San Diego Harbor Police on Friday released video recorded March 1 when an officer allegedly exchanged gunfire with a suspect outside the San Diego Convention Center.
The suspect was later identified at Daniel Quiroz Jr., 29. The officer has been identified as Cody Horn.
Although neither the officer nor the suspect was shot that night, a bystander was struck.
The bystander was walking on an adjacent sidewalk near the convention center when they were hit in the buttocks by a bullet, according to SDPD Captain Richard Freedman. A protective glasses case in the bystander's back pocket prevented the bullet from penetrating their body, Freedman said.
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Accompanying Friday's video release was a brief statement by Harbor Police: "The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department is committed to public transparency."
The incident stemmed from a traffic stop on Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego moments before. Police said Horn pulled Quiroz over for allegedly running a stop sign on Harbor Drive just after 7 p.m.
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Once Horn made contact with Quiroz, he noticed that Quiroz showed signs of impairment, according to police.
In Friday's video release, Harbor police said, "When Mr. Quiroz stepped out of his car, he produced a handgun. Officer Horn backed away, yelled, 'Put that weapon down," and then discharged his service weapon. Mr. Quirzo fired his gun multiple times at Officer Horn."
In video shot by a security camera at the convention center, Horn can be seen backing away and going up a ramp while a pair of nearby pedestrians fled the scene. Horn then jumped over a fence and pointed at Quiroz with his weapon, then ran away from the vehicles and out of the camera frame. There is no audio accompanying this portion of Friday's police video release.
Also included in Friday's video release is so-called body-cam footage and audio recorded by Horn after he exited his patrol car.
What follows is dramatic video that starts off with a traditional exchange of information that escalates till it captures the moments of the gun battle.
After approaching Quiroz's car from the sidewalk on the passenger side, Horn asks Quiroz if he knows he ran a red light, and Quiroz replies that he did not. Horn then asks Quiroz where he was coming from, and Quiroz tells him he would like to go home, prompting Horn to ask him a second time. The reply is unintellgible; Horn then asks Quiroz if he has his driver's license on him and is told, "I don't."
At that point, Horn turns on a flashlight and shines it into Quiroz's car as Quiroz tells him he doesn't have his wallet.
Soon after, Horn asks Quiroz to turn off his car. After Quiroz complies, Horn tells him to get out of the vehicle, adding that he should be careful to watch for cars passing on Harbor Drive when he does so.
As Quiroz gets out and walks to the back of his car, his hands near his waist, Horn reacts quickly, his voice rising and yelling for Quiroz to "Put that gun down!" as he backs away quickly and draws his service weapon.
In a segment of the Harbor Police video that plays later in the release that has been magnified 230%, officials say that Quiroz can be seen pulling a handgun out of his waistband. it's not clear from the video exactly what the object is in Quiroz's hand.
Three seconds later, five shots are fired in rapid succession. It's not clear from the video who fired the shots, because Horn's weapon is out of the frame, as is Quiroz.
Horn can then be calling in, "Shots fired." He then heads back down the ramp and three more shots are fired. Again, it's not clear from the video who fired the shots.
The officer then vaults a fence between the ramp and sidewalk and takes cover behind his vehicle.
A series of approximately seven shots is then fired in rapid succession, thenm after a short pause, five more gunshots ring out.
Horn then heads away from the scene, with his patrol car between him and Quiroz's vehicle. He again calls in, "Shots fired." He again vaults the fence, taking him up to the roadway next to the convention center. Fifty-four seconds have passed since Quiroz exited his car.
After a few moments, Horn ejects the cartridge on his weapon and reloads. Spotting Quiroz up on the roadway next to the convention center, near where the vehicles stopped, Horn yells to him: "Hey, get on the ground. Get on the ground."
Quiroz replies but it's not clear what he says.
"Get your hands up," Horn yells. "Get on your knees."
Later in the video -- which text says followed nine minutes of Quiroz not following Horn's commands -- officers can be seen him lying prone on the ground as officers approach him to take him into custody. The video release also includes a still image of a handgun police said was found at the scene.
Toward the end of the video release, Harbor Police acknowledge that a bystander was struck by a "stray bullet." They do not say whose gun fired that bullet. A spokesman for the Harbor Police said that is still under investigation.
Quiroz was booked into San Diego Central Jail that night. He faces charges of attempted murder and other felonies. He is being held without bail and is due back in court on March 23.
