A 56-year-old man was fatally shot by Chula Vista police officers Saturday morning in front of a Bonita home after the man refused multiple commands to drop his gun and then pointed it at the officers, authorities said.
The incident took place around 5:41 a.m. when officers responded to a family disturbance involving a firearm at a home near Country Vistas Lane and Bonita Canyon Drive, according to the San Diego Police Department.
The responding Chula Vista police officers located family hiding outside. They later encountered the now-deceased man when he exited the house with a gun, police said.
“(The officers) began communicating with the subject, directing him to put his hands into the air. As the man removed his hands from his pockets, he dropped a firearm on the steps leading up to the residence. The man was directed to walk away from the firearm, but he instead sat down and put the handgun on his lap,” San Diego police said.
The suspect, who for several minutes ignored several more commands to put up his hands and drop the gun, was initially struck with a beanbag shotgun, which caused him to fall back and drop the gun, according to police.
“The officers continued to give the man commands. He ultimately picked the gun up and pointed it in the direction of the officers as he began to sit up from the ground,” police said. “Three officers fired their department rifles striking the man who was still seated on the steps.”
The man, who sustained multiple gun shot wounds, was transported to a hospital where he died.
The three officers who fired their rifles were not identified. All three officers were equipped with body-worn cameras, which recorded the incident. The incident was also recorded with the Chula Vista Police Department’s drone equipment.
The San Diego Police Department’s homicide division is investigating the incident under a countywide protocol designed to prevent agencies from investigating shootings by their own officers. The investigation will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the Chula Vista Police Department will conduct an istrative investigation into the officers’ discharge of their firearms.
