SDPD releases body-worn video hours after man shot by police in Spring Valley

A man was hospitalized Thursday after being shot by San Diego police in the La Presa neighborhood of Spring Valley following what law enforcement said was a stolen-car pursuit.

The Lexus SUV was stolen from a YMCA parking lot near Euclid and Imperial avenues in the city of San Diego around 12:40 p.m., according to the San Diego Police Department. Officers then spotted it around 1:30 p.m. on Imperial Avenue and began pursuing the driver.

Police tried stopping the vehicle with spike strips but were unsuccessful. The chase ended near Jamacha Road and Gillespie Drive in Spring Valley after the driver hit a light police, which fell on a patrol car, injuring the officer inside by broken glass, SDPD said. The driver then got out the car.

Police say they saw what appeared to be a firearm near the man, who, after failing to comply with commands, appeared to reach toward the object, prompting an officer to fire at the driver.

NBC 7 obtained a video of the shooting from a witness who asked to remain anonymous. It shows the man emerge from the vehicle and get on his knees next to the car with his back toward the police, who had their weapons drawn.

Police can be heard shouting commands to the driver while he’s kneeling. The driver appears to have his hands out to the side while kneeling on the ground before police fired two shots, at which point the driver falls to the ground.

In that video, the shooting is heard but not completely seen due to a white car passing between the camera and the scene at the moments the shots are fired. It’s not completely clear from the video what transpired seconds before the person was shot.

After shots were fired, additional officers arrived on the scene.

SDPD rushed to release its own video from the officers’ point of view just after 5 p.m., unusually fast for the release of body-worn camera footage.

California law requires “critical incident videos” to be released within 45 days, but SDPD said it chose to share a preliminary video of the incident just hours later. The police department said it will release a more comprehensive video in the coming weeks.

GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: The video below was edited and released by San Diego police and shows the incident. Viewer discretion is advised.

In the edited video released by SDPD, the driver is on his knees, with his hands in the air. Police can be heard ordering him to lie on his stomach. One officer says there appears to be a gun nearby.

San Diego police also included a still frame of what they say the driver was reaching for, which shows a gold gun-shaped object that seems to have the words “pistol lighter” on its side.

Police told the driver not to reach for the object; the driver can then be seen moving forward. Two shots seemed to be heard in the video.

The man who was shot was taken to the hospital for serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Law enforcement said later in the afternoon that the man was in surgery and was stable. The officer’s injuries were described as minor, according to a police spokesperson.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident per a memorandum of understanding that prevents law enforcement agencies from investigating use-of-force cases involving their own officers.

SDSO Lt. Juan Marquez told reporters an officer deployed their taser before the shooting occurred, but the “taser was ineffective.”

“Another officer shot at least one round, striking the subject,” the lieutenant said, clarifying later that more than one round was fired, and adding, “The victim was struck once, as we believe right now.”

Marquez said investigators do not yet know if the gun-shaped object was a replica, real or another item.

Once the sheriff’s department concludes the investigation, it will submit the case to the District Attorney’s office for review.

Police asked people to steer clear of the intersection of Jamacha Road and Gillespie Drive as streets remained blocked in the area.

“There is currently no threat to the surrounding community,” SDPD clarified in the post.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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