To compound the deteriorating securtiy situation, the local police are having a public relations issue in response to some police shooting civilians.
Few details in Salinas police shooting
BY JACK FOLEY • The Salinas Californian • February 6, 2009
Two issues in this specific case so far:Police opened fire on an unarmed couple during a routine traffic stop late Tuesday night because one officer "thought he was shot," a high-ranking Salinas Police Department official said Thursday.
"He saw what he perceived as a threat and thought he was shot, and based on that both officers discharged their firearms," said Dino Bardoni, commander of investigations.
No one was hurt in the 11:24 p.m. incident at North Sanborn Road and Freedom Parkway, but the couple's SUV was riddled with bullet holes and its rear window was shattered.
Police are releasing few details about the incident or case and have characterized it as a "priority investigation," Bardoni said.
It's the fourth officer-involved shooting in the city in the past seven months, two of which were fatal.
1. Escalation of Force. The civilians were unarmed.
2. Markmanship. The cops fired multiple rounds into the victim's car, but they did not injure the civilians. It was more suppressive fire.
v/r
Mike
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