Surveillance video released this week shows a San Diego police officer shooting at a suspected stolen vehicle in a San Ysidro apartment complex six weeks ago, wounding a passenger inside the car.
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The incident began about 7 a.m. on July 29, when an automated license plate reader flagged a silver Honda Accord that was suspected to be stolen on Smythe Avenue, west of Interstate 805, according to San Diego police.
A short time later, Officer Ricardo Zambrano found the Honda at an apartment complex near the intersection of Beyer and Del Sur boulevards.
Zambrano was wearing a body camera during the encounter, but the device was not activated, according to police. The incident was partially captured by a security camera at the complex.
As the officer turned into the complex’s driveway, the Honda, occupied by two men, can be seen a short distance away and approaching the police vehicle.
Zambrano activated the flashing lights on his cruiser when he pulled into the complex and opened his car door, the footage shows. The footage does not include sound, although police said Zambrano gave commands for the driver to stop. The officer then fired a round through the Honda’s windshield, leaving the passenger with a bullet wound to the shoulder, the footage shows. The whole incident unfolded in a matter of seconds.
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The Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the incident under a regional agreement to avoid conflicts of interest, said at the time that the shooting happened when the vehicle “drove in the direction of an officer.”
The shooting occurred as a person was walking on a sidewalk in the complex just behind the Honda, the footage shows.
Officers took both occupants of the Honda into custody, and paramedics transported the wounded man to a hospital. Both men were questioned and released without charges, though the reported auto theft remains under investigation, according to police. Their names have not been released.
The District Attorney’s Office ultimately will decide if Zambrano, an eight-year member of the police force, was legally justified in opening fire on the car.
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Union-Tribune writer Kristina Davis contributed to this report.
