The family of a man shot and killed in Otay Mesa by a San Diego County sheriff’s deputy filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against the county and the deputy.
The complaint was filed Thursday in San Diego federal court on behalf of the parents, wife and children of 31-year-old Mizael Corrales, who was shot multiple times at a strip mall on Feb. 19, 2022.
The sheriff’s department said Corrales was found behind the wheel of a stolen SUV parked outside a row of businesses at Roll Drive and Via de la Amistad.
As deputies approached him and ordered him out of the vehicle, Corrales reversed the SUV.
Sheriff’s deputy Anthony Garcia fired 13 rounds through the vehicle’s windshield and driver side window. Corrales died at the scene.
The lawsuit alleges Garcia’s use of lethal force “was reckless, unjustified and unreasonable under the circumstances.”
Last year, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office cleared Garcia of criminal liability, stating that he reasonably believed he and other deputies were in danger.
The D.A.’s review of the shooting states Garcia and another deputy were struck while Corrales reversed the SUV and that he then drove forward toward Garcia and other deputies.
The family’s lawsuit alleges Corrales was unarmed and did not pose a threat to the deputies.
It also states Garcia first fired three shots through the windshield, incapacitating Corrales. At that point, the complaint states Corrales “lost control of the SUV,” which rolled forward and Garcia fired 10 more times through the side window.
City News Service contributed to this article.
