By Caleb Lunetta
The San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN DIEGO — Body-worn digicam footage launched Tuesday exhibits a sheriff’s deputy fatally shoot a person allegedly armed with a knife close to a crowded outside occasion in Imperial Beach earlier this month.
Investigators mentioned Gary Gates, 51, was advancing towards deputies with a knife in his hand and asking them to shoot him when Deputy Maxwell Hammond shot him round 1:40 p.m. Dec. 21 on Seacoast Drive close to Evergreen Avenue.
The capturing is being investigated by San Diego police below a countywide protocol designed to forestall departments from investigating shootings by their very own officers or deputies.
The edited video begins by detailing a name involving Gates two days earlier than the capturing, throughout which deputies obtained a report that he was experiencing a drug overdose in the identical location. Gates had posted on social media round 5:40 p.m. that he had “swallowed a golf ball-sized chunk of fentanyl” and that if the police got here to his assist, he would give them a purpose to shoot him.
Text within the video says deputies discovered Gates holding a 6-inch folding knife in opposition to his chest and threatening to kill himself.
Psychiatric assist and disaster negotiation groups had been known as, and after a number of hours, Gates put the knife away. He declined additional psychological well being providers, and deputies left the scene, in response to textual content within the video.
Two days later, deputies obtained a name within the early afternoon from Gates, who mentioned he wished to talk to a selected deputy.
After being instructed by the 911 operator that he’d must contact the non-emergency line, Gates abruptly hung up the cellphone, in response to an audio recording of the decision within the video. Nearby deputies had been knowledgeable of the decision and that Gates was simply exterior the 2025 Christmas by the Sea Pow Wow — an occasion attended by a whole bunch of individuals — within the Portwood Pier Plaza, textual content within the video reads.
The video then cuts to body-worn digicam footage from Hammond, Deputy Jose Gonzalez-Diaz and Sgt. April Gaines simply as they positioned and confronted Gates, who was standing on the sidewalk together with his again to a row of outside distributors close to the pageant.
“Gary, what’s going on man? What’s going on? Let’s just have a conversation,” Hammond mentioned.
According to investigators, Hammond and Gates had been acquainted with each other already, however the man insisted he solely wished to talk with a specific deputy, who was not on the scene.
After a brief alternate with Hammond, Gates requested the deputy for a favor as a result of “this is going to be a crisis,” he’s heard saying within the video.
Hammond then started strolling towards the person. Gates responded by strolling backward into the street’s intersection to maintain his distance from the deputies and pulled out what seems to be a knife, the video exhibits.
“Back up! Back up!” Gates yelled on the deputies.
“Gary, you’re not in trouble, man,” Hammond mentioned.
Hammond withdrew his service weapon and instructed Gaines to seize a beanbag gun from his car. Gaines headed again to the car however turned again round and withdrew her Taser.
“Get your gun out,” Gates yelled on the deputies a handful of occasions. “Don’t miss!”
Gates walked towards Hammond and Gonzalez-Diaz with what seems to be a knife in his raised hand. The deputies backed up and instructed him a number of occasions to not transfer and keep the place he was.
Gates continued to advance on Hammond, who was standing together with his again up in opposition to the seller canopies. The deputy opened fireplace a number of occasions, and Gates fell to the bottom.
“I forgive you,” Gates mentioned, whereas holding his chest.
The video exhibits Hammond performing medical assist on Gates, whereas a crowd gathered across the scene and yelled on the deputies.
“You shot him!” one bystander yelled, whereas one other shouted, “He’s dead! Are you happy?”
Text within the video says paramedics arrived and took Gates to a hospital, the place he died. A retractable knife was recovered on the scene.
When San Diego police full their investigation, the county District Attorney’s Office will assessment it to find out if the deputy bears any prison legal responsibility.
The Sheriff’s Office will conduct an administrative investigation into the detective’s discharge of his firearm.
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