By Sydney Barragan
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.
CHINO, Calif. — A man shot and killed by Chino police during a January traffic stop fired a handgun during a struggle with officers, and had allegedly stabbed the driver the day before and was holding her against her will, according to video footage and details released by the department Saturday, April 11.
Video of the incident, released by the Chino Police Department, provides new details about the Jan. 21 shooting, which occurred just before 10 p.m. in the 12800 block of Central Avenue. Police said the vehicle had been pulled over for an illegal U-turn.
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The video identifies the man as 34-year-old Alberto Diaz Garcia of Covina. Police previously said an officer shot him after he pulled a handgun and fired during a struggle.
According to a department voiceover included in the video, the female driver had been stabbed by Garcia the previous day and was being held against her will in an ongoing domestic violence situation. The woman also had an active restraining order against Garcia at the time of the shooting.
Body-worn camera footage shows an officer approaching the car and speaking with the driver, who says she had a valid driver’s license but had left it at home. Police said both occupants initially provided false identification.
Caution: This video may be disturbing for some people.
Officers then ask both the driver and Garcia to step out of the vehicle. When Garcia questions why, an officer tells him that police are allowed to remove occupants from a vehicle and that both individuals are being detained.
Garcia tells officers he was experiencing anxiety. After stepping out of the vehicle, he is seen on the ground between the car and the curb, where he shouts and indicates that he is having a heart attack.
During a search, an officer note that Garcia had a knife in his right pocket, which they remove. Officers continue checking his waistband for additional weapons when Garcia begins resisting, according to the footage.
“Hey, don’t fight us. Don’t fight us,” an officer is heard saying during the struggle.
Officers eventually pin Garcia to the sidewalk. During the struggle, officers repeatedly tell him to stop reaching for his waistband and warn they would shoot him. Garcia responds several times, “Do it,” according to the video.
Garcia is then seen holding a handgun, police say. He fires one round toward the ground before an officer fires three shots, striking him once, the video’s narrator says.
Garcia was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Body camera footage from another officer shows the driver attempting to exit the vehicle during the struggle, saying, “He’s going to kill me.” An officer tells her to remain inside the car, and she replies, “He’s going to shoot me.” It is not clear who she is referring to.
At the beginning of the traffic stop, the driver tells officers she injured her leg in a dog attack. Police later said the injury was from the alleged stabbing.
The shooting remains under investigation by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office and the Chino Police Department.
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