San Diego

Court Docs: Officer in Fatal Shooting Returned to Work With No Discipline, Internal Affairs Interview

Officer Neal Browder said he did not receive any information regarding his actions on April 30th - positive or negative - from the SDPD before returning to the field, according to a VoiceofSanDiego report.

A veteran San Diego Police Officer who fired the fatal shot in a confrontation with an unarmed, mentally-ill man was not interviewed by internal affairs or the prosecutors investigating the officer-involved shooting according to a report by the VoiceofSanDiego.org.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office released surveillance video of the April 30, 2015 shooting involving SDPD Officer Neal Browder.

Browder was responding to a 911 call reporting that a man was threatening people with a knife at the Highlight Bookstore on Hancock Street.

He encountered Fridoon Rawshan Nehad, 42, who was holding a metallic pen. Browder got out of his patrol car with his weapon drawn, yelled at Nehad to "drop it” or "drop the knife.”

When Nehad got within 10 or 15 feet of the officer, Browder fired his gun and shot him in the chest.

Nehad later died at UC San Diego Medical Center.

In December, DA Bonnie Dumanis told local reporters Browder had no doubt Nehad was going to stab him. In fact, the officer's interview was part of the report released by the DA's office after the shooting was determined to be justified.

According to the sworn deposition recorded in July 2016, Browder told attorneys he was interviewed by homicide investigators but never interviewed by the DA's office or SDPD's internal affairs department.

Browder was released from administrative duty and returned to patrol within a few weeks of the incident. He estimated the timing was June 2015, according to the report. 

In the sworn deposition, he answers several questions about whether he received feedback from anyone within the San Diego Police Department regarding the investigation or the incident. Browder said he did not receive any information regarding his actions on April 30th - positive or negative - from the SDPD before returning to the field.

Nehad's family has filed a multi-million dollar claim against the city of San Diego. They claim the SDPD has a pattern of poorly investigating cases and covering up officer misconduct.

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation and cleared Browder of violating any federal criminal civial rights statutes in the shooting. The DOJ said it was closing its investigation after careful consideration of the evidence. 

In February 2016, Browder accidentally fired his weapon during a foot chase and the stray bullet hit a baby’s crib in Oak Park.

No one was injured in the accidental discharge, which prompted a SDPD administrative investigation.

Read the entire VoiceofSanDiego article here.

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