Sheriff defends sergeant's shooting of motorist
By Ryan Lillis -
[email protected]
Published 11:19 am PDT Monday, April 7, 2008
Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness said today the fatal weekend shooting of a motorist by a sheriff's sergeant was justified.
The motorist, John Savalin, 41, aimed his car and accelerated toward the sergeant, McGinness said during a press conference.
"I believe firmly his decision to use deadly force was very much in policy," the sheriff said, adding that the events were captured on the patrol car's dashboard camera and supported the officer's actions.
Nine witnesses "support to some degree" the decision to use deadly force, McGinness said. However, family members and friends were sharply critical Sunday of the shooting, saying Savalin posed no threat.
The shooting was the department's first officer-involved fatality this year.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said Sunday that officers who feel their lives are in danger are justified in drawing their weapons first.
"We don't have to do X, Y and Z before we use deadly force," he said. "If that officer felt his life was in danger, he was well within his rights to use deadly force."
According to sheriff's officials, someone had waved down the sergeant to report that a drunken driver was trying to leave the area in a green BMW.
When the sergeant approached the driver, "he ignored the sergeant's directives," a department press release states, and the officer reached into the car to try to gain control. The man in the car then started to drive away, authorities said.
"Fearing the movement of the vehicle placed his life in danger, the sergeant drew his department issued semi-automatic handgun and fired multiple shots at the driver," according to a sheriff's press release.
The car continued to travel about 200 yards and crashed into four other vehicles, reportedly injuring a bystander, before it stopped moving.
Savalin's brother-in-law, Robert Strong, was in the car and said the sergeant pulled up directly in front of his brother-in-law's BMW. The officer walked over to the driver's side and asked to see Savalin's license.
Savalin, who has several traffic citations dating to 1990, told the officer that he had a suspended license, Strong said.
The sergeant then grabbed the man's wrists, Strong said, but let go after Savalin explained that he needed to fix his gearshift to prevent the car from rolling backward.
Suddenly, the BMW lurched forward, Strong said, and hit the deputy's car.
"I yelled, 'John, what are you doing? What are you doing?' " Strong said. "I think he was trying to get away, but he wasn't trying to hurt the officer or anything."
Strong said the sergeant was standing about four feet away from the BMW.
Strong and others questioned Sunday why lethal force was used instead of other alternatives, such as a Taser weapon.
http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/843289.html
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Loved ones say DUI suspect posed no threat to sheriff's sergeant
By Crystal Carreon -
[email protected]
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, April 7, 2008
For Robert Strong, the beautiful weather Saturday was the chance to get out of the house and spend the afternoon with his brother-in-law at one of their favorite spots: the rustic Fair Oaks Bridge on the American River.
The two men arrived around noon at a place long familiar to the family. They hiked up a bluff in the sun, listened to the radio and knocked back a few beers, toasting the good times, Strong recalled. But before the sun set, Strong's brother-in-law was dead.
The man, identified by coroner's officials Sunday as John Savalin, 41, was shot to death by a Sacramento County sheriff's sergeant who had been summoned near the bridge to stop a suspected drunken driver.
The shooting, the department's first officer-involved fatality this year, remained under investigation Sunday, as those closest to the slain North Highlands man criticized it as "senseless" and painted a different picture of Savalin in his final moments.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said he could understand the anger and grief of family members and friends, but that officers who feel their lives are in danger are justified in drawing their weapons first.
"We don't have to do X, Y and Z before we use deadly force," he said. "If that officer felt his life was in danger, he was well within his rights to use deadly force."
Strong, who was in the car with Savalin when the sergeant opened fire, said his brother-in-law was never drunk, nor was he violent.
"He had had a few beers, but he was definitely not intoxicated," Strong said on Sunday. "He wasn't trying to hurt the officer."
Close family friend David Muse also vouched for Savalin's character on Sunday, describing him as a loving father of two who "was as harmless as a fly."
"They shot this guy because they thought he was drinking," said Muse, who was not at the outing on Saturday. "What happened … is a travesty."
According to sheriff's officials, someone had waved down the sergeant to report that a drunken driver was trying to leave the area in a green BMW.
When the sergeant approached the driver, "he ignored the sergeant's directives," a department press release states, and the officer reached into the car to try to gain control. The man in the car then started to drive away, authorities said.
"Fearing the movement of the vehicle placed his life in danger, the sergeant drew his department issued semi-automatic handgun and fired multiple shots at the driver," according to a sheriff's press release.
Strong said he heard four to five gunshots and watched as Savalin slumped out of his seat.
The car continued to travel about 200 yards and crashed into four other vehicles, reportedly injuring a bystander, before it stopped moving.
Moments before, Strong said he had just buckled his seatbelt in the passenger seat when the sergeant pulled up directly in front of his brother-in-law's BMW. The officer walked over to the driver's side and asked to see Savalin's license.
Savalin, who has several traffic citations dating to 1990, told the officer that he had a suspended license, Strong said.
The sergeant then grabbed the man's wrists, Strong said, but let go after Savalin explained that he needed to fix his gearshift to prevent the car from rolling backward.
Suddenly, the BMW lurched forward, Strong said, and hit the deputy's car.
"I yelled, 'John, what are you doing? What are you doing?' " Strong said. "I think he was trying to get away, but he wasn't trying to hurt the officer or anything."
Strong said the sergeant was standing about four feet away from the BMW.
Strong and others, including family friend Muse, questioned why lethal force was used instead of other alternatives, such as a Taser weapon.
The sergeant, whose name continued to be withheld on Sunday, has been described as a 13-year-veteran of the Sheriff's Department.
He remains on paid administrative leave, pending investigations by the sheriff's homicide unit, internal affairs and the District Attorney's Office.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/841633.html
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I'm having a bit of trouble visualizing this scene. Apparently the Sergeant was standing to the side of the BMW when it lurched forward and hit the Sergeant's car. I don't quite understand how the Sergeant was endangered. I would be interested in seeing the dashcam video of the incident.
