Civil rights attorney Eugene Iredale has raised questions about the decision to call off the canine.
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Police Department has released edited body camera footage showing the fatal shooting of 41-year-old Huy Ly last month in an alley near Fay Elementary School in City Heights. The video shows Ly pointing what was later discovered to be a toy gun at officers before they opened fire.
The incident began with a 911 call from the elementary school reporting a man with a gun. When officers responded to the alley, they encountered communication difficulties with Ly and called for a translator, with officers heard asking on the video, “Does he speak Vietnamese? Possibly.”
According to the footage, officers deployed multiple tactics to subdue Ly. They fired bean bag rounds and sent in a police canine, with officers shouting the German attack command “Fass.” The canine appeared to engage briefly before officers called the dog off.
Civil rights attorney Eugene Iredale has raised questions about the decision to call off the canine. “They sent the canine, and then, for reasons that are not apparent from the video, called the canine back and then, when the man began to flee, instead of redeploying the canine, they simply chased the man, ultimately resulting in his death,” said Iredale.
San Diego Police spokesperson Travis Easter stated at the scene of the incident on September 23 that “A bean bag was used. a canine was utilized, but those efforts were unsuccessful.”
Iredale also expressed concern about the edited nature of the video. “We’ll never know just from a review of that limited sequence that’s highly, slickly edited exactly why the dog was not redeployed during the course of the chase and whether this was really necessary,” said Iredale.
The California Department of Justice will determine whether the shooting was justified.
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