Body-worn camera footage released Thursday shows a San Diego police officer shoot at a man multiple times — but miss — during a foot pursuit in a Morena riverbed earlier this summer.
San Diego police Officer Johnathan Penuelas shot at the 44-year-old man on June 30 after he charged toward the officer and raised what the officer believed was a gun in his direction, according to investigators.
The man was not struck by gunfire, and police did not find a firearm.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the shooting under the terms of a countywide agreement that says agencies will not investigate shootings involving their own officers.
The shooting stemmed from an abatement detail in an open area near Friars Road and Seaworld Drive around 9:50 a.m.
Two officers approached the man in the dry riverbed. He asked officers if they had stolen anything from his camp the previous day, according to the video footage. The officers then accused the man of running away from them the previous day.
“Keep your hands out of your pockets,” one of the officers said. “Or you’re going to go into cuffs.”
“I’m just going to leave then,” the man responded.
The officers followed him and learned he had an active no-bail parole warrant and a history of resisting law enforcement, according to text in the video.
The officers lost contact with him, but Penuelas found him in brush nearby and began to chase him, yelling at him to stop, the video shows.
Penuelas deployed his Taser to no effect. The man then popped out from behind a corner and ran toward the officer, the video shows.
“Freeze. Don’t move. Don’t move. Freeze,” the man yelled at the officer. The video shows the man raising his hands, and the officer later told investigators he believed the suspect was pointing a gun at him.
The officer drew his handgun and fired multiple times. The man ran away and was later found nearby in the riverbed. He was arrested after an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, investigators said.