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2 San Diego police officers shot, 1 fatally, in traffic stop

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  • A San Diego Harbor Police officer helped to secure the scene near the corner of 39th Street and Boston Avenue in San Diego near where two San Diego Police officers were shot Thursday night. (John Gastaldo/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)

SAN DIEGO » A traffic stop led to a gunbattle that killed an anti-gang police officer and seriously wounded another, authorities said today. A suspect was shot and taken into custody while authorities searched for others who may have been involved.

The slain officer, a husband and father of two children, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died early today, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said. The other officer underwent surgery and was expected to survive. His wife is at the hospital.

The officers, both part of the department’s gang suppression unit, made the traffic stop around 11 p.m. Thursday in San Diego’s modest Southcrest area and were shot in the upper torso. They quickly called for emergency cover, and the critically injured officer was rushed to the hospital in a police vehicle.

The male suspect, who was captured in a ravine, was being treated today at a hospital. His condition was unknown.

Residents were ordered to stay in their homes throughout the night as San Diego police and other law enforcement agencies scoured ravines, yards, streets and alleys for other possible suspects. A helicopter hovered above.

Zimmerman was emotional after visiting the home of the slain officer to notify the family.

“It is extremely difficult, but something you have to do,” she told reporters outside Scripps Mercy Hospital. “There’s nothing that prepares you to do that.”

After visiting the wounded officer later at UC San Diego Medical Center, Zimmerman said, “It’s a little bit of a long haul until he makes a full recovery, but the good news is that he is going to survive and he is going to recover.”

The shooting comes with law officers around the country on alert following the killing of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this month.

“Violence against the men and women who wear the badge is violence against us all,” San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said today. “I ask all San Diegans and all people across our nation to join together in support of our officers who courageously protect our communities. We need them and they need us.”

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch mentioned the San Diego shooting during a meeting with police officers and other first responders in Baton Rouge, where a gunman killed three on-duty law enforcement officers earlier this month.

“I know this community, more than most knows exactly what these families are feeling at this moment,” she said.

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        • Thank you for providing the link. Would you mind though please clarifying your position. What if the shooter was hispanic born and bred in the US? And, even if he was from out of country, aren’t we all? Isn’t this a country of immigrants? What would you like to do deport all immigrants?

        • advertiser1, I think my first post clearly identifies my position where I stand when it comes to illegals and anchor babies, which should never be granted automatic US citizenship because their illegal parents intentionally came to game the system and take advantage of our generosity fully aware that they are stealing from those that should be entitled to benefits.

          I’m all for legal immigrants that actually applied and were accepted. We definitely need talent in the US which is what makes the US such a powerhouse when it comes to the world economy and innovation. There are literally millions of talented PhDs from all over the world that applied for entry to the US but were sadly denied because of annual immigration quotas while illegals cross our border daily and then get free benefits that you even as a citizen can’t get!

        • advertiser1, sounds to me like you support criminals and promote criminal behavior since you seem to group illegals together with legal immigrants and then have the audacity to claim that I hate immigrants. Why don’t you share where you stand?

  • Police need better unions to fight for higher pay and the best benefits that hero’s deserve! Everyday they fight for your rights and freedom.

        • I fully agree, but not to the racial profiling – they should have other standard for profiling, for example young men,bad areas (e.g. Nanakuli) and junk cars.

        • Wait, blunt, the two deadly police killers in Dallas and baton rouge were military veterans with ptsd. So what’s your point? Let’s not bring military into police stories. Let’s strengthen police unions! Oh and give out more traffic citations.

        • Emmm, not a good idea there. PTSD has shown to get pretty severe in some soldiers and those poor guys have killed their own family members and best friends that even tried to help through PTSD. Mental disease doesn’t discriminate the slightest bit, it’s an equal opportunity killer. They need medical help and shouldn’t be allowed near a gun till they fully recover.

    • Fight for higher pay? Just how much higher should it be? The average COP in California earns around $160k annually with overtime and most retire with a full pension, medical coverage and conveniently claim disability when they hit the age of 50 and end up retiring with a very nice sum of dough at the age of 50 while the rest of us have to wait till we’re 65 and no pension. Not to shabby for guys with only a high school degree if you ask me. But go ahead and freely donate more of your earnings to the PD, nothing stopping you at all from making voluntary contributions to raise their earnings!

        • I guess you are one of the lazy ones, ehhh???? Just freely Google anything I post. I don’t post BS but FACTS. But to make you happy, here you go, this list is local and the average pay is $220k for the average cop but statewide it averages out to about $160k. Here, you go and weep when you see how insane some of these government servants earn! http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/manhattan-beach/?page=2

        • I did look at your source and, it doesn’t support your position. I downloaded the 2015 data, and the average police officer total compensation was $135,000, that’s compensation, so pay and benefits. The average Lt, made $220k, again total compensation. So, I don’t think what you say is exactly correct. And I’m not sure if Manhattan Beach in and of itself is indicative of the entire state. That aside, pay and benes are very good.

        • Well, actually, I did “google” it. Using a conspiracy style website isn’t necessarily the best source of relevant information. “http://city-salaries.careertrends.com/stories/5417/best-paying-cities-police-officers#30-San-Jose-CA”, gives another perspective. In fact, several sources, when averaged out, including overtime pay which isn’t pertinent since it represents work performed, fall short of “transparent’s” estimates. By the way, simply asking for a source shouldn’t prompt a belligerent retort, so try and calm down a little. It’s better for the health.

        • advertiser1, I did say averages out to about $160k for most of the major counties in California. I also specifically stated about $220k in Manhattan Beach which is a bit higher. Similar salaries exist in other incorporated cities in Los Angeles County as well as in Northern California.

        • hawaiikone, The site I posted pulls data from the public government databases as government employee salaries in California are available and open to the public. No conspiracy here. I have friends that work for the govt in Cali so I know this data to be accurate down to the penny. The salaries in San Jose County are almost double compared to Los Angeles County where cops earn about $350k so it would be a even worse comparison! Have a look at it yourself.
          http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Police+Officer

        • Dragon, the MB local average compensation is not $220k. The MB average pay for a Lieutenant is $220k. There is a difference between an rank and file officer and a lieutenant. You said, “this list is local and the average pay is $220k for the average cop” and that is not true per my quote above. The statistics are pulled directly from the 2015 data from the transparent california site.

      • I have to agree with you. My searches didn’t account for “extras”. Base pay seems high already, but it’s California. And overtime, I’d hope, is for actual work performed. I’m aware of some benefits, such as tuition assistance, special pay, and similar, but I cannot understand sums approaching 100k. The statistics seem accurate, and do reflect incredibly high wages for some cops. 450k seems over the top when my neighbor, a full Army colonel, was drawing around 175k in Iraq. With that said, I’d be interested in seeing the resumes of successful applicants.

  • The procedure has to change. After a traffic stop cops should stay in their car and demand over loudspeakers that all occupants exit their car and put their hand up on top the roof of the car . If this command is not followed shoot up the car totally.

  • I’m surprised that the shooter was taken alive after killing one officer and critically wounding the other…usually the cops make sure the suspects don’t live to brag about it in prison…..

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