Law enforcement officials have conducted a review of hundreds of officer-involved shootings that have occurred in San Diego County over two decades.
The agencies gathered Thursday to present the report's findings derived using data from the District Attorney's office.
The study looked at 358 officer-involved shootings that occurred in the county between 1993 and 2012. The shootings were fatal 54 percent of the time or what amounts to approximately 200 civilians killed in a confrontation with law enforcement. Ten percent of the incidents ended with an officer injured or killed.
When considering the race of the officers and the subjects, 72 percent of the time the officer was white. Twelve percent of the incidents involved a Hispanic officer and in 7 percent of the cases, the race of the officer was unknown.
Looking at the subjects, 37 percent of them were white, the report stated. Hispanic was the next most common race of subjects with 36 percent of the shootings involving a person of Hispanic origin. Nineteen percent of the shootings involved an African American subject. Four percent of the cases had a subject of Asian or Filipino background.
The review took more than two months to complete. Here is a brief look at just some of the results:
- Of the 358 shootings reviewed, 115 subjects had a handgun, officials said. Sixty-six suspects had a knife or a machete.
- Of the 29 in which no weapon was present, 22 were result of furtive movement by subject, five were accidental discharges by officer, one subject was considered a violent gang member and charged at an officer and one was a prison inmate involved in an assault on another inmate, according to the report.
- The average age of suspects involved in recent officer-involved shootings was 32 years old with ages ranging from 15 to 90.
- The average age of officers was 35 and the average lenght of experience was 10 years, the report stated.
- Of the suspects shot, nearly half of them - 44 percent - were either on parole or probation at the time.
- A vehicle pursuit led up to shootings 18 percent of the time with foot pursuits involved 20 percent of the time. The bulk of offficer-involved shootings in the last two decades involved no pursuit of the suspect.
- Officials say 81 percent of officer-involved shootings in the county involved a subject with evidence of drug use or mental health concerns. When it comes to drug use, methamphetamine was the predominant drug connected to these incidents - occurring in 116 cases - followed by alcohol and then marijuana.
- In 80 percent of the shootings, officers involved did not attempt to use non lethal force. The study suggests a less-than-lethal shotgun was used seven times.
- Most occurred within city limits and involved officers with the San Diego Police Department. The majority stemmed from traffic stops or domestic violence calls.
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Nearly half of the shootings happened minutes after officers arrived on scene, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.
“This is why having less lethal force options available in a timely manner is vital in assisting to resolve rapidly evolving incidents,” Zimmerman said.
Sheriff Bill Gore said that his department's 26,000 arrests last year there were two officer-involved shootings.
“Obviously we’d like that to be zero but two to me does not seem to be an extreme number,” Gore said.
Gore said the report will help his department look at training and procedures to improve daily actions of deputies.
Officials also outlined the process of review after an officer-involved shooting occurs.
Law enforcement notifies the District Attorney's Office and then conducts a primary investigation. Within 3 days of the shooting, the law enforcement agency briefs the DA's office.
After that, the agency submits its entire case to prosecutors. The District Attorney's office conducts an independent review.
Once that is complete, the DA writes a summary letter and legal conclusion.
In San Diego County, only two officers have been prosecuted for their roles in shootings.
In 1996, jurors acquitted San Diego Police Officer Christopher Chaney who shot a driver supected of driving while intoxicated. In 2009, jurors acquitted Oceanside Police Officer Frank White who shot a mother and her son when off duty.
Just last month, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento proposed new legislation that would create a law enforcement panel, likely within the state Attorney General's office, to study each case of a California police officer fatally shooting someone and write reviews or issue recommendations.
Find out what some community groups think of the review tonight on NBC 7 News at 6.
