Three officer-involved shootings over the past year, including the killing of a man who opened fire at a pool party at a La Jolla apartment complex, were legally justified, District Attorney Summer Stephan announced Friday.
None of the officers from the San Diego Police Department, the Escondido Police Department or the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department will face criminal charges, Stephan told reporters.
The county’s top prosecutor said officers in each shooting believed they needed to defend themselves and that their use of lethal force was necessary.
Last April 30, San Diego Police officers shot and killed 49-year-old Peter Selis after he killed Monique Clark and wounded six others at the La Jolla Crossroads apartment complex.
Selis, reportedly distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, opened fire on a group of about 30 people in the pool area, authorities said. When officers arrived, Selis aimed his gun at them and was shot dead.
On March 10, an Escondido Police officer who was investigating the death of a 70-year-old woman fatally shot her son after he pulled a gun on the officer, Stephan said.
Damon Seitz, 40, was talking with officers in a cul-de-sac when he took a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and raised it, prompting an officer to fire three or four times, according to Stephan.
On Nov. 14 of last year, a sheriff’s deputy shot and wounded robbery suspect Robert Parkin when Parkin crashed his motorcycle after leading deputies on a short pursuit. After crashing, Parkin turned toward a deputy and aimed a gun at him. Parkin was shot in the buttocks and each leg.
—City News Service