The San Diego County Sheriff's Office has released a critical incident video related to a deputy-involved shooting that took place on December 10 in Lakeside as part of its commitment to transparency and maintaining public trust. The video release comes amid an ongoing investigation by the San Diego Police Department, following protocols established by a 2022 Memorandum of Agreement designed to prevent agencies from investigating their own shooting incidents, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
Details from the incident reveal that Deputy Chris Bearss, who has been employed by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office for two years, responded to a call about a possible overdose involving 30-year-old male Eric Ralls, the incident escalated when Ralls, after informing the deputy that he had a firearm, concealed his hands behind his waistband and failed to comply with the deputy's instructions, this led to Deputy Bearss discharging one round from his service weapon, which did not hit the suspect, Ralls subsequently fled but was quickly apprehended, according to the San Diego Police Department's report.
Ralls, who claimed to have had a firearm—though no weapon was found at the scene—now faces charges for deterring a peace officer from performing their duty and for assaulting an emergency personnel member, he was transported to Sharp Grossmont Hospital following the confrontation due to the reported overdose and is reported to be in stable condition, having also kicked a medic while in transit to the hospital, the same report notes.
The inquiry into the shooting is multi-faceted, with not only the San Diego Police Department's Homicide Detectives on the case, but also the District Attorney's Office, the County's Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), and federal oversight provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff's Office has also set in motion an administrative investigation into Deputy Bearss' discharge of his firearm, which is the standard procedure in such instances, and emphasizes the thorough nature of the review process for officer-involved shootings.
