San Diego has witnessed a series of intense officer-involved shootings (OIS) in the past year, with the District Attorney recently releasing reviews of seven incidents, all concluding no criminal state liability for the officers in question. One such case was on the evening of August 29, 2023, when Jesse Nelson fatally shot his mother and her dog, engaging in a gunfight with responding officers and later being shot by a SWAT sniper. The review found that "when the officer shot Nelson, Nelson posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury that, from all appearances, had to be instantly confronted and addressed," as reported by the District Attorney's office.
In another incident on June 22, 2023, Dorian Larkin led officers on a high-speed chase after shooting and killing his girlfriend, Kimberly Foster. After firing at officers, Larkin eventually took his life, continuing to pose a clear threat to officers until his pursuit came to a fatal end. The District Attorney's review, as obtained by the office, concluded "it was reasonable for the officers to conclude that the imminent harm Larkin presented had to be instantly confronted and addressed."
Burglary suspect Justin Teague, who shot at police while attempting to escape, was struck by return fire and later charged with multiple felonies. In a follow-up to the struggle, "the officer's decision to respond with deadly force was reasonable given the imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury posed by Teague," the District Attorney's office noted in their review. Furthermore, the investigations also covered the death of Benjamin Pickens, who, after shooting at a police canine and officers, was taking part "in a standoff with him," as reported by the office, and met a similar conclusion regarding the use of lethal force.
The last of the seven instances revolved around Xavier LaCosta, who, when ordered to surrender by police, reached for a ghost gun, forcing an officer to shoot him fatally. According to the review, "the officer reasonably believed LaCosta had the present ability, opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury when LaCosta lunged for the gun on the floor in front of him," which justified the use of deadly force. Each of these incidents has been put under scrutiny, and in every case, the officials involved were deemed to have acted within the boundaries of law and their training to mitigate threats and protect public safety.
