An undercover sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a person in National City on Friday after the officer, according to police, bailed out of a car that other deputies were pursuing. This prompted a heavy police presence in the area along Mile of Cars Way.
The San Diego police are in charge of the inquiry because of a cross-departmental agreement to look into shootings involving officers.
Later in the afternoon, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi gave the media an update on the incident. He said that when the three occupants of a white Acura bailed and fled on foot, the deputies attempted to stop it. At that point, the National City Police Department was called in to provide backup for the deputies.
Maggi reported that a local resident led deputies to a section of a parking lot at a neighboring Dodge dealership, where they found the individual they were looking for hiding inside a tow truck. Eventually, the lieutenant said, an undercover deputy opened fire on the individual, killing him.
According to Maggi during the press conference, the victim was shot inside the car. He was subsequently dragged outside the truck, where police gave him medical attention, but he passed away there.
Subsequently, investigators found a gun close to the individual, whose exact age is unknown. Maggi said the rifle seemed to have jammed.
The detective gave the man directions, and it appears the man fired at least one round in the detective’s direction, smashing the passenger window of the tow truck and hurting the detective with fragments of broken glass, according to a news release issued by SDPD later that evening. The man was hit by the detective who opened fire again.”
For hours following the incident, at least six police cars—many of which bore the emblems of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department—blocked the junction at Hoover Avenue.
A second incident involving the flatbed tow truck was taking place nearby, and at least three deputies were observed searching the Acura for a considerable amount of time.
The incident happened at roughly 2:00 p.m., according to the authorities, and the deputy who was hurt was brought to UC San Diego Hillcrest Medical Center with what Maggi described as mild injuries.
When the shooting occurred, witnesses who were nearby getting food reported hearing what they believed to be at least five gunshots. They added that they witnessed a woman being arrested at gunpoint in the Acura and that police were still pointing their weapons at the car afterwards.
Later on in the day, Maggi verified that the other two occupants of the Acura had been taken into custody on drug-related offenses.
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Early in the evening, San Diego police reported that both the undercover deputy and the National City officer who was accompanying him in the parking lot had cameras on their bodies at the time of the killing.
The undercover deputy, who is a member of the East County Regional Gang Task Force, has worked for the sheriff’s office for almost 35 years, according to a news release issued by the SDPD.
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