshot.
According to the letter describing the incident, several shots fired were less-lethal “sponge rounds,” and one was a bullet Garcia fired into the ground. Garcia survived, and later apologized to police, telling them he was drunk at the time and didn’t remember what he did.
Another video, which included footage from a helicopter camera, showed a clear image of three San Diego Police officers when they shot and killed armed suspect Alberto Hernandez, 59, of San Diego.
According to the letter about the shooting, Hernandez called 911 about 1 a.m. Sept. 28, 2015, and threatened to kill a female companion. Officers Jeffrey McCoy, Jonathan Wells and Brandon Lull went to his second-story apartment on West San Ysidro Boulevard and knocked on his door. Hernandez opened it holding a gun and ignored officers’ commands to drop it.
The video, shot in black and white infrared, shows Hernandez coming down the staircase outside his apartment holding a gun. The three officers are surrounding the staircase at ground level. Hernandez ignores their commands to drop the gun, stops on a landing and points the weapon at them. The three officers shoot numerous rounds at him and he collapses as the bright white images of hot bullet casings fall to the ground below him.
At Friday’s news conference, Dumanis said the office took into consideration input from the media, public and other law enforcement agencies when deciding how and when to release the videos.
She said her office wanted to show it had nothing to hide, but needed to consider ongoing investigations, the privacy of those involved, and other concerns.
She also reinforced the office’s position regarding its legal privilege to withhold shooting videos.
“These videos that we’re showing are exempt under the California Public Records Act,” Dumanis said. “Our decision to release them does not otherwise waive privilege, and we do not necessarily — we do not plan to release any additional evidence from the investigatory material at this time, and (we) continue to claim all privileges we are entitled to under the (California) Public Records Act.”
The 10 Cases
Note: The shooting of a civilian by a police officer is one of the most critical instances in which the government and the people interact. Videos showing such cases contain graphic images and graphic language. The San Diego Union-Tribune decided to post these videos, as released by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, to serve the public’s interest in reviewing how such cases transpire.
• Aaron Lee Devenere, 27, of San Diego, was shot in the head and killed Jan. 26, 21014, after taking his girlfriend hostage. The two led police on a chase in her pickup from Kearny Mesa to Escondido.
• Ja Ma Lo Day, 21, of San Diego, was shot and killed by San Diego police officers Kelly Copeland and Javier Morales on July 13, 2014, in City Heights. Day, who was barricaded in his house, attacked a police officer and dog with a machete.
• Lance Tamyo, 45, of San Diego, survived being shot by San Diego Police Officer Mike Weaver on August 6, 2014, in Mission Bay Park. He pointed a gun at officers, passersby and a helicopter.
• Anthony Ashford, 29, of Vallejo, was shot and killed Oct. 27, 2015, by San Diego Harbor Police Officer Sulimoni W. Ahfook, a nine-year veteran of the department, in the parking lot near the Holiday Inn on Harbor Drive near Nimitz Boulevard. Ashford fell under suspicion as a possible car burglar, and tried to grab an officer’s gun.
• Jose Alberto Garcia, 34, of El Cajon, survived being shot twice in the chest by El Cajon Police officers Nicholas Sprecco, Darren Ehlers, and Robert Wining on May 15, 2014, after he tried to shoot at officers.
• Timothy Smith, 46, was shot and killed by San Diego police Sgt. Scott Holslag after he led officers on a chase and reached into his pockets in an alley in Pacific Beach on Nov. 4, 2015.
• Philip McMahon, 27, of Mira Mesa, was shot but not killed Feb. 16, 2015, by San Diego Police Officer Christopher Gripp when he struggled, naked, with Gripp and tried to grab his gun outside McMahon’s neighbor’s home.
• Robert Arthur Hober, 54, of San Diego, was fatally shot Aug. 28, 2015, by San Diego Police Officer Eric Oberndorfer at a CVS store in Mission Valley, where he confronted an officer with a box cutter.
• Albert Hernandez, 59, of San Diego, was shot and killed Sept. 28, 2015, by San Diego Police officers Jeffrey McCoy, Jonathan Wells and Brandon Lull outside his West San Ysidro Boulevard apartment when he pointed a gun at the officers.
• Ton Ngoc Nguyen, 60, of San Diego, was shot and killed July 3, 2015, by San Diego Police Officer Michael R. Alberts at his home, where he confronted Alberts with a knife.
Copyright 2016 The San Diego Union-Tribune