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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHBPD OIS Officer Interviews_RedactedHUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW OF: OFFICER CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON INTERVIEWED BY: SERGEANT BRIAN JONES SERGEANT SHAWN WHITE ALSO PRESENT: ATTORNEY CASE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 & FD 21-0001 TIME: 12:31 PM DATE: 09-30-21 LOCATION: HUNTINGTON BEACH PD PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS UNIT AUDIO FILE: Simpson OIS Interview TRANSCRIBED BY: FILE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 C. Simpson 093021 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 SERGEANT RANDELL: This is Sergeant Brian Jones. This 1 is an involved officer, Christopher Simpson, related to the 2 officer involved shooting that occurred on September 25th, 3 2021. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: All right, Officer Simpson. I'm going 5 to read you this advisement here. The date of this 6 interview is September 30th, 2021. The time is 12:31 PM. 7 The location of this interview is the Huntington Beach 8 Police Department, Professional Standards Unit office. This 9 investigation is under the direction and command of Captain 10 Haught. 11 Present in this room are yourself, Chris Simpson, your 12 attorney, Sergeant Brian Jones, and Sergeant 13 Shawn White, of the Professional Standards Unit. 14 This investigation concerns the officer involved 15 shooting. You have the right to have one representative of 16 your choice present during this interview and you have 17 chosen Is that correct? 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 19 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. "You have the right to remain 20 silent. Anything you say may be used against you in court. 21 You have the right to an attorney, before and during 22 questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be 23 appointed for you before questioning, if you wish." Do you 24 understand each of these rights that I have explained to 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 3 you? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 2 SERGEANT WHITE: Do you wish to speak with us about 3 this incident? 4 As your attorney, I advise you not to 5 waive your rights. You should say no. 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: No. 7 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. With that in mind, while you 8 have the right to remain silent, with regard to any criminal 9 investigation, you do not have the right to refuse to answer 10 our administrative investigation questions. This is an 11 administrative investigation. 12 We are, therefore, now ordering you to discuss this 13 matter with us. If you refuse to discuss this matter, your 14 silence can be deemed insubordination and result in 15 administrative discipline, up to and including termination. 16 Any statements you make under compulsion of the threat 17 of such discipline cannot be used against you in a later 18 criminal proceeding. 19 Chris Simpson, I am ordering you to answer any and all 20 questions asked of you, in a truthful and accurate manner. 21 Failure to do so may be deemed insubordination and result in 22 administrative discipline, up to and including termination 23 of your employment with the City of Huntington Beach. Do 24 you understand the admonishment that I just read to you? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 4 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 1 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. I'm going to have you sign on 2 the "subject" line here. Sergeant Jones is going to sign on 3 the "interviewer" line, right next to that. 4 CHRIS SIMPSON: (SIGNS DOCUMENT.) 5 SERGEANT JONES: All right, Chris. We're going to 6 start off by going over your experience. How long have you 7 been a police officer for the City of Huntington Beach? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: For the City of Huntington Beach, about 9 just under three years. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And do you have prior law enforcement 11 experience at another agency? 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: I do. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And where would that be? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: At the Whittier Police Department, 15 where I was a police officer there just under three years, 16 as well. 17 SERGEANT JONES: So, just over six years of public 18 service? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: Just shy. Under about 5-1/2. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. What is your current assignment 21 at the Huntington Beach Police Department? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: I am assigned to our Homeless Task 23 Force Unit, which is an entity of Patrol. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And how long have you been in that 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 5 assignment? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: For just over a year now. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I'm going to direct your 3 attention to the specific date of this past Saturday, 4 September 25th, 2021. Were you on-duty on that date? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And was that a regularly scheduled 7 shift or was that an overtime shift? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: It was an overtime shift. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And what was your assignment on that 10 date? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: It was to work the U.S. Open of 12 Surfing, so I was assigned to the beach area, for that 13 shift. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And do you recall what time your shift 15 started? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe it started at 0800 hours. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know when it was scheduled 18 to end? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: Around 1800 hours. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was there a briefing held on 21 Saturday, September 25th, for this event? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. It was held at the Police 23 Department Briefing Room. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And you attended that briefing? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And was that briefing handled -- run 2 by Sergeant Anthony Pham? 3 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have a specific call sign that 5 was assigned to you? 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. It was 94X. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And did you have a partner assigned to 8 you? 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: We necessarily didn't have a partner 10 assigned, but we just kind of partnered up together, and I 11 was with Officer Nicholas Koehler. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Did -- so, it wasn't specifically 13 assigned that you were with this person or this person? 14 You guys just kind of -- 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: Not specifically. We just did it 16 ourselves. 17 SERGEANT JONES: It was like a fluid thing? It could 18 change throughout the day? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. During the briefing, did they 21 state what the objective and mission was, for you guys' 22 assignment at the U.S. Open? 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Can you tell me what that is? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 7 CHRIS SIMPSON: It was to remain in the immediate area 1 of the U.S. Open event, you know, maintain peace and safety 2 for the participants in the event and the event goers. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And did the event have their own 4 additional security? Like private security that was working 5 the event, as well? 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. Some type of security entity was 7 there, in some uniforms. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember what they were 9 wearing? 10 CHRIS SIMPSON: There was a combination of, I believe, 11 I think, they were wearing red shirts, red polo shirts, and 12 khaki pants, and then, I think, there were a few wearing 13 like a black shirt and khaki pants, maybe just one or two of 14 those guys. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And they were clearly identifiable as 16 staff members of the event? 17 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. They had logos on their 18 shirts and on the back. 19 SERGEANT JONES: I'm going to have you focus on the 24-20 hours prior to the start of your shift, on September 25th, 21 so going back to like September 24th, at 8:00 AM, all the 22 way to September 25th, at 8:00 AM. Did you sleep the night 23 prior to your shift on Saturday, September 25th? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 8 SERGEANT JONES: If you could tell me, if you can, an 1 estimate of how many hours you slept? 2 CHRIS SIMPSON: Anywhere between six to eight hours. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And you felt rested? 4 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Did you eat regular meals through the 6 course of that 24-hours prior to your shift on the 25th? 7 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Did you eat any meals prior to the 9 officer involved shooting that occurred on September 25th? 10 On the 25th; you mean? 11 SERGEANT JONES: Yes. 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Prior to your shift, on the 14 25th, did you consume any alcoholic beverages, the day 15 before? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: No, sir. 17 SERGEANT JONES: The night before? 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: No, sir. 19 SERGEANT JONES: No, sir? Did you take any medications 20 or drugs? 21 I'll object under privacy; HIPAA. 22 SERGEANT JONES: I'll skip that one. Did you take any 23 medi -- sorry. Any exercise supplements or "Creatine" or 24 anything like that? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: No, sir. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Did you work any regularly assigned 2 shifts or overtime shifts on the 24th? 3 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. My regular Homeless Task 4 Force shift. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And can you tell me what those hours 6 are? 7 CHRIS SIMPSON: 0605 to 1730 hours. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Did you get off on time on the 24th? 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: I left a little bit early -- 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: -- on the 24th, to attend my uncle's 12 last briefing as a sergeant at the Fullerton Police 13 Department. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And what time did you say that was, 15 that you left? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: I left around 4:00 o'clock. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. The following questions will be 18 specific to your shift on Saturday, September 25th, 2021. 19 Following the officer involved shooting, did you have 20 the opportunity to review body-worn camera footage that was 21 captured of the incident? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to our interview today, were you 24 also afforded the opportunity to review body-worn camera 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 10 footage? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And those videos would include your 3 own body-worn camera and Officer Velasco's body-worn camera. 4 Is that correct? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct, sir. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Did you happen to see videos from 7 sources outside the police department, that being like news 8 or social media? Did you see any videos about the incident 9 -- or that captured the incident? 10 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Is that through news or social media? 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: A combination of both. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to your uniform for 14 your shift on September 25th, can you describe the uniform 15 to me, please? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. Starting up top, I was wearing -- 17 our issued short-sleeve polo shirt, which included an 18 embroidered Huntington Beach Police Officer badge on the 19 front. Surrounding the badge, at the top it says, 20 "Huntington Beach" and right under it, it says, "Police." 21 That's on my left front part of the shirt. The right front 22 has my first initial, last name, and, I believe, my title of 23 "Officer" just above my name, on the right side. On both my 24 shoulders are "Huntington Beach Police" patches that are 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 11 silked screen in, in a grayish silver color. On the back of 1 my polo shirt, has the word "POLICE" silk-screened in, in a 2 grayish/silver color. Moving down, I was wearing black 511 3 cargo pants and black shoes. I was also wearing my regular 4 Sam Browne belt, that was equipped with my keys, tourniquet, 5 my firearm, two pairs of handcuffs, my issued taser, a 6 flashlight, and two additional magazines. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Very good. During the course of this 8 investigation, or the subsequent investigation, after the 9 officer involved shooting, the Orange County Sheriff's 10 Department came down to handle a portion of that 11 investigation, and that included their crime scene 12 investigators. They processed the scene and, ultimately, 13 processed the officers involved, with you being one of them. 14 During that time, did they -- were you photographed in the 15 uniform that you were wearing during the officer involved 16 shooting? 17 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And that was by Orange County 19 Sheriff's Department, Crime Scene Investigators? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And the pictures that they took of 22 you, were you wearing the exact uniform, with the equipment 23 that you had on, at the time of the officer involved 24 shooting? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 1 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to your service weapon, can 2 you tell me what make it is? If you know, the model, can 3 you tell me what that is? And what caliber it is, please? 4 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yeah. I's a Glock 17 Generation 5, 5 MOS, which is just a Modular Optic System, so it's equipped 6 with a red-dot sight and it's chambered in a .9 millimeter. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And you said you had two magazines in 8 your gun belt and is that the total number you had? Two in 9 your gun belt and one seated in your firearm? 10 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 11 SERGEANT JONES: So, for a total of three magazines? 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know the capacity of your 14 individual magazines? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. All my magazines are -- have the 16 capacity of 17-rounds and there is a two-round extender at 17 the base plate of the magazines. So, with a total capacity 18 of 19 for each magazine. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you keep a round loaded 20 in your -- in your chamber of your service weapon? 21 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 22 SERGEANT JONES: So, for the magazine and the round 23 chambered in your service weapon, that would be a total of 24 20-rounds? Is that correct? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Are you -- I'm sorry. Let me 2 go back. Do you know -- and you many not -- so, if you 3 don't, it's fine, but do you know the brand of ammunition 4 that you were carrying? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: I do not know the specifics. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Is it the ammunition that was provided 7 to you by the Training Department of this police department? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Are you right-handed or left-10 handed, Chris? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: I am right-handed. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And do you shoot right-handed? 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And do you carry your service 15 weapon on the right side of your person? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Did you successfully complete the 18 required department qualifications with your service weapon? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And that's the service weapon that was 21 used during this officer involved shooting? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to going into service on 24 September 25th, did you do any kind of function checks of 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 14 your service weapon? Prior to going into the field? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: Not the day of but a few weeks prior, 2 after -- after my training with the SWAT team. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you know what that consisted 4 of? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: It consisted of cleaning the weapon, 6 and then conducting a systems check of the weapon, after it 7 was cleaned, and then loaded with the rounds that was 8 provided with -- provided to me from the department. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Did you do a press check of your 10 firearm before you went 10-8 on the 25th? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: I did not. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Any issues with your firearm, 13 that you're aware of? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: No, sir. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Is this the same firearm -- the 16 firearm that we're discussing is the same firearm that you, 17 ultimately, turned over to the Orange County Sheriff's 18 Department, CSI personnel? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And you were subsequently issued a 21 replacement gun for that; right? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 23 SERGEANT WHITE: You mentioned training with the SWAT 24 team. Are you a member of the Huntington Beach SWAT team? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 1 SERGEANT JONES: On September 25th, 2021, were you 2 carrying a backup firearm? 3 CHRIS SIMPSON: I was not. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Other than -- and you had mentioned 5 this before, but I'll have you explain it again. Other than 6 firearms, what other type of weapons were you carrying at 7 the time of this incident, that being like asp, baton, etc., 8 conductive energy weapons, a taser? Were you carrying any 9 equipment like that? 10 CHRIS SIMPSON: I was carrying a taser and a pocket 11 knife. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Did you perform any function checks on 13 your taser, prior to going into service on the 25th? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: Not the day of but, I believe, several 15 days prior. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And was it functioning properly? 17 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And do you carry that taser on your 19 duty belt or somewhere else? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: I carry it on my duty belt. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And being that you said you carry your 22 firearm on the right side, I would be left to assume you 23 carry your taser on the left side? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 16 SERGEANT JONES: When you went into service that day, 1 were you assigned a specific patrol vehicle? 2 CHRIS SIMPSON: We just loaded into a -- I believe it's 3 1414, which is a marked black and white Ford Expedition 4 that's a 4x4 so it's used for the sand, which was used to 5 take us down there and then, from there, we got into the 6 Honda utility vehicle. I don't know a specific name for 7 them but -- 8 SERGEANT WHITE: Side-by-side? 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: Side-by-side. That's our "technical" 10 name. 11 SERGEANT WHITE: Yeah. 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: Off-road golf carts. 13 SERGEANT JONES: (LAUGHS.) When you say "us," was it 14 you and Koehler and Velasco that drove down together? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Did Sergeant Pham drive separately or 17 did he -- 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe he took a separate marked 19 black and white, that's not able to go in the sand. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And I failed to ask you this 21 but during your assignment, do you remember how many 22 officers, just officers, not supervisors, were assigned to 23 your detail that day? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: There was just five of us, and one 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 17 sergeant. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And those five officers were yourself, 2 Velasco, Parker, Koehler, and CJ Remington? 3 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And your sergeant, for that shift, was 5 Sergeant Pham; correct? 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Did the patrol car that you guys took 8 down there have any less lethal platforms in it? Like 9 40 millimeter or pepper ball; do you remember? 10 CHRIS SIMPSON: I did not check the rear of the 11 vehicle, since I was not driving, so, I mean, it could have, 12 it could not have. There's usually one in there. 13 SERGEANT JONES: But you don't know? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: I do not know. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember where the car -16 - that unit 1414 was parked, at the time of the incident? 17 CHRIS SIMPSON: At the time of the shooting, it was 18 being operated by Officer Velasco, and he was driving it 19 towards Pier Plaza, from the waterline, and it remained on 20 the north side of the pier because, I believe, he exited his 21 vehicle and left it there. 22 SERGEANT JONES: It was not easily accessible at the 23 time of the incident; correct? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. The distance from where the 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 18 vehicle was parked, to where the shooting occurred, was a 1 great distance. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And I'm going to draw your attention 3 to the -- the date -- the specific date of September 25th, 4 2021, at about 3:08 PM. Did you hear a radio broadcast, at 5 about that time? 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember who made that radio 8 broadcast? 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: It sounded like Lieutenant Thoby 10 Archer, who was the watch commander at the time. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember what it was that he 12 broadcast over the radio? 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: It was something to the effect of, "He 14 was notified by the event -- the U.S. Open of Surfing event 15 staff that a subject, who is possibly under the influence, 16 committed a possible theft, and was somewhere in the event, 17 causing some type of disturbance." 18 SERGEANT JONES: And was he putting that out as just 19 general information or were you directed to respond to this 20 call? 21 CHRIS SIMPSON: I think, I believed, it was directed at 22 the units assigned to the event. I believe he even 23 mentioned, you know, for us to, I mean, he mentioned it to 24 us, directly for us. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 19 SERGEANT JONES: As in identifying the -- to the venue, 1 can you respond to this? Or something to that effect? 2 CHRIS SIMPSON: Something to that effect. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And when that broadcast was 4 first made, do you remember where you were? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. I was driving the Honda side-by-6 side, and Officer Koehler was next to me, in the passenger 7 seat and, I believe, we were somewhere in the area of the 8 6th Street parking lot, which is just north of Pier Plaza. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you and Officer Koehler 10 respond to the call? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: We were tasked with doing a patrol 12 check at Pier Plaza, by Sergeant Pham, just prior to the 13 incident. And I just wanted to check that area prior to, 14 and then respond to that call from Lieutenant Archer to -- I 15 mean, I just wanted to check the area first and then we 16 would respond. 17 SERGEANT JONES: After the initial broadcast by 18 Lieutenant Archer, or who you believed was Lieutenant 19 Archer, did you hear any other officers broadcast additional 20 information in regard to the suspect that was being 21 described? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. I think Lieutenant Archer, once 23 again, said over the air about where the subject was. I 24 remember him stating that he's near the waterline and then, 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 20 that other Xray units were going to be dispatched there or 1 were arriving on scene or something to that effect. 2 I do recall Officer Velasco going on the air and 3 stating -- giving out a description the subject. From what 4 I recall, from the radio traffic, which was a male, I think, 5 he said, bald and white shirt, and that's all I could hear. 6 Since we were in the Honda side-by-side, and we're not in 7 an enclosed vehicle, it's kind of hard to hear the exact 8 radio traffic, when you're driving. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Did they say if it was a male White? 10 Black? Hispanic? Asian? Do you recall? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: I don't recall the race, in specifics. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you hear any other 13 additional information come out about the suspect, prior to 14 officers making contact with him? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. Now we had exited -- and when I 16 say "we," it's myself and Officer Koehler, had exited the 17 side-by-side, and we were already conducting a check of Pier 18 Plaza. 19 I observed a gentleman smoking, which was in 20 violation of the Huntington Beach Municipal Code. I 21 activated my body-worn camera, at that time. And, at the 22 same time, I was contacting him, Officer Velasco goes over 23 the air and states that he has an observation of the suspect 24 described in the previous call and he had stated his 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 21 position was by the wall of Pier Plaza, which was directly 1 in front of where Officer Koehler and I were. 2 He stated that, "The male had something possibly 3 concealed in his waistband and for officer safety reasons." 4 And let me go -- I just recalled something, at that point. 5 As we -- Officer Koehler and I were checking Pier Plaza, I 6 would hear -- I heard some more radio broadcasts regarding 7 the subject possibly being armed. He could not recall if it 8 was a knife or a gun, but I just remember that specific 9 statement that, "The subject's possibly armed" and that was 10 prior to my contact with the individual that was smoking. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, just so that I'm clear. 12 Velasco put out some information, in addition to what 13 Lieutenant Archer put out, and that was that the suspect's 14 location was now near Pier Plaza? Correct? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And that, he had garnered information 17 from an unknown source to you, but that this person was 18 possibly armed with a weapon? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. And that was prior to him 20 stating that he was at Pier Plaza. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: So, two separate radio transmissions. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And that weapon was unknown if it was 24 a knife or a firearm? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And then he, ultimately, put out some 2 additional information that he had observation of the 3 suspect? 4 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yeah. He had just obs of the actual 5 individual listed in the call. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And he stated that individual had his 7 hands near his waistband, concealed? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe he said, "He had something 9 concealed in his waistband." Something to that effect. 10 Some like concealed or having something in his waistband and 11 he stated, you know, for "officer safety" reasons. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And do you recall him, specifically, 13 stating, "officer safety"? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And so, did that cause you concern? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. Especially since I was right 17 there and, simultaneously, as that broadcast was being 18 broadcasted, I looked over and I can clearly see the 19 individual he was talking about. 20 SERGEANT JONES: All right. So, after that information 21 comes out, you now have direct line of sight -- observation 22 of this person? 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. When you saw him, what did you 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 23 observe? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: And, simultaneous, to that, Officer 2 Kohler also said, "That's our" -- I think he said something 3 to the effect of, "Like that's our guy." I observed a male 4 Hispanic, bald head, white shirt, dark colored shorts, and 5 long white socks. He had his left-hand near or in his 6 waistband. I could not tell fully, due to the fact that he 7 had either a small white towel, or a white shirt, covering 8 his left-hand, which covered the entire portion of his 9 waistband. 10 SERGEANT JONES: What about his right-hand? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe, his right-hand may have been 12 free. My main concern was his left-hand, that was concealed 13 in some fashion. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Was there anything else about his 15 demeanor or the way he was acting that drew your attention? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yeah. He appeared to me, being very 17 kind of like paranoid, kind of head on a swivel, kept 18 looking around, kind of fast body movements. He looked 19 towards Officer Velasco's vehicle, which was a fully marked 20 black and white, coming up -- down the sand, towards him. 21 He looked towards that direction and immediately made a 22 quick walking motion southbound along that small wall, 23 towards underneath the pier. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Is it your belief that the presence of 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 24 Velasco pulling up in the black and white prompted that 1 movement by him? To leave the area? 2 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And coupled with the information on 4 this call, and him matching the suspect's description, and 5 what you saw, and Velasco pulling into the area, what was 6 going through your mind, at that point? 7 CHRIS SIMPSON: At that point, I believed, he was 8 concealing some object, again, I mean, he had his hand -- 9 his left-hand near or in his waistband. The entirety of him 10 walking away, and you could tell it was something of volume, 11 is heavy, because he would not pull his left-hand away, so 12 he was constantly having his left-hand on it, his head on a 13 swivel type of motion, just continually moving around and 14 then him walking immediately away, once the -- the officer 15 arrived was indicative of him just trying to leave the area 16 since the police were there. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Was it suspicious to you? 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, it was. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, ultimately, you and 20 Koehler, along with Velasco, start following this suspect? 21 Is that correct? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: (INAUDIBLE.) 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: Myself and Officer Koehler were on Pier 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 25 Plaza, so our distance was a little bit longer than -- than 1 Officer Velasco, since he was on the sand. So, we -- 2 Officer Koehler and I had to traverse through Pier Plaza in 3 an attempt to parallel him on the asphalt beach service 4 road, while he was still in the sand. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And was it your belief that you and 6 fellow officers were, ultimately, going to make contact with 7 this individual? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And what did you believe -- did you 10 believe that it was as a result of him committing a crime? 11 Or just based on his suspicious behavior? Or a combination 12 of all that? 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: A combination of, due to the -- the 14 initial broadcast that he was possibly under the influence 15 and he may have, I believe, stole something and coupled with 16 the fact, I mean, his suspicious behavior, concealing 17 things, and leaving the area when police presence was there. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And when you started following 19 this individual south, from the pier, towards -- I know this 20 isn't specific, but you guys were kind of heading towards 21 the Beach Substation, but on the sand, maybe, you know, a 22 walkway that's built for the U.S. Open. Is that correct? 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: That's correct? 24 SERGEANT JONES: At that time, are you with Koehler and 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 26 Velasco? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: Officer Koehler and I were walking 2 along the -- the asphalt beach service road and, I believe, 3 I didn't know where, specifically, Officer Velasco was but, 4 I believed, he was on the sand, because that's where he left 5 his vehicle. So, he was somewhere either aligned with us or 6 behind us, on the sand area. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see him responding though, as 8 well? 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: I saw him, initially, exit his vehicle 10 and start walking, as Officer Koehler and I were traversing 11 through Pier Plaza. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Did any other officers besides Velasco 13 and Koehler respond to this call with you? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And who was that? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: That was Officer Read Parker and 17 CJ Remington. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And those are all people assigned to 19 work this venue; correct? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And those other four officers, were 22 wearing uniforms that were clearly identifiable as police 23 officers? Is that correct? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 27 SERGEANT JONES: Were they similar in nature to yours? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: The three other officers were Officer 2 Parker, was wearing his regular Class "B" blue patrol 3 uniform and, I believe, he had an exterior vest that clearly 4 stated he was a police officer. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Was the suspect the only individual, 6 to your knowledge, that was related to the broadcast call 7 for service or information that was put out by Lieutenant 8 Archer? 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 10 SERGEANT JONES: So, it was just him; right? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 12 SERGEANT JONES: That you guys were looking for? So, 13 you guys are closing distance on this guy. Just go ahead, 14 in your own words, and I won't interrupt you. Explain to me 15 what transpires next. 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. So, as we -- Officer Koehler 17 and I are traversing through Pier Plaza, at one point, like 18 I stated earlier, the suspect is making quick movements, 19 turning his head, head on a swivel, kind of some paranoid 20 type of reactions. 21 He looks towards my direction and it's, in my opinion, 22 that he sees me, due to the fact that he quickly turns away 23 and he picks up his pace. I mean I'm clearly visible, 24 marked as a police officer, compared to my background, which 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 28 it's a warm day, everybody's wearing light colored clothing, 1 and I'm wearing all black, so I'm clearly visible as a 2 police officer, and I'm making a movement straight towards 3 him. 4 He walks further south, along that small sand wall. 5 Officer Koehler is behind me and we're now on the asphalt 6 beach service road. I believe Officer Velasco is off to the 7 sand, to the right, of us, directly behind the suspect, but 8 several feet in distance between them. 9 As we get parallel to Sandy's Restaurant, in between a 10 brief service road and the south side of the pier, Officer 11 Parker, who's driving a similar Honda side-by-side, and 12 CJ Remington, were in the -- were in that vehicle. They 13 were coming northbound, along the asphalt beach service 14 road. 15 When I see them, I tell -- I believe, right before 16 that, I tell Officer Koehler, because I wanted to keep a 17 good line of sight of the suspect, because of his suspicious 18 behavior of still having his left-hand concealed in his 19 waistband, or near his waistband, and that shirt covering 20 him. He continued that behavior all the way from my first 21 initial sight of him, in front of Pier Plaza, all the way 22 until when we made contact with him, so that, believed to 23 me, that he was concealing something of weight because he 24 was not able to let it go, because of the attire he was 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 29 wearing, he was wearing some, I believe, like basketball 1 shorts or some loose shorts. 2 When Officer Parker and Remington pull up in the Honda 3 side-by-side, I do a quick point to the subject, who's 4 standing in the sand, and he is the only subject that is 5 matching that description and, pretty much, the only subject 6 in that immediate area, so to say, and Officer Parker makes 7 a left-hand turn to kind of address the subject and, as he's 8 making that left-hand turn, Officer Remington gets out of 9 the passenger seat and then, I believe, he walks around the 10 side-by-side. 11 At that point, I kind of veer off the asphalt path and 12 start walking into the sand, towards that small wall. At 13 the same time, the subject now is almost -- he's got several 14 police officers kind of closing in on him. He kind of 15 blades his body off, to kind of face us, and he's kind of 16 walking backwards, and to the right, slowly through the 17 sand, to get deeper into the sand. 18 Officer Parker gives him several verbal commands like, 19 "Come here. Come here. Like stop. Come here." I even 20 give him, the suspect, several commands like, "Stop. 21 Relax." The suspect makes some statements that stood out. 22 He makes some statements similar to, "Not today. Not today. 23 Get everybody away. Or clear everybody away." But he says 24 those statements while we're telling him to, "Stop and to 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 30 relax." 1 During that short interaction, he still has the object 2 concealed underneath the small white shirt, or white towel, 3 near in his waistband. 4 I had my hand on my gun and I break the plane of my 5 holster, but I needed to close the distance due to the fact 6 that we were several -- I was several yards away from the 7 suspect and my background was the event to the U.S. Open. 8 So, I re-holster my gun and I hop over the -- the wall. 9 Doing so, just based on his manipulations of his waistband, 10 I believed, he was concealing a weapon. And, I believe -- I 11 even just the volume of whatever object was taking up the 12 space of that white shirt or towel, it was something 13 prominent so I even verbalized to Officer Remington, who is 14 now closing the distance on the suspect, that, "He's 15 concealing something." 16 Based upon my distance, I -- the only non-lethal option 17 I had was a taser and that distance is way too far for that 18 to be used. 19 Once I get over the sand -- the small wall, I -- he 20 makes some more furtive movements, with his left-hand and, I 21 think, he starts bringing it out of his waistband, which is 22 still covered in the small white towel or shirt. 23 I draw my weapon and I aim it towards the suspect and, 24 I think, I believe, I give him some more commands, like, 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 31 "Stop." 1 At this time, I could see Officer Remington in my left 2 peripheral vision, you know, a few yards away from the 3 suspect. The suspect then quickly brings up his left-hand, 4 and he meets his with his right-hand, and he punches both 5 hands outward, to take a shooting stance, and which involves 6 both hands, punched out forward, in front of him, and it 7 appeared to me he was taking a well-aimed shot because the 8 way his body was bladed, taking a better stance, and 9 bringing both hands up, pointing the object at Officer 10 Remington. 11 At that time, I could even clearly see more of the 12 object that's concealed. I could see it had some volume to 13 it and I could see it was not just like his hand or a small 14 object in his hand. It was something of volume and 15 prominent. 16 At that time, based upon the object, and the stance he 17 was taking, I believed, he was going to shoot Officer 18 Remington. 19 At that time, there were some moveable pillars that 20 were part of the U.S. Open that had some previous 21 championships of the event on the there, so as I brought my 22 weapon forward, trying to get a good sight picture of the 23 suspect, I hear a quick volley of shots go off. I bring my 24 gun around the -- the pillar and I can see the subject fall 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 32 backwards, onto his back area. 1 At that time, I don't know, obviously, just based on 2 his reaction, I knew he was shot, but I did not know if 3 Officer Remington or any other officers were shot, at that 4 time. But then, again, I picked up Officer Remington in my 5 left peripheral, and I could see him standing there. And, I 6 think, Officer Velasco was to my right, and I don't see any 7 visual of Officer Koehler or Parker. So, in that quick 8 volley of shots, I don't know if he fired, if there's a 9 possibility he fired, because I did not see those officers 10 initially. 11 When the suspect falls onto his back, the object that 12 was in his hand falls kind of to his upper right placement 13 of his body. From there, the shirt or small towel kind of 14 unraveled and I can see the bottom portion of a dark-colored 15 grip to what I believed was a handgun. 16 The suspect begins to move around some more. He also 17 looks towards where that object fell, where the gun fell, 18 and he's looking around, to see where -- where, I believe, 19 he's looking around to see where he dropped his gun. He 20 looks kind of up, and to the right, where he sees his gun, 21 and he gets up, while he's still kind of in a lying down 22 position, he kind of leans up, and he goes to grab the gun. 23 Just prior to that, when he fell, I was slowly starting 24 to holster my gun, to put on some gloves, to take him into 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 33 custody, but he starts making super quick movements to go 1 grab the gun again, to re-engage with us, for a second time. 2 3 At that time, he grabs the object, and he raises his 4 and, I believe, Officer Parker is now pulling up in the 5 side-by-side, and now kind of heading off with the suspect. 6 At that time, when the suspect grabs the gun a second time, 7 I believed, at that time, he was going to shoot Officer 8 Remington and/or Officer Parker. And then, if he was 9 successful in that, he knew the rest of the officers were 10 there and that he would shoot us, and/or anybody nearby. 11 So, I fire, I believed, two to four rounds, at the 12 suspect, when he was bringing the gun up. My shots were 13 aimed at his lower center mass. Like I stated earlier, I 14 carry a red-dot sight on my service gun, so I had a clear 15 picture of the suspect the entire time and a clear sight. I 16 shot the two to four rounds, to immediately stop the threat, 17 since the initial volley of rounds did not stop him, and he 18 was re-engaging with us for a second time. 19 It was done to preserve my partner's, mine, and the 20 rest of the community's lives, at that time, since he was 21 attempting to re-engage with us for a second time. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I'll just go back and ask some 23 clarifying questions about what you just explained. As you 24 guys were making contact with this guy, did you put any -- 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 34 did you make any radio broadcasts about his -- his actions 1 or things that you had observed? 2 CHRIS SIMPSON: I did not. I just -- I wanted to keep 3 a clear sight on him. I did not want to pickup my radio 4 since I was not carrying my -- or didn't have a lapel mic 5 attached to my radio or my earpiece or anything like that. I 6 just wanted to have my hands clear of any objects and, for 7 my initial contact to the actual officer involved shooting 8 was just a few seconds. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Did you recognize this suspect from 10 any contacts you have had with him prior to this incident, 11 on the 25th? 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: I don't recall any contact with the 13 suspect, in general. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, he wasn't familiar to you? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: No, he was not. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And as you guys were initially making 17 contact with him, you said that his left-hand, if I'm not 18 mistaken, was concealed near the front of his waistband, 19 with a white towel or a white shirt concealing his hand. Is 20 that correct? 21 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 22 SERGEANT JONES: What was he doing with his right-hand? 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: I don't recall. I believe our initial 24 contact with him, it may have been free of any objects, but 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 35 he was kind of moving it around. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And, if I understand correctly, the 2 way -- and you may not remember all this -- but to the best 3 of your recollection, Officer Velasco was to your right? 4 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And then, Officer Koehler was to your 6 left? Or was it -- 7 CHRIS SIMPSON: Initially, I did not know where Officer 8 Koehler was. I just assumed he was somewhere behind me, 9 because that was our placement as we were walking up to the 10 suspect. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: I did not know his exact placement, at 13 the time of the shooting. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And then, did you -- but you did see 15 CJ, at some point, and he was to your left, also? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: That's correct. He was in my left 17 peripheral. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, ultimately, during 19 the course of this officer involved shooting encounter, Read 20 Parker comes around, on the side-by-side, and exits that 21 side-by-side, and that's also to your left, south of you? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: But in the sand? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 36 SERGEANT JONES: So, if I understand this correctly, 1 it's basically, four officers that are kind of with their 2 back towards -- for reference -- backs kind of towards PCH. 3 Not on PCH, obviously, but if you were turned facing -- 4 you'd be facing, kind of looking towards the ocean? Right? 5 The officers? You guys were looking towards the ocean and 6 the suspect was looking directly back at you, towards what 7 would be PCH. Does that sound about right? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yeah. That sounds about right. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And you said that you, specifically, 10 gave him some orders, when you guys first made contact with 11 him? 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And those consisted of, "Stop" or 14 something to that effect? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yeah. I believe I said, "Stop" a few 16 times and, I think, I also said, "Relax" because his kind of 17 aggressive demeanor of saying, you know, "Not today. Not 18 today." I was telling him, "Just to relax." 19 SERGEANT JONES: When you say "aggressive," he was 20 being aggressive while he's making those statements? Can 21 you just like elaborate on what you mean by that; by 22 "aggressive"? 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: Just his tone of voice and then, just 24 his -- his body language, his body movements were just kind 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 37 of very prominent, just kind of like -- just moving in a 1 fashion where there weren't kind of like, you know, just 2 relaxed or lazy. It was kind of like just furtive, specific 3 movements, and just his tone with us, just appeared kind of 4 agitated, in a sense. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Did it seem as though those statements 6 were meant to be a warning to you? 7 CHRIS SIMPSON: I -- I took it as a warning, especially 8 his statement about, "Not today." I believe that was some 9 type of warning for us, and then, him saying something to 10 the effect of, "Like get every -- clear everybody or get 11 everybody away." 12 SERGEANT JONES: What did that make you think? 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: At that time, it made me think he that 14 he was making some type of stand and was not going to -- to 15 give up, at that point. 16 SERGEANT JONES: So, based on his demeanor and his 17 actions, was it clear to you that this wasn't going to be a 18 consensual or he wasn't going to comply with the commands 19 that he was being given? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Was there other -- you had said this, 22 but I just want to get some clarity. Other officers were 23 giving him orders also? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. I recall Officer Parker telling 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 38 him commands, something to the effect of, "Like come here, 1 bro. Come here." And then, I -- I started with my 2 commands. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And he wasn't -- he didn't comply with 4 any of those? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Did you hear any other officers saying 7 anything to him? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: I heard other voices. I don't know if 9 they were officers. I don't know the specifics. I don't 10 recall, specifically, who said what, or what actual things 11 were being said, but I just heard other type of commands and 12 that's all I can recall. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you -- you had mentioned 14 that, before you maneuvered over the little retaining wall, 15 that separates the main beach from the service road, that 16 you had your weapon unholstered, but it was down to your 17 side. Is that correct? 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: My weapon was still in my holster. I 19 just broke the top plane of my holster. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 21 CHRIS SIMPSON: So, my gun wasn't even all the way out 22 of my holster, at that point. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you see any other officers 24 with their guns out and presented towards the suspect? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 39 At that time? 1 SERGEANT JONES: At that time? 2 CHRIS SIMPSON: Not initially, at that time, as I was 3 trying to maneuver that wall. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see any officers present their 5 weapon towards thew suspect, prior to the suspect raising 6 his arms up, in what you described as like a shooting 7 stance? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: I didn't -- the only officer I could 9 see was Officer Remington and they -- I believe the suspect 10 raised his weapon first and then, I mean, milliseconds after 11 Officer Remington raised his. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: Almost -- it would -- it would seem 14 almost simultaneously, but there was some very small -- 15 slight delay. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you had said there were 17 clearly a lot of people at the beach, that day, but in the 18 immediately area, there were not a large amount of 19 uninvolved citizens. Is that correct? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. Most of the citizens were a 21 good distance away, on the sand. 22 SERGEANT JONES: But you did take the time to evaluate 23 what your backdrop was, at that time? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 40 SERGEANT JONES: When the suspect took that stance, 1 raising his arms, and meeting his right-hand to his left-2 hand, while holding what you described as a weighted object, 3 was it -- was it your belief that he had a firearm, at that 4 time? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And that was based on the actions that 7 he had taken? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. The totality of the circumstances 9 of him concealing some type of weighted object, the object 10 having some volume, when he raised it, and the stance he 11 took immediately upon raising the object. 12 SERGEANT WHITE: As well as the prior information that 13 was broadcast? Correct? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: Correct. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And you had mentioned there were these 16 little pillars, with past championships or champions on 17 there. Did you feel that was sufficient cover or was it 18 more concealment? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: It was very poor -- it was actually no 20 cover and very poor concealment since they were just -- the 21 width of them were very small and they were almost kind of 22 see through, but that's about it. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Were there any other options for cover 24 and concealment in the immediate area where the contact 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 41 occurred? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: There was none. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. After the suspect raised the 3 object, in a shooting stance, and was he pointing that at 4 the direction of a specific officer? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: From what I could see out of my 6 peripheral vision, of where Officer Remington was, in 7 relationship of where the suspect was pointing his gun, I 8 believed, he was pointing it directly at Officer Remington, 9 since I believed he was the closest officer to him. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Was Remington talking to this guy? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: I do not recall, if he was. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, ultimately, some 13 shots are fired? At that point, once the suspect raised his 14 -- his arms up, in a shooting stance, towards the officers. 15 Is that correct? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember how many rounds? 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: It was a quick volley of shots. 19 Probably somewhere around three to five. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know who fired those 21 rounds? 22 Now or then? 23 SERGEANT JONES: Then. At the time. At the time this 24 is occurring, did you know -- 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 42 CHRIS SIMPSON: I -- I did not know. I knew Officer 1 Remington, most likely fired, since he was there. I don't 2 know if the suspect could have fired, I mean, it was a very 3 quick volley of rounds. The way -- where his gun was 4 positioned, his -- the background of where the gun was, I 5 mean, it's the light-colored sand and then the water line, 6 so the glimmering, I mean, it's a possibility that he could 7 have fired. I did not know initially, if he fired in a 8 quick volley of rounds. I just did not know. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Did you fire during the initial 10 volley? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: I did not. 12 SERGEANT JONES: After he fell on the ground, you said 13 that he -- well, I don't -- just make sure that I have this 14 right. He fell backwards, onto the sand? Is that correct? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: On his butt? 17 CHRIS SIMPSON: Butt, back area, somewhere. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And did he -- did he remain lying down 19 or did he -- what did he do? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: He paused for about a second, maybe -- 21 maybe less than that, and then started moving immediately. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And "by moving," did he sit up? Did 23 he roll over? What did he do? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: He was kind of doing a combination of 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 43 -- he kind of like raised his upper torso, he kind of 1 spun a little to his right, and this was all in order for 2 him to see where he dropped his gun, and to pick it up 3 again. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you said, when he fell on 5 the ground, he dropped the object that he had been holding 6 and presenting in a shooting stance, onto the sand, to the -7 - what would be -- what I'm assuming, the right-side of his 8 body, or we'll just say south of his body. South of the 9 pier; right? Or the south side of his body? 10 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And the object was then partially 12 uncovered from the white towel or shirt that it was wrapped 13 up in? Is that correct? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And you said that you saw what you 16 believed to be the -- part of a firearm? Is that correct? 17 CHRIS SIMPSON: That's correct. The lower grip part of 18 a firearm. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And can you further describe what it 20 was? Like color? Or what it was that made you, in your 21 mind, know that was a firearm? 22 CHRIS SIMPSON: Just, on the shape of it, and the 23 color. It was a dark color, and the shape of it, I'm 24 familiar with handguns, in my law enforcement capacity, so 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 44 I'm familiar with the looks and shapes of a handgun, from 1 different angles and, based upon that, I believed it was -- 2 I knew it was a gun, at that point. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, ultimately, he -- he 4 scrambled somehow. Was he -- did he stand up to his feet or 5 was he moving around on his knees and hands? 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe he was just on his like knees 7 and hands. He didn't completely stand up, back onto his 8 feet. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And were orders being given to 10 him, at that time? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: By you? 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe I gave him some orders to, 14 "Get on the ground or stay on the ground." 15 SERGEANT JONES: Do you recall, specifically? 16 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe I said something to the 17 effect of, "Get down. Get on the ground." 18 SERGEANT JONES: And did you hear any other officers 19 giving commands? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believed some other officers said 21 something other similar like comments of, "To remain on the 22 ground. Stay on the ground. Get on the ground." 23 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember who those officers 24 were, specifically? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 45 CHRIS SIMPSON: I don't recall. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Ultimately, you discharged 2 your firearm at the suspect. Is that correct? 3 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And that was preceded by some actions 5 that he -- he took? 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And can you just, specifically, tell 8 me what it was that he did that caused you, at that point, 9 to now engage him and fire your service weapon? 10 CHRIS SIMPSON: The object that he had previously in 11 his hand, fell to his right, south of him, and like I said, 12 it was slightly uncovered and I can see now, it was a 13 confirmed -- it was a gun. Based upon the look, the color 14 it, he was making some movements, he's not complying with 15 our commands to just remain on the ground, he was looking 16 for that object and he reached for that object and he 17 actually picked up the object, which was a gun, and he 18 raised the gun towards Officer Remington and Officer Parker, 19 who now arrived after the first volley of rounds. He raised 20 it at them, in their direction and, I believed, he was going 21 to shoot and possibly kill them. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: So, I fired my weapon. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And how many rounds did you 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 46 say? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believed, at the time, it was a quick 2 succession of two to four rounds. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And you believed, based on what you 4 just said, that had you not -- or another officer, not fired 5 upon the suspect, that he would have fired upon officers? 6 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. If we did not stop the threat 7 then, with our rounds, that he would carry on, you know, his 8 violence and shoot the other officers or possibly me. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And, at no point in time, did it 10 appear he was going to comply with any of the orders that 11 were being given? 12 CHRIS SIMPSON: No. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. When you fired your firearm, at 14 the suspect, you said you used the red-dot? 15 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And so, you did a sighted -- you used 17 your sights to shoot your firearm? 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. The red-dot. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And did you see where our rounds 20 impacted? 21 CHRIS SIMPSON: Based upon where my sight was, on the 22 suspect's body, I believed, they were all lower center mass 23 rounds or shots. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Did you know if any of the other 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 47 officers fired their weapons, at that time? 1 CHRIS SIMPSON: There was a second volley, which was 2 more rounds than the first volley. Just based upon what I 3 was observing, and the sounds, I knew other officers were 4 firing. I don't know, specifically, who, but I know there 5 was -- I heard shots to my left and to my right. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you -- immediately 7 following the officer involved shooting, did you speak with 8 any of the officers about what had just occurred? 9 CHRIS SIMPSON: We just -- immediately after, we just 10 confirmed that all of us were okay and then, I believe, I 11 just requested other officers do different tasks and then, 12 after I was removed from doing my medical aid on the 13 suspect, I re-confirmed that everybody down range was fine 14 and then I translated that back to the officers involved in 15 the shooting. 16 SERGEANT JONES: So, after the suspect was 17 incapacitated, you and fellow officers performed life-saving 18 measures on this individual? CPR? 19 CHRIS SIMPSON: That is correct. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And then, ultimately, lifeguards and 21 Huntington Beach Fire personnel showed up to take over 22 treating this individual? 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. While I was there, lifeguards 24 arrived and, I think, as I was leaving, Huntington Beach 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 48 Fire was arriving. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Prior to you leaving the scene, 2 did you contact any witnesses or citizens to the incident? 3 CHRIS SIMPSON: As I was being escorted away from the 4 area, by Officer Rounds, a gentleman from the event staff, 5 of the U.S. Open, informed me that the subject that we had 6 just shot, was the individual that they reported. He just 7 made a few comments and I told him, "To hang out and to 8 speak with the officers that were on scene." 9 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember what those comments 10 were? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: He stated something along the lines of, 12 "That's the guy I reported. That's the guy we reported." 13 And then, one in, specific, that was the Event Coordinator 14 had more specifics about the reason why they reported him, 15 but my concern was just for him to give a statement to the 16 officers that were there and for me to go back to the 17 station. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you happen to give a public 19 safety statement to any supervisors while you were still on 20 scene? 21 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. I just gave how many rounds I 22 fired, I believed, and then my direction of firing. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know who you gave that to? 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: I don't know who, specifically. I 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 49 think I stated it out, because I was still performing life-1 saving measures on the suspect. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 3 CHRIS SIMPSON: I just -- I recalled officer -- or 4 Sergeant Pham and Lieutenant Archer were standing nearby, so 5 they were probably the ones that I gave it to. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. During this incident, did you 7 receive any injuries? 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: I did not. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Did you know if any of your fellow 10 officers were injured? 11 CHRIS SIMPSON: I do not know. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Other than the suspect, were there any 13 citizens that were injured? 14 CHRIS SIMPSON: As far as I know? No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. It doesn't even matter. The 16 suspect was -- did you know the suspect was transported away 17 from the scene? To UCI? 18 CHRIS SIMPSON: I read that in the -- the daily -- 19 SERGEANT JONES: The incident log? 20 CHRIS SIMPSON: The incident log. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. We're almost done here so the 22 weather conditions, that day? Was it sunny? Was it cloudy? 23 24 CHRIS SIMPSON: I believe it was a combination of both. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 50 It was a sunny, kind of partial cloudy day. It was a nice 1 day. 2 SERGEANT JONES: But it was sunlight and no visual 3 obstructions? 4 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes. Sunlight and no visual 5 obstructions. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Considering the fact that you're down 7 there for a special event, that being the U.S. Open, and 8 they have helicopters and planes flying around, and loud 9 speakers, and whatnot, a combination of things can be going 10 on. Were there any loud noises that would have prevented 11 this suspect from being able to hear the commands that were 12 being given to him? 13 CHRIS SIMPSON: No. We were a distance away from the 14 event and the actual surf portion of the event had concluded 15 probably about an hour prior, so there was no loud speakers. 16 There was just minimal music coming from the restaurants, 17 but nothing that would overbear our commands. 18 SERGEANT JONES: I don't have anything. do you 19 have anything? 20 No. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Chris, do you have anything that you 22 want to add into this? That we haven't already discussed? 23 CHRIS SIMPSON: No, sir. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 51 SERGEANT WHITE: All right. I'm going to read you one 1 last advisement here. Chris Simpson, I'm order you not to 2 discuss this interview or investigation with anyone other 3 than your representative, or Sergeant Jones, and myself. Do 4 you understand? 5 CHRIS SIMPSON: Yes, sir. 6 SERGEANT WHITE: All right. I'm going to have you 7 circle "yes" on this form and initial next to that. 8 CHRIS SIMPSON: (CIRCLES AND INITIALS.) 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. That concludes this interview. 10 The time is 1:33 PM and we're going off tape. 11 12 13 (END OF INTERVIEW.) 14 HUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW OF: OFFICER CJ REMINGTON INTERVIEWED BY: SERGEANT BRIAN JONES SERGEANT SHAWN WHITE ALSO PRESENT: ATTORNEY CASE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 & FD 21-0001 TIME: 9:04 AM DATE: 10-07-21 LOCATION: HUNTINGTON BEACH PD PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS UNIT AUDIO FILE: Remington OIS Interview TRANSCRIBED BY: FILE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 CJ Remington 100721 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 SERGEANT RANDELL: This is Sergeant Brian Jones. It is 1 December 7th, 2021. This is an interview with CJ Remington, 2 related to the officer involved shooting that occurred on 3 September 25th, 2021. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: All right, CJ. I'm going to read you 5 this advisement. The date of this interview is October 7th, 6 2021, and the time is 9:04 AM. I'm going to write this in 7 these lines right here. 8 The location of this interview is the Huntington Beach 9 Police Department, Professional Standards Unit office. This 10 investigation is under the direction and command of Captain 11 Haught. 12 Present in this room is yourself, Officer Remington, 13 your attorney, Sergeant Brian Jones and 14 Sergeant Shawn White, of the Professional Standards Unit. 15 This investigation concerns the officer involved 16 shooting. You have the right to have one representative of 17 your choice present during this interview and you have 18 chosen attorney Is that correct? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 20 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. "You have the right to remain 21 silent. Anything you say may be used against you in court. 22 You have the right to an attorney, before and during 23 questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be 24 appointed for you before questioning, if you wish." Do you 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 3 understand each of these rights that I have explained to 1 you? 2 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 3 SERGEANT WHITE: Do you wish to waive your rights? 4 As your attorney, I advise you not to 5 waive your rights. You should say no. 6 CJ REMINGTON: No. 7 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. While you have the right to 8 remain silent, with regard to any criminal investigation, 9 you do not have the right to refuse to answer my 10 administrative investigation questions. This is an 11 administrative investigation. I am, therefore, now ordering 12 you to discuss this matter with us. 13 If you refuse to discuss this matter, your silence can 14 be deemed insubordination and result in administrative 15 discipline, up to and including termination. 16 Any statements you make under compulsion of the threat 17 of such discipline cannot be used against you in a later 18 criminal proceeding. CJ Remington, I am ordering you to 19 answer any and all questions asked of you, in a truthful and 20 accurate manner. Failure to do so may be deemed 21 insubordination and result in administrative discipline, up 22 to and including termination of your employment with the 23 City of Huntington Beach. Do you understand the 24 admonishment that I just explained to you? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 4 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 1 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. With that, I'm going to have 2 you sign on the "subject" line here. And Sergeant Jones is 3 going to sign on the "interviewer" line. 4 CJ REMINGTON: (SIGNS DOCUMENT.) 5 SERGEANT JONES: All right, CJ. We're going to go into 6 just a little bit of your experience. How long have you 7 been a police officer for the City of Huntington Beach? 8 CJ REMINGTON: A little over 16 years. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And do you have prior law enforcement 10 experience at another agency? 11 CJ REMINGTON: I do. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And what agency was that? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Honolulu Police Department. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And how long were you there? 15 CJ REMINGTON: A little over two years. 16 SERGEANT JONES: So, approximately 18 years of 17 experience? 18 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 19 SERGEANT JONES: A little over? Any other law 20 enforcement experience, besides those two departments? 21 CJ REMINGTON: No. 22 SERGEANT JONES: What is your current assignment at 23 this agency? 24 CJ REMINGTON: Property crimes detective. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 5 SERGEANT JONES: And how long have you been in that 1 capacity? 2 CJ REMINGTON: A year and a half-ish? Close to two 3 years. 4 SERGEANT JONES: All right. I'm going to focus you on 5 Saturday, September 25th, 2021. Were you on-duty on that 6 date? 7 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Was this a regularly scheduled shift 9 or was it an overtime shift? 10 CJ REMINGTON: Overtime shift. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And what was your assignment on that 12 date? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Just to work the U.S. Open. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And that's a special detail down on 15 the beach for a surfing contest? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember what time that shift 18 started? 19 CJ REMINGTON: 0800. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know what time it was 21 scheduled to end? 22 CJ REMINGTON: I believe 1800. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was there a briefing related to 24 this assignment? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 6 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And did you attend that briefing? 2 CJ REMINGTON: I did. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember who ran that briefing? 4 CJ REMINGTON: I believe it was Sergeant Pham. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And during that briefing, were you 6 assigned a call sign? And, if you were, do you remember 7 what it was? 8 CJ REMINGTON: I was, and I believe it was 93X. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Were you assigned a specific 10 partner or were you just in a group of officers? 11 CJ REMINGTON: I was assigned an officer. 12 SERGEANT JONES: You were assigned a partner? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And who would that be? 15 CJ REMINGTON: Officer Read Parker. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And do you recall how many 17 officers were assigned to this detail, on that day? 18 CJ REMINGTON: I believe six. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And is that six including the sergeant 20 or six officers plus a supervisor? 21 CJ REMINGTON: I think it was six officers plus a 22 supervisor. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. If I told you that it was only 24 five officers and a supervisor, would that make sense to 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 7 you? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Of those five officers, do you 3 remember if these officers were working that day? Velasco? 4 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: You already said Read Parker was your 6 partner, so he was clearly working that day? 7 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Chris Simpson? 9 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Koehler? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And then, Sergeant Pham was the 13 supervisor on the beach? 14 CJ REMINGTON: Okay. Correct. Yeah. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did they explain to you, during 16 briefing, what your mission or what your assignment 17 objective was, for that shift? 18 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Could you explain that to me? 20 CJ REMINGTON: It was just to manage the -- everything 21 that happened in the event, on the beach, just to provide 22 public service down there on the beach and the venue. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Provide a public safety? Like -- 24 SERGEANT WHITE: Appearance? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 8 SERGEANT JONES: Appearance? Yeah. 1 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Were you tasked also with working in 3 conjunction with the security staff that was private 4 security for the event? 5 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And were they in uniforms? 7 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Do you happen to recall what the 9 uniforms were? 10 CJ REMINGTON: I believe they were wearing red polos 11 and khaki pants. 12 SERGEANT JONES: But clearly identifiable as event 13 staff? 14 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I'm going to draw your 16 attention to the 24-hours before your shift on September 17 25th, so that time frame would be September 24th, 2021, at 18 about 8:00 AM, all the way, 24-hours, to the beginning of 19 your shift on September 25th, at 8:00 AM. 20 CJ REMINGTON: Okay. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Did you sleep prior to your shift on 22 Saturday, the 25th? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And do you recall how many hours of 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 9 sleep you got, approximately? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Probably about eight. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Did you eat regularly during that 3 24-hours prior to shift? 4 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to the officer involved 6 shooting, on the 25th, had you had the opportunity to eat 7 any food? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And was that food that was provided by 10 the event? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In the 24-hours prior to your 13 shift -- and I'm not talking while you were on-duty -- but 14 prior to your shift, did you consume any alcoholic 15 beverages? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Not that I recall. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you take any medication or 18 drugs? 19 CJ REMINGTON: No. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Did you use any exercise supplements, 21 like "Creatine" or some other forms of work-out supplements? 22 CJ REMINGTON: No. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Did you work any regular shift in the 24 24-hours prior to? Like were you scheduled to work any 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 10 overtime or any like your regular shift on the 24th? Did 1 you work that day? 2 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember what hours those 4 were? 5 CJ REMINGTON: My normal shift, which is 6:00 AM to 6 1600. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Until about 4:00 PM? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Until about 4:00 PM. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Did you work all the way to 4:00 PM? 10 CJ REMINGTON: I think I left about 3:30, 4:00. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. But you didn't -- you didn't 12 get extended or called out for anything prior to? 13 CJ REMINGTON: No. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. The following questions are 15 going to be specific to the day of the officer involved 16 shooting, that being September 25th, 2021. Following the 17 incident, the officer involved shooting, were you afforded 18 the opportunity to review all the available body-worn camera 19 footage for the incident? 20 CJ REMINGTON: I don't know. I don't recall. 21 Like did you say before the shift? 22 SERGEANT JONES: Following the incident, so after the 23 officer involved shooting, were you given an opportunity to 24 view the body-worn camera footage of the officer involved 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 11 shooting? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Immediately after or? 2 SERGEANT JONES: Sometime after. 3 Just prior to today? 4 SERGEANT JONES: Just prior to your interview today. 5 CJ REMINGTON: Oh, yes, yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you also have an 7 opportunity to view a portion of Officer Simpson's BWC 8 footage, during our pre-meeting? Before this interview? 9 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Did you happen to see any other videos 11 through other sources, outside of the department, that being 12 like news footage or like social media footage of it? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Was there anything in those videos 15 that wasn't consistent with the footage you saw in the body-16 worn camera? 17 CJ REMINGTON: No. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Can you explain to me the 19 uniform that you were wearing during your shift on the 25th 20 of September? 21 CJ REMINGTON: Sure. It was our standard issued Police 22 Beach Uniform. Black shorts, black polo shirt, like with 23 our badge and our name embroidered on, and I also had black 24 long tights on, underneath my shorts, and a black, long-25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 12 sleeve shirt underneath my polo. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you had "Huntington Beach 2 Department" patches on both sides? 3 CJ REMINGTON: On both sides. Correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And that's in gray also? 5 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And you were wearing a gun belt, I'm 7 assuming? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And your standard -- your standard -- 10 your issued service weapon, as well? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. And I wear an external vest. 12 SERGEANT JONES: You do wear an external vest? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Your uniform, was it clearly -- 15 you were clearly identifiable as a police officer? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: The other officers that were involved, 18 that being Velasco, Parker, Simpson, and Koehler, were they 19 also dressed similarly to you? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Was Parker wearing the same uniform as 22 you or was he wearing a different uniform? 23 CJ REMINGTON: No. He was wearing the standard issued 24 Blues. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 13 SERGEANT JONES: Like a Class "B"? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Class "B" uniform. Yeah. 2 SERGEANT JONES: But still with the badge and patches 3 and everything that would -- 4 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 5 SERGEANT JONES: -- clearly identifiable you as a 6 police officer? During that incident, after the officer 7 involved shooting occurred, the Orange County Sheriff's 8 Department came down to assist in the investigation, and 9 they brought their Crime Scene personnel down here. During 10 the investigation, after the shooting, did you get 11 photographed by the Orange County Sheriff's Department 12 personnel? 13 CJ REMINGTON: I did. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And were you photographed in the 15 uniform that you were wearing at the time of the officer 16 involved shooting? 17 CJ REMINGTON: I was. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Had anything on that uniform changed 19 from the time the photographs were taken, that was not 20 consistent with what you were wearing at the time of the 21 shooting? 22 CJ REMINGTON: No. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, the photographs are an 24 accurate reflection of how you were dressed at the time the 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 14 shooting occurred? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to your service weapon, can 3 you tell me the make, if you know, the model, and what 4 caliber it is? 5 CJ REMINGTON: It's a Glock 19. I have no further. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And the magazines you carry, do you 7 know the capacity of those? 8 CJ REMINGTON: 17. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And how many magazines did you have on 10 your person at the time of the shooting? 11 CJ REMINGTON: A total of three. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Three? So, two on your external vest? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Two on my belt. 14 SERGEANT JONES: On your belt? 15 CJ REMINGTON: Uh-huh. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And then, one seated in your gun? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And was there a round chambered in 19 your firearm? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: So, the gun had a total of 18 rounds? 22 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you happen to know -- and 24 you may not -- the type of round, like as in the make and 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 15 who produces it? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. It's a Winchester. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And are you a firearms 3 instructor? 4 CJ REMINGTON: I am. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you shoot right-handed or 6 left-handed? 7 CJ REMINGTON: Right-handed. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And do you carry your firearm on the 9 right side of your person? 10 CJ REMINGTON: I do. 11 SERGEANT JONES: The firearm, that you were using that 12 day, that's the one you qualified with? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And it was issued to you by the 15 department? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Did you perform any function checks of 18 the weapon, prior to going in-service on September 25th? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And what did that consist of? 21 CJ REMINGTON: Just a press check, to make sure there's 22 a round in the chamber. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And any issues with your gun at that 24 time? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 16 CJ REMINGTON: No. 1 SERGEANT JONES: To your knowledge? 2 CJ REMINGTON: None. 3 SERGEANT JONES: That firearm that we were just 4 discussing, that's the firearm you discharged during this 5 officer involved shooting? 6 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And is that the same service weapon 8 that was, ultimately, collected as evidence by the Orange 9 County Sheriff's Department, Crime Scene personnel? 10 CJ REMINGTON: It was. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And -- go ahead. 12 SERGEANT WHITE: And just to expand on your experience, 13 really quick, are you also a member of the SWAT team? 14 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 15 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And how long have you been a member of 17 the SWAT team? 18 SERGEANT WHITE: 10 years this summer. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And what is your team like -- like 20 assignment? Are you a? 21 CJ REMINGTON: I'm on the sniper team. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you happen to have a backup 23 weapon on that date? 24 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 17 SERGEANT JONES: Aside from firearms, were you carrying 1 any other type of weapon? That being knives, baton, 2 conductive energy weapon, commonly referred to as a taser, 3 or pepper spray, asp? Anything like that? 4 CJ REMINGTON: I did have a taser. 5 SERGEANT JONES: A taser? 6 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And do you carry that in your external 8 vest or on your -- on your gun belt? 9 CJ REMINGTON: In my external. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And is it on the right side or 11 left side of your vest? 12 CJ REMINGTON: It's, pretty much, right in the center. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you happen to do any 14 function checks with the taser, prior to the shift? 15 CJ REMINGTON: I did. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And was it functioning properly? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Do you happen to know what model it 19 is? 20 CJ REMINGTON: It's the newest Axon but (INAUDIBLE). 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. The one that's been issued by 22 the department? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And that has two cartridges in it? Is 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 18 that correct? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to patrol vehicles, 3 were you guys assigned a specific patrol unit for that 4 shift? 5 CJ REMINGTON: No. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And, obviously, you said your current 7 assignment is a detective. As part of that assignment, are 8 you issued a department vehicle? 9 CJ REMINGTON: I am. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Is that what you were driving that 11 day? 12 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And that's what you drove down to the 14 beach? 15 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Do you carry any less lethal platforms 17 or -- or weapons in your vehicle? 18 CJ REMINGTON: No. 19 SERGEANT JONES: None? And, at the time of the 20 incident, the officer involved shooting, that is, where was 21 your car parked at? 22 CJ REMINGTON: At Lifeguard Headquarters. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, some distance away? 24 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 19 SERGEANT JONES: Were there any -- do you know if there 1 was any less lethal munitions that were brought down to the 2 beach by any of the other officers assigned to the detail? 3 CJ REMINGTON: I don't know. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. If you know, did they drive -- 5 did anyone bring a black and white down to the -- the venue, 6 for the detail? 7 CJ REMINGTON: Yes, I believe so. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And, to your knowledge, was there any 9 less lethal stuff -- any less lethal weapons or platforms in 10 that vehicle? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Not that I know of. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Regardless, if there were, or 13 if there weren't, at the time of the officer involved 14 shooting, were there any black and white patrol vehicles in 15 the immediate vicinity? 16 CJ REMINGTON: No. 17 SERGEANT JONES: So, even if there were less lethal 18 options, there wouldn't have been an opportunity to retrieve 19 them because there was no vehicles close to you? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to the specific 22 timing of the incident, on Saturday, September 25th, did you 23 hear a radio broadcast at approximately 3:08 PM? 24 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 20 SERGEANT JONES: And do you happen to know who made 1 that radio broadcast? 2 CJ REMINGTON: I believe it was Lieutenant Archer. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And do you remember what the 4 nature of that broadcast was? Or what information was put 5 out? 6 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And could you tell me what that is? 8 CJ REMINGTON: It was in regard to a suspicious 9 subject, possibly intoxicated or high on drugs, roaming 10 around the venue. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Was there anything else that was 12 described about this person, that he may have been involved 13 in? 14 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. That he -- it was being relayed 15 that he had possibly stolen an item from one of the booths 16 there. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And this was broadcast as 18 general information? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And did Lieutenant Archer request for 21 personnel working that event, that being the police 22 officers, to respond to that area? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And did you respond to that area? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 21 CJ REMINGTON: Originally, no. Not on the first call. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And where were you when the 2 first call came out? 3 CJ REMINGTON: Eating lunch in the -- at the Beach Sub. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, to you knowledge, other 5 officers were responding? 6 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And you -- you were in the Beach Sub, 8 that being the Beach Detail Substation that's just south of 9 the pier? 10 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And was Officer Parker or Detective 12 Parker with you, at that time? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And you were both inside, eating 15 lunch? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And did you hear additional radio 18 calls coming out? 19 CJ REMINGTON: We did. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And what did you hear? 21 CJ REMINGTON: Broadcasting from officers who were 22 initially en route, that they've located the suspect and 23 that they had received information that there was possibly a 24 weapon, being a gun or a knife, involved. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember who broadcast 1 that information? 2 CJ REMINGTON: I don't. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember the description 4 of this suspicious subject, who possibly had stolen 5 something? Do you remember what he was described as? 6 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Can you tell me? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Male, Hispanic, bald, wearing a white 9 shirt, with a basketball on the back. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And was he reported to be alone 11 or in the company of anyone else? 12 CJ REMINGTON: Alone. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you happen to hear any 14 radio broadcasts of officers that had -- you said, I think, 15 that they had located him. Correct? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And did they tell you -- did the 18 broadcast provide information as to where he was? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And where was that? 21 CJ REMINGTON: Sitting under the pier, or in the 22 vicinity of under the pier. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And did the officer broadcasting that 24 information provide any specific details about the way he 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 23 was acting or anything that he was doing? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: That caused you concern? 3 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And can you explain that to me? 5 CJ REMINGTON: That he was possibly concealing 6 something. That his hand was in his waistband. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did he say anything else? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Not that I recall. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember them saying -- or the 10 officer, that was making that broadcast, say anything about 11 officer safety concerns? 12 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And was that Velasco that said that? 14 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And did he say something to the effect 16 of, "The guy has his hand concealed in his waistband, 17 covered, officer safety?" Is that -- 18 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 19 SERGEANT JONES: -- close to what you remember? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: At what point did you and Read Parker 22 decide to respond? 23 CJ REMINGTON: It was around that time, when the weapon 24 was mentioned. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, in your mind, the call had 1 escalated? 2 CJ REMINGTON: Absolutely. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And, in your mind, what -- what was it 4 that you and Read were about to encounter? As far as crimes 5 that may have been involved or activity that was occurring? 6 CJ REMINGTON: A subject who had stolen, who was 7 possibly armed with a weapon. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And that weapon was unknown but 9 it was mentioned that possibly a knife or a gun? 10 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, as you guys exit the 12 Beach Substation, did you guys get -- did you go on foot or 13 what did you do? 14 CJ REMINGTON: We got into our side-by-side. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And the side-by-side is a red, like 16 ATV type vehicle? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And were you driving it? 19 CJ REMINGTON: I was not. I was the passenger. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, Read Parker was driving 21 it? 22 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And so, at that time, where -- where 24 had you been -- let me start over. At that time, based on 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 25 the information, where was the suspect? Was he mobile or 1 was he still seated somewhere? 2 CJ REMINGTON: I believe he was walking eastbound or 3 southbound towards us. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, the pier and then the 5 substation? He was somewhere in-between that? South of the 6 pier and north of the substation? 7 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And when you started driving towards 9 that location, with Officer Parker, did you see someone that 10 matched the description? 11 CJ REMINGTON: We did. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And where was he? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Walking towards us, on the wooden path, 14 created by the venue. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And what, if anything, did you 16 notice about him? What, if anything, did you notice about 17 him, when you first saw him? 18 CJ REMINGTON: One, he matched the description. And, 19 two, he had one of his hands concealed under, what I 20 thought, was a shirt or clothing. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And where was his hands? 22 CJ REMINGTON: Underneath whatever. I thought it was a 23 T-shirt, basically. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Were they raised up? Or like in a 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 26 certain position on his body? 1 CJ REMINGTON: I'd say maybe down low, around his 2 waistband or his belly. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Was that consistent with the 4 information that was put out by the officer, advising 5 officer safety concerns? 6 CJ REMINGTON: It was. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was he doing anything else, 8 other than that, that was concerning to you? 9 CJ REMINGTON: He had a little bit of erratic behavior, 10 kind of looking -- looking all around, left and right. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, in your 18-years of 12 experience, coupled with the information that was broadcast 13 about his activity, did that coincide with -- with activity 14 -- the activity you have experienced in the past? 15 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And what did it, initially, make you -17 - what was your perception of it? What did you believe? 18 CJ REMINGTON: Possibly that he was high on drugs or 19 intoxicated. Some sort of intoxication. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And that he was acting suspiciously? 21 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. How many -- did you see any 23 other officers, besides you and Officer Parker, approaching 24 the suspect? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 27 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 1 SERGEANT JONES: When did you first become aware that 2 there were other officers in the area? 3 CJ REMINGTON: Literally, upon contacting him. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 5 CJ REMINGTON: Or just before. Yeah. 6 SERGEANT JONES: But you knew Read was with you? 7 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And did you get out the side-by-side 9 together? Or did Read stay in it? How did -- how did you 10 deploy once arriving in the area? 11 CJ REMINGTON: As soon as we observed him, I got out, 12 and Read continued forward with the side-by-side, and I'm 13 not sure where he -- where he went. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And did you have to go over a wall or 15 anything? How did you get closer to the suspect? 16 CJ REMINGTON: I think I had entered the sand before 17 the wall. Sorry. 18 SERGEANT JONES: So, in the opening? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, as you're approaching 21 him -- as you're -- as you're approaching him and you get to 22 within, let's say, 10 yards, can you explain to me what -- 23 what transpires and what you recall? 24 CJ REMINGTON: Yeah. I asked him to, "Stop, so that I 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 28 could talk with him." It was, at that time, I heard Officer 1 Simpson tell me, "Hey, CJ, officer safety," or whatever. 2 "He's armed or he's concealing something" is what he said. 3 So, in contacting him, the guy immediately told me, "Today's 4 not a good day. Today's not a good time." And then he told 5 me that, "He had a real firearm." Which he said, "I have a 6 real gun." 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 8 CJ REMINGTON: So, that's what caused me to draw -- 9 draw my weapon. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then what happened? 11 CJ REMINGTON: From there he, basically, as quickly as 12 it happened, kind of took a Weaver stance, put both hands on 13 the gun, raised it, and that's when I saw an imprint of a 14 firearm within the shirt or the cloth that was over it. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Can you describe what you mean 16 "by imprint" in just a little bit more detail? 17 CJ REMINGTON: I guess the shape -- the shape of a 18 firearm. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 20 CJ REMINGTON: It looked like I could see the top of 21 the slide, down to the grips, where he was holding. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then what transpired? 23 CJ REMINGTON: As he lifted it up and pointed it at me, 24 obviously, that's when I shot. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 29 SERGEANT JONES: And what was -- as this was occurring, 1 and he was making these statements to you, and he starts 2 making movements what, if anything, is going through your 3 mind? 4 CJ REMINGTON: Fear for my life, basically, when 5 somebody's pointing a gun at you, you know, somebody who 6 doesn't seem -- basically, the totality of the 7 circumstances. Right? The call comes out of a suspicious 8 person, possible stole something, and he's concealing 9 something, there's mention of a gun, he's not listening to 10 me -- to my commands, he's concealing something, he takes 11 what we call a Weaver stance, right? A shooting position, 12 and now the gun's pointing at me. So, obviously, there's 13 fear for my life, fear for my partners, who are around, as 14 well as, you know, the community behind me, just the 15 community in the area. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And there was, obviously, an 17 event occurring at the beach. Was there -- was the beach 18 heavily populated that day? 19 CJ REMINGTON: It was. 20 SERGEANT JONES: So, there were a considerable amount 21 of people in the immediate area? 22 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. After he raised the -- what you 24 believed to be a firearm at you, what happened? I think you 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 30 started, or you did say it, but I got side-tracked. What 1 occurred after he raised what you believe to be a firearm at 2 you? 3 CJ REMINGTON: I shot. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And then what happened? 5 CJ REMINGTON: I shot, he went down, and that's when I 6 saw Read coming into my left and, I think, it was Officer 7 Simpson that was on my right. Yeah. It was Officer Simpson 8 on my right. He went down and Officer Simpson continued to 9 give him commands to, "Stop. Show his hands." And that's 10 when he rolled on the sand and reached for the weapon, and 11 we shot again. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, I'm going back and do 13 some clarifying questions. Do you make any radio broadcasts 14 related to this? 15 CJ REMINGTON: I did. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to the shooting? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Prior to? I think I put out that we 18 were making contact with him. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Anything else? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Not prior to. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, you said that the suspect 22 was walking on that boardwalk thing, south towards the 23 substation, when you first saw him, and he matched the 24 description, that being a male, Hispanic, shaved head, white 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 31 shirt and shorts. Correct? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And you said he was holding something 3 -- well, let me start over. That he had his hands down, 4 near his waist, and they were covered with -- was it a towel 5 or was it a T-shirt? Do you know? 6 CJ REMINGTON: I think it was a shirt. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And did it seem, to you, that he was 8 holding something or was it just -- he was just carrying a 9 shirt? 10 CJ REMINGTON: No. It looked like he was holding 11 something. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And why do you think that? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Just the way it was over his hands, as 14 compared to if he were to hold a shirt or a towel, it would 15 be within your hand, with your hand being exposed. 16 SERGEANT JONES: So, if I'm to understand you 17 correctly, he wasn't holding the shirt with his hand? And 18 it was folded over? It was just kind of laying over, 19 concealing his hand? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And then, did that appear to be that 22 he was holding an object in his hand? Under the shirt? 23 CJ REMINGTON: That just was my assumption. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. But coupled with the 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 32 information that had been provided about his behavior and 1 that he was possibly armed, did that cause you to believe 2 that he was, in deed, armed and concealing a weapon? 3 CJ REMINGTON: Absolutely. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you actually, at that point 5 in time, see a firearm or a knife, or any other type of 6 weapon? 7 CJ REMINGTON: No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And you said, as you got within -- how 9 far do you think you were when you first spoke to this 10 suspect? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Maybe 10 yards. 12 SERGEANT JONES: 10 yards? 13 SERGEANT WHITE: Did you have your gun out at that 14 point? 15 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 16 SERGEANT WHITE: Was that in your holster? 17 CJ REMINGTON: It was. 18 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see if any of the other 20 officers had their guns out, at that point? 21 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you said -- what exactly 23 did you tell him? "Stop" or something to that effect? 24 CJ REMINGTON: Yeah. I asked him to, "Stop and come 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 33 here." 1 SERGEANT JONES: And he responded to you? What did he 2 say? 3 CJ REMINGTON: He said -- I'm not sure which order it 4 was, but he said, "Right now is not a good time." He said, 5 "Today's not a good day." And then, he told me that, "He 6 had a real gun." 7 SERGEANT JONES: And is that the verbiage he used? "I 8 have a real gun?" 9 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And based on his statements, 11 and his demeanor, coupled with the information that had been 12 broadcast, did you believe that you and the other officers 13 needed to detain this individual? 14 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, this wasn't just a 16 consensual contact; correct? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: You guys were going to make contact 19 with this guy and detain him? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: To determine if the crime that had 22 been reported had occurred? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And then, also because he's now 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 34 claiming to have a weapon and you're in a public area? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And his behavior? Did you continue to 3 make commands to the suspect, after he made the statement 4 about, "You don't want to do this, and I have a real gun?" 5 Did you continue talking to him? 6 CJ REMINGTON: I did not, because I heard Officer 7 Simpson shouting out commands to him. 8 SERGEANT JONES: What do you recall him saying? 9 CJ REMINGTON: I remember him continuing to say, 10 "Stop." 11 SERGEANT JONES: As that was occurring, was the suspect 12 focused solely on you? Or was he focused on multiple 13 officers? 14 CJ REMINGTON: I don't remember. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 16 CJ REMINGTON: I know we were focused on each other, 17 but I don't know if he was -- 18 SERGEANT JONES: Did you guys make eye contact with 19 each other? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Oh, yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In the immediate area, where 22 you made contact with this individual, was there anything, 23 in your opinion, that was sufficient cover? 24 CJ REMINGTON: No. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 35 SERGEANT JONES: Was there anything that could have 1 possibly been used as concealment? 2 CJ REMINGTON: No. 3 SERGEANT JONES: So, if you can remember, there were, 4 on that boardwalk, that the suspect was initially walking 5 on, there were these like trophy pillars with like a blue 6 tinted plexiglass or glass top? That was translucent. Do 7 you remember those? 8 CJ REMINGTON: I do. 9 SERGEANT JONES: In your opinion, and your experience, 10 being on the SWAT team, and a firearms instructor, did that 11 provide sufficient cover? 12 CJ REMINGTON: No. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Concealment? 14 CJ REMINGTON: No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: So, you were, pretty much, you and the 16 officers, out there making contact with this individual, 17 where -- it was just you and him? Nothing else around? 18 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, you said, he, 20 ultimately, raised his arms up and pointed them at you? 21 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And did -- and I don't want to put 23 words in your mouth, but I thought you said that, "He took a 24 Weaver stance?" Is that correct? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 36 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And is that a term that's used for a 2 commonly taught and practiced shooting position? 3 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And is that -- I don't want to assume 5 but, based on my training and experience, does that mean 6 that his arms were fully extended, with elbows locked, 7 directly in front of him, at a 90 degree angle to the -- to 8 the ground? 9 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And when he raised his arms up, in 11 that position, where was his -- where would the trajectory, 12 of whatever he was holding, be pointing? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Directly at me. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you said that you saw 15 something that appeared to be a firearm, silhouetted in the 16 -- the cloth or shirt that he was covering it with? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And can you, again, describe what it 19 was that you saw? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Basically, the slide -- the top slide of 21 a gun, going down into the grip portion, where his hands 22 were. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, would that be fair to 24 say that it now -- when he extended it, draped over the top 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 37 of whatever it was that kind of make it like the top of a 1 -- a square or something like that? 2 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. Like a rectangle. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And it looked rigid and long? 4 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Is that consistent with knives? 6 CJ REMINGTON: No. 7 SERGEANT JONES: So, based on your training and 8 experience, did you believe, at that point, he was, in deed, 9 holding a firearm, like he had told you he was? 10 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did you make any commands to him, at 12 that point? 13 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Were other people making commands at 15 him? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And how long do you think -- 18 let me start back. How far away from him, at that point, do 19 you think you were, when he extended his arms in a shooting 20 platform? 21 CJ REMINGTON: We were still probably about 10 yards. 22 SERGEANT JONES: 10 yards? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Yeah. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And you had, obviously, stopped 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 38 approaching him? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And why was that? 3 CJ REMINGTON: With the mention of a firearm or a 4 weapon, I tried to keep some distance between the two of us. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And was he cooperating with any of the 6 commands that were being given to him? 7 CJ REMINGTON: No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: When he extended his arms at you, in a 9 shooting platform, how long do you think that he had them 10 pointed at you? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Maybe two seconds. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And then, you said you -- you fired 13 upon him? 14 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And that was because you believed he 16 was now armed with a firearm? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And you were in danger of great bodily 19 harm or death? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have fear that your partners 22 were also in that same danger? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have fear that the citizens in 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 39 the immediate area, of the contact, were in danger? 1 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: How many times did you fire upon the 3 suspect? 4 CJ REMINGTON: Three. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Three times? 6 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know where those rounds 8 impacted? 9 CJ REMINGTON: I don't know, specifically. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember if you did like -- I 11 don't know if this is the correct term -- but just point and 12 shoot? Or did you use your sight to shoot? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Yeah. I don't recall. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you hear any other rounds, 15 besides the three that you fired? 16 CJ REMINGTON: I did. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And did you -- was it your belief 18 that was other officers firing? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you know if -- did you know 21 who fired? What other officers fired at that time? Did you 22 know? Or did you just assume it was another officer? 23 CJ REMINGTON: No. I just assumed. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Did you know if the suspect had fired 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 40 his firearm? 1 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 2 SERGEANT JONES: You did not know? When he -- let me 3 start over. When you fired your three rounds, is that 4 something that's kind of -- it's trained? Like to do like 5 failure drills or something like that? Like to the body 6 type thing or was it just like you were shooting until like 7 you felt the threat was -- maybe not stopped but -- 8 CJ REMINGTON: Probably a little bit of both. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And were you shooting center 10 mass? Was your target center mass on those? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And -- okay. After you shot, 13 what did he do? Did he fall to the ground? 14 CJ REMINGTON: The first two, he kind of -- I could see 15 him buckle a little. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 17 CJ REMINGTON: And then, as he fell, that's when -- or 18 started to fall, that's when I shot the third. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And when he fell onto the 20 ground, what was his positioning? 21 CJ REMINGTON: Originally, it was on his back. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Fell like flat on his back? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And did he remain still, at that 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 41 point? 1 CJ REMINGTON: No. 2 SERGEANT JONES: What did he do? 3 CJ REMINGTON: He rolled to his right and reached out 4 for now was he saw as a black object, and assuming that was 5 the gun. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Did he sit-up, at all? 7 CJ REMINGTON: I don't recall. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Was he still holding whatever he had 9 pointed at you? Was he still holding that? Or did he drop 10 that? 11 When he was on the ground? 12 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. After he fell on the ground. 13 CJ REMINGTON: I don't remember. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. But -- okay. So, when he's on 15 the ground, he starts, you said, he rolled to the right and 16 then went to retrieve something. Correct? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Did he -- was anyone giving commands 19 to him, at that time? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And were you? 22 CJ REMINGTON: No. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know who was? 24 CJ REMINGTON: I believe it was Simpson was still 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 42 continuously making commands. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you may not remember, 2 specifically, but do you remember what was being said? 3 CJ REMINGTON: I don't. 4 SERGEANT JONES: But commands were being given? 5 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, ultimately, the suspect 7 did not comply with any orders? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And his actions, when he rolled over 10 to his side, what did you believe he was doing? 11 CJ REMINGTON: Reaching for the gun or trying to shoot. 12 SERGEANT JONES: So, in your -- it was your belief that 13 he was attempting to locate and re-arm himself with the 14 firearm? 15 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Could you -- did you see what it was 17 that he was trying to reach for, at that time? 18 CJ REMINGTON: Just the black object. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And was it still covered with -20 - with anything? 21 CJ REMINGTON: I don't remember. 22 SERGEANT JONES: This is all happening very quickly. 23 Correct? 24 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 43 SERGEANT JONES: But you do now see something, that's 1 not a white shirt, and it's a black object? 2 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 3 SERGEANT JONES: How big do you think it was? 4 CJ REMINGTON: Like, I don't know, five, six inches? 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. But it was -- it was bulky? 6 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: In the amount of time you had to react 8 to that, which is not very much, coupled with everything 9 that had occurred, did you believe still that was a firearm? 10 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And was he, ultimately, able to 12 retrieve that firearm? 13 CJ REMINGTON: I believe so. Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Or object, that you believed to be a 15 firearm, and what occurred then? 16 CJ REMINGTON: That's when I shot again. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember how many times you 18 fired? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Three. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know where those rounds 21 impacted? 22 CJ REMINGTON: I do not. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you do a point and shoot? 24 CJ REMINGTON: That time, I think, it was a little more 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 44 focused. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And when you say "focused," was it 2 like both -- like front and back sight, or your front sight 3 only? 4 CJ REMINGTON: I have a red dot on mine. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Oh, you do? Okay. 6 SERGEANT WHITE: The fact that he reached for that 7 object, do you think he was still a threat, at that time? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Absolutely. 9 SERGEANT WHITE: If he retrieved that object, it was a 10 firearm, obviously, he would, potentially, use that on you 11 or your partners? 12 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 13 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know if any of the other 15 officers fired, at that time? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know how many? 18 CJ REMINGTON: I believe we all shot. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And is that information you 20 knew at the time or that you learned after the fact ? 21 CJ REMINGTON: I knew that more officers had shot and 22 then later, when I reviewed video, I realized everybody had 23 shot. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. After the -- well, let me ask 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 45 you this one question that I failed to ask you way earlier, 1 and I meant to. Had you ever contacted this suspect before? 2 CJ REMINGTON: No. 3 SERGEANT JONES: No prior interactions with this 4 individual before today -- or before September 25th? 5 CJ REMINGTON: No. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. After the officer involved 7 shooting -- well, let me ask you this. When you -- when you 8 fired the first volley, when he extended his arms at you, 9 you were both standing? 10 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have time to evaluate the 12 backdrop, at that point? 13 CJ REMINGTON: I actually evaluated the backdrop as we 14 were walking towards each other. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 16 CJ REMINGTON: Just kind of anticipating where he would 17 be -- 18 SERGEANT JONES: Uh-huh. 19 CJ REMINGTON: -- when I made contact with him. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And what was your estimation of that? 21 CJ REMINGTON: We probably had, at least, 50 yards of 22 clear sand, until we reached the venue which, I believe, was 23 either the Jeep or the tire display booth. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was there a potential for 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 46 people back there to be placed in harm's way, if a shooting 1 occurred? 2 CJ REMINGTON: There's always the possibility. Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And you evaluated that, as this was 4 occurring? 5 CJ REMINGTON: I did. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And did you feel that you had any 7 other options besides firing upon him, during the first 8 volley? 9 CJ REMINGTON: No. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 11 SERGEANT WHITE: You're first three shots, were those 12 done, like in succession, within a matter of seconds? 13 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 14 SERGEANT WHITE: So, two and then brief pause, and then 15 one more? Right? 16 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 17 SERGEANT WHITE: He was still, at that time, holding 18 that T-shirt that was -- or I should say -- that object 19 concealed with the T-shirt. Correct? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: After the second shooting occurred, 22 did the suspect -- was the threat stopped, at that point? 23 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And what did the suspect do, at that 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 47 point? 1 CJ REMINGTON: He laid still. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And was he on his stomach or on his 3 back? 4 CJ REMINGTON: On his back. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And you and other officers, 6 ultimately, approached the suspect and began to render 7 medical assistance? Is that correct? 8 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Was CPR started on this individual? 10 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know who was providing 12 that? 13 CJ REMINGTON: I believe it was Officer (INAUDIBLE). 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And -- 15 SERGEANT WHITE: Did you get a chance to look at that 16 object that was next to him? The black object? 17 CJ REMINGTON: I did. 18 SERGEANT WHITE: At that point, you could tell? What -19 - what was it? 20 CJ REMINGTON: Yeah. It was handgun. 21 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Were additional resources called in to 23 help treat this suspect, that being like Fire or Lifeguards? 24 CJ REMINGTON: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 48 SERGEANT JONES: And they, ultimately, arrived and 1 started treating the suspect? 2 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Did you speak with the other officers 4 about what had occurred, after that? Or what happened? 5 CJ REMINGTON: No. They immediately designated each 6 one of us a patrol officer who -- or an officer who wasn't 7 involved -- 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 9 CJ REMINGTON: -- and we paired up with them and came 10 straight back to the station. 11 SERGEANT JONES: To the police station? 12 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Did you provide a public safety 14 statement to anyone, while you were down there? 15 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Were you injured during this 17 incident? 18 CJ REMINGTON: No. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know if any of the other 20 officers were injured? 21 CJ REMINGTON: No. 22 SERGEANT JONES: What about any citizens that were 23 injured, other than the suspect? 24 CJ REMINGTON: No. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 49 SERGEANT JONES: I'm trying to think here. In regard 1 to the day, itself, was it a clear day? Or was it like 2 cloudy and rainy? 3 CJ REMINGTON: It was a clear day. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And there was no visual obstructions 5 while you guys were making contact with this suspect? 6 CJ REMINGTON: None. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Being that it's down at the beach, and 8 sometimes there's planes flying over, helicopters, plus 9 there's an event going on down there, where there could be 10 speakers or, who knows what, concert type stuff, was there 11 any loud noises that were constant, that would have 12 prevented the suspect from hearing the commands that you and 13 other officers were giving? 14 CJ REMINGTON: No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: You, obviously, said that he responded 16 to you and told you, "This is not the right day." something 17 to that effect, and that, "He had a gun." You heard him 18 clearly? 19 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Is it your opinion that he should have 21 been able to hear the commands that were being given to him? 22 CJ REMINGTON: Easily. Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 24 SERGEANT WHITE: I don't know if you touched on this 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 50 but, as far as the weather conditions, it was daytime; 1 correct? 2 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 3 SERGEANT WHITE: Sunlight out? No -- no -- there was 4 no visual obstructions because of the time of day? Correct? 5 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 6 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to body-worn cameras, were 7 you wearing your body-worn camera at the time of this 8 incident? 9 CJ REMINGTON: I was. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And do you keep your body-worn camera 11 in the off position, or do you keep it in the buffering, 12 like standby mode? 13 Hang-on. I just want to put in an 14 objection here, that there was no allegation that he didn't 15 turn on his body-worn camera. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Correct. 17 So, there's no notice of any allegation 18 of that. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. And noted. And, like I told 20 you before, we're not -- you're not a subject of an 21 allegation of misconduct. I'm just trying to get some 22 clarifying questions -- 23 CJ REMINGTON: Right. 24 SERGEANT JONES: -- for the administrative stuff, so 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 51 I'll ask you to answer that, please, if you keep it in the 1 off position, or in the standby position? 2 CJ REMINGTON: In the off position. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Is that standard practice for 4 you? 5 CJ REMINGTON: I would say since I've been out of 6 patrol? Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you've been out of patrol, 8 you said, for over a year and a half? 9 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And in your assignment, as a 11 detective, do you wear a body-worn camera on a daily basis? 12 CJ REMINGTON: No. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And it's not something that's a 14 routine for you, during your current assignment, for the 15 last year and a half, to have to activate a body-worn 16 camera? 17 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Did you activate your body-worn camera 19 during this incident? 20 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know why? Or can you 22 recall why? 23 CJ REMINGTON: It was just how fast it transpired. I 24 didn't think about turning it on. 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 52 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Even after the incident 1 occurred, did you think about turning it on? 2 CJ REMINGTON: I did not. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Are you aware of the policy 4 about activating body-worn cameras while in patrol? 5 CJ REMINGTON: I am. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Is there anything, CJ, that I 7 didn't ask you? That you feel is relevant? That I didn't 8 talk about or that you feel like is important for us to 9 know? 10 CJ REMINGTON: No. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Shawn? 12 SERGEANT WHITE: I have nothing further. 13 SERGEANT JONES: 14 No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Can you? 16 SERGEANT WHITE: I'm going to read you one last 17 admonishment. 18 Can I put, really quick, one thing? 19 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. Yeah. 20 When he asked you if you provided a 21 public safety statement? It was not the case that you 22 refused to provide one. Correct? 23 CJ REMINGTON: That's correct. 24 You were just never asked? 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 53 CJ REMINGTON: Correct. 1 Okay. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. Thanks for clearing that up. I 3 should have asked you that. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: All right, CJ, I'm ordering you not to 5 discuss this interview or investigation with anyone other 6 than your representative or Sergeant Jones or myself. Do you 7 understand? 8 CJ REMINGTON: I do. 9 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. I'm going to have you circle 10 "yes" on this form and initial next to that, at the very 11 bottom of the form. 12 RICKY MARTORANA: (CIRCLES AND INITIALS.) 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. That concludes this interview. 14 It is 9:50 AM on October 7th, 2021. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 INTERVIEW OF: CJ REMINGTON CASE NO.: 2021-012353 54 1 2 3 (END OF INTERVIEW.) 4 HUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW OF: OFFICER DAMIEN VELASCO INTERVIEWED BY: SERGEANT BRIAN JONES SERGEANT SHAWN WHITE ALSO PRESENT: ATTORNEY CASE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 & FD 21-0001 TIME: 9:49 AM DATE: 09-30-21 LOCATION: HUNTINGTON BEACH PD PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS UNIT AUDIO FILE: Velasco OIS Interview TRANSCRIBED BY: FILE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 D. Velasco 093021 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 SERGEANT RANDELL: This is Sergeant Brian Jones. This 1 is an officer interview, related to an OIS of Officer Damien 2 Velasco. 3 SERGEANT WHITE: All right, the administrative 4 advisement here. The date of this interview is September 5 30th, 2012. The time is 9:49 AM. 6 The location is in the Huntington Beach PD, 7 Professional Standards Unit office. This investigation is 8 under the direction and command of Captain Haught. 9 Present in the room is Officer Damien Velasco, his 10 representative, Sergeant Brian Jones, and 11 Sergeant Shawn White, of the Professional Standards Unit. 12 This investigation concerns an officer involved shooting. 13 I'm going to read you this advisement here. You have 14 the right to have one representative of your choice present 15 during this interview and you have chosen and 16 you have the right to make your own tape recording of this 17 interview, which you are doing -- or your attorney is doing. 18 19 All right. The Miranda advisement here, "You have the 20 right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used 21 against you in court. You have the right to an attorney, 22 before and during any questioning. If you cannot afford an 23 attorney, one will be appointed for you before questioning, 24 if you wish." Do you understand each of these rights that I 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 3 have explained to you? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 2 SERGEANT WHITE: All right. With those rights in mind, 3 will you speak with us? 4 As your attorney, I advise you not to 5 waive your rights. You should say no. 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 7 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. While you have the right to 8 remain silent, with regard to any criminal investigation, 9 you do not have the right to refuse to answer our 10 administrative questions -- investigation questions. This 11 is an administrative investigation. I am, therefore, now 12 ordering you to discuss this matter with us. 13 If you refuse to discuss this matter, your silence can 14 be deemed insubordination and result in administrative 15 discipline, up to and including termination. 16 Any statements you make under compulsion of the threat 17 of such discipline cannot be used against you in a later 18 criminal proceeding. 19 Damien Velasco, I am ordering you to answer any and all 20 questions asked of you, in a truthful and accurate manner. 21 Failure to do so may be deemed insubordination and result in 22 administrative discipline, up to and including termination 23 of your employment with the City of Huntington Beach. Do 24 you understand that? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 1 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. We are going to have you sign 2 this document here, on the "subject" line here, and then 3 I'll have Brian sign on the "interviewer" line, right next 4 to that. 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: (SIGNS DOCUMENT.) 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Damien, we are going to go into 7 your work experience a little bit. How long have you been 8 employed with the City of Huntington Beach Police 9 Department, as a police officer? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Almost three years. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And do you have any prior law 12 enforcement experience? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: With what agency or agencies? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: The Brea Police Department. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And how long were you with that 17 agency? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: A little over three years, as a sworn. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And what is your current assignment at 20 our agency? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Police officer in the Patrol Division. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And how long have you been in that 23 assignment? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Since working here. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, you haven't worked any 1 special assignments, since you've been here? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Traffic for a little bit and downtown 3 for a little bit, too. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And now you're assigned to Patrol? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 6 SERGEANT JONES: In specific, to this past Saturday, 7 September 25th, 2021, were you on duty on that date? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Was this a regular scheduled shift or 10 was it an overtime shift? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: It was overtime. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And what was your assignment on that 13 date? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Working the U.S. Open. 15 SERGEANT JONES: If you recall, what time did your 16 shift start for that day? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: 0800 hours. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to your -- prior to going into 19 service, for that shift, did you guys, as a group, attend a 20 briefing? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Do you happen to remember what your 23 call sign was? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: 95Xray. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 6 SERGEANT JONES: 95Xray? And those Xray units were 1 specifically assigned to an event occurring down on the 2 beach? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And that event was the U.S. Open. Is 5 that correct? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 7 SERGEANT JONES: The surfing contest? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: (INAUDIBLE.) 9 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have an assigned partner? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did anybody have assigned partners? 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Just would go with whoever was 13 (INAUDIBLE). 14 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember how many officers were 15 assigned to the event? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Five. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Five total? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: And a sergeant -- six. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. During the briefing, did they 20 explain to you what the objective of your assignment -- or 21 the mission of your assignment was for that day? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Just to have a police presence in the 23 crowd, you know, let people know we're around, so we can 24 follow the rules of the beach and things like that. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 7 SERGEANT JONES: Just to maintain order? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And have like a security presence 3 there? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Were there private security? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: There was. 7 SERGEANT JONES: There was? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Uh-huh. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know what company that was, 10 by any chance? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't recall. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In specific, up the 24-hour 13 period, prior to your shift, on Saturday, September 25th, 14 2021, did you sleep prior to that shift? Like, as in the 15 night before, did you get a good night's sleep? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: I did. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Do you happen to remember how many 18 hours of sleep you got? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: It was about 8-1/2, roughly. 20 SERGEANT JONES: 8-1/2? Did you eat on a regular 21 basis, the 24-hour period prior to? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have anything to eat during 24 your shift on the 25th of September? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 1 SERGEANT JONES: In the 24-hour period, prior to your 2 shift, on the 25th of 2021, did you consume any alcoholic 3 beverages? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 5 SERGEANT JONES: I mean like off-duty or anything like 6 that? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you take any medication or 9 drugs prescribed to you? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did you take any exercise supplements 12 or anything like that? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In that 24-hour period, did you 15 work another patrol shift or were you on a day off prior to 16 that? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: I worked the Open the day prior, as 18 well. 19 SERGEANT JONES: You did? 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: Uh-huh. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And then, the day prior to that, did 22 you work? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 24 SERGEANT JONES: So, you were off on Thursday, you 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 9 worked overtime on Friday? Were the hours the same on 1 Friday? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: 8:00 to what? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: 6:00. 5 SERGEANT JONES: 8:00 to 6:00 and then, Saturday, the 6 25th of September, you were scheduled 8:00 to 6:00, also? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And that day, prior, on Friday, 9 the 24th, did you start at 8:00 and end at 6:00? Or did you 10 get held over? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: We got off a little early, actually. 12 SERGEANT JONES: You got off early? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: Uh-huh. 14 SERGEANT JONES: What time do you think? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: It was about 5:00, I would guess. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: It was somewhere in that ballpark. 18 SERGEANT JONES: My following questions, from this 19 point, will be specific about Saturday, September 25th, of 20 2021. Okay? 21 Following the incident that occurred on the beach, the 22 officer involved shooting, did you have the opportunity to 23 review any BWC, body-worn camera footage? Yours or any 24 other officers? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Was that prior to our meeting today? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And during our pre-meeting, you were 4 also able to view it again. Is that correct? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And I'm assuming that was your video? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Not assuming, but that was your video 9 we watched and then Officer Simpson's. Is that correct? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did you happen to see any other video 12 of the incident, from like social media or like television 13 broadcasts? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Which or was it both? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. It was both. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Like do you know what sites you saw it 18 on? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't recall. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was that something you searched 21 or did someone send it to you? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Just being shown. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did that mirror some of the 24 images you saw on your body-worn camera? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And specific to that shift, on 2 the 25th of September, can you describe your uniform for me, 3 please? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: I was wearing the summer uniform. I 5 was wearing a long-sleeve polo shirt, the patrol shorts, 6 shoes, and I was wearing a ballcap. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And the uniform you're referring to is 8 black in color? 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And the insignias are gray? Is that 11 correct? 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And it has "Huntington Beach" patches 14 on both shoulders? And a nametag, I'm assuming? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Does it have a badge on the left 17 breast? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: It does. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And does it say "POLICE" anywhere on 20 your uniform? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Across the back. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you were wearing your, I'm 23 assuming, gun belt; correct? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did CSI photograph you, in that 1 uniform, that you were wearing during the officer involved 2 shooting, at some point during the investigation that 3 ensued? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: Are you saying our in-house CSI? 5 SERGEANT JONES: No. Let me clarify. So, after the 6 officer involved shooting, the Sheriff's Department came and 7 they handled the shooting portion of the incident. 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And their criminalists, their CSI 10 people, came and processed the scene, and they also took 11 photographs of the officers involved and collected some 12 stuff. Did those Sheriff Department CSI people photograph 13 you? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And was it in the uniform you were 16 wearing at the time of the officer involved shooting? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Did you remove any of your equipment 19 prior to those photographs being taken? 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Is the photograph of you exactly what 22 you had on at the time of the incident? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: Right. 24 Hang-on. He's not going to know what -25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 13 - they photographed. He hasn't seen their photographs. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Noted. Let me try to reword 2 it. When -- so, you didn't take anything off or move any of 3 your equipment from your belt, or your upper body, I'm not 4 sure. Do you wear a carrier or just an undervest? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Under. 6 SERGEANT JONES: To the best of your recollection, when 7 they photographed you, were you wearing what you had on, in 8 its entirety, at the time of the officer involved shooting? 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Sorry. In regards to your 11 service weapon, can you describe the make, and if you know, 12 the model number, and what caliber it is? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: It's a Glock 17, Generation 5, it's a 14 .9 millimeter. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And your magazines, can you -- 16 how many magazines do you carry? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: One in the weapon and three on my -- 18 on my Sam Browne. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you know the capacity of 20 those magazines? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: 17. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And, to the best of your knowledge, 23 were the three that were on your belt, fully loaded, to 24 capacity? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. And one, somehow had an extra 1 round in it. So, one was 18 -- had 18 in it. 2 SERGEANT JONES: So, you pushed one? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: I guess. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Strong fingers? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: I didn't know that was possible, but 6 yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. And then, 19 seated in your 8 service weapon was loaded to capacity? 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Was there a round chambered inside of 11 the gun? 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: So, the -- your service weapon, 14 including your magazine, should have had a total of 18 15 rounds in it. Is that correct? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 18 But that's just an estimate because one 19 of them had 18? 20 SERGEANT JONES: Right. But, to the best of your 21 knowledge? 22 Okay. 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know -- and you said it's a 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 15 .9 millimeter, but do you know the make of the round that 1 you carry? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Is it the round that was provided to 4 you by the police department? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. You didn't load any of your 7 personal ammunition in that gun? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Are you right-handed or left-10 handed? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: Right. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And do you shoot with your right-hand? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. What side do you carry your 15 service weapon on, while working uniform patrol? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Right-hand. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Have you successfully completed the 18 required firearms qualifications with that service weapon? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: The weapon that you were carrying and 21 used during the officer involved shooting, on the 25th? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to going into service that day, 24 did you perform a function check of your service weapon? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't recall. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. You didn't do a press check or 2 anything to make sure it was loaded? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I recall. No. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, to your knowledge, was 5 there any issues with your service weapon prior to this 6 incident? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: The service weapon, that we're 9 discussing right now, the Glock 17, your service weapon, 10 that's the weapon that you used during the officer involved 11 shooting? 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And that's the same weapon that was 14 turned over, as evidence, to the Orange County Sheriff's 15 Department, CSI people; correct? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you carry a backup gun? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to any other weapons 20 or less lethal equipment you carry, do you carry conductive 21 energy weapon, a CEW, or taser, as some people call it? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And were you wearing it that day? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 17 SERGEANT JONES: And did you function check that prior 1 to going into service? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't recall. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, I'm assuming, because you 4 carry -- you said you carry your gun -- your service weapon 5 on your right side, you carry that on your left side? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: In its holster? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Provided by the department; correct? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know what the model of that CEW 12 is? By any chance? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: I believe it's a Taser 7. 14 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to equipment, you had a 15 patrol vehicle. Did you take -- did you have a patrol 16 vehicle assigned to you for that shift? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember what number it was? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: 1414. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And what equipment, if any, was in 21 there? As far as, is there any rifles, or less lethal 22 weapons in that vehicle? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't recall. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you guys -- and when I say 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 18 "you guys," the five officers assigned to the venue, and the 1 sergeant, who was Sergeant Pham; correct? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Did you guys all drive down in one 4 vehicle or multiple vehicles? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Multiple. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And did you guys park them all in a 7 certain staging location? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: The two detectives, Parker and 9 Remington, they came down in one of their take-home cars, so 10 they left it at Lifeguards. I don't know how Sergeant Pham 11 got down. And then Simpson, Koehler, and I came in 1414, 12 and that unit was used for patrol purposes for the venue. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Were you in that vehicle prior to the 14 officer involved shooting? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And where was -- where was that 17 vehicle left? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: The one I was driving? 19 SERGEANT JONES: Yes. 20 You mean after the shooting? 21 SERGEANT JONES: No. We'll get into that later, but 22 was that vehicle in -- in the same area as the officer 23 involved shooting occurred, or was it somewhere else? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: It was on the other side of the pier. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, not in the same area? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to the incident that 3 occurred on September 25th, 2021, did you hear a radio 4 broadcast at approximately 3:08 PM? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know who -- who made that 7 broadcast? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: 03Uniform, which was Lieutenant 9 Archer. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And do you remember what his 11 original broadcast consisted of? To the best of your 12 recollection? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: That there was a male subject, 14 possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, near the 15 venue. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you respond to that 17 call? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: When you were responding to that call, 20 were you by yourself, at that time? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And where did you respond from? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: I was on the sand. Somewhere between 24 the venue and Lifeguard Headquarters. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 20 SERGEANT JONES: Were you in a vehicle, when the call 1 came out? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And you started driving towards that 4 area? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And did you get out of your car, at 7 some point? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Later on, yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 10 SERGEANT WHITE: Can I clarify something really quick? 11 SERGEANT JONES: Yes, please. 12 SERGEANT WHITE: Just to clarify something really 13 quick. Did you get an opportunity to listen to the radio 14 traffic prior to this interview, from that incident? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 16 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 17 SERGEANT JONES: So, you heard the call, you responded, 18 at that time, by yourself, and some events transpire, 19 obviously, so I'm going to have you just kind of explain 20 what it was you heard over the radio, and your response to 21 it, and then what, if anything, you saw upon arrival and 22 then just kind of slowly walk through it with me, if you 23 don't mind? There may be points where you need make a 24 recollect, or something, just take your time. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Okay. I heard the call go out. I 1 start responding to the shoreline. I'm looking around and 2 nothing is standing out as obviously being involved, you 3 know, I didn't see anyone running around that looked, you 4 know, to be under the influence or anything like that. I 5 didn't see anyone flagging me down. 6 At that point, I was, basically, right by -- just shy 7 of the waterline, so I back up and I start to drive through 8 the main like area of the venue, like on the back side, like 9 the front where the bleachers are, but towards the back side 10 of it. I started driving. I'm still looking around and I'm 11 not seeing anything. 12 I hear that he might be by the pier, so I'm starting to 13 make my way towards the pier. I get flagged down by a 14 security guard of the venue. I just know that based on his 15 shirt. It said "Security" on it or something to that 16 effect, or like a company. He mentioned that there was 17 someone running around that was acting "crazy." He didn't 18 elaborate much more than that, and then he pointed that he 19 was like down by the pier. So, from that point, I was still 20 south of the pier. 21 I start driving that way, looking around still, because 22 they said he was by the pier, so I'm looking towards the 23 shoreline, underneath the pier, still not seeing anything, 24 or anyone that's standing out as, you know, a concern, at 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 22 that point. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Can I interrupt for just a second? 2 When you say "he," you're referring to the subject they 3 described as being "crazy" or whatever? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: I'm almost underneath -- I'm coming up 7 towards the underneath part of the pier and I get flagged 8 down by another security guard. That gentleman said, "That 9 he's being told that there was someone running around the 10 venue, acting 'crazy,' trying to fight people." And then, he 11 told me that he was -- "He was told that there was a weapon" 12 so it was second-hand info from him. He said, "The person 13 had a weapon." That was the word he used. And I said, 14 "What kind of weapon?" I was like, "Are we talking a knife? 15 Are we talking a gun? Or what kind of weapon are we taking 16 about here?" And he, again, said, "I don't know. I didn't 17 see anything. That's what I'm being told." I'm like, 18 "Okay. Where is he now?" And he's like, "He's on the other 19 side of the pier." 20 So, I couldn't see to the other side of the pier 21 because there was like this fenced in area, like where it's 22 setup for like the security guards, like their break area, 23 or something, where they had like refreshments and stuff. 24 And it was tarped off, so I couldn't see through, but he 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 23 told me, "He's on the other side." 1 So, I drive around and, as I'm starting to drive 2 around, I'm putting out that information, that was told, 3 "That he has a weapon, but they wouldn't -- they couldn't 4 elaborate what it was." He was also the one that told me, 5 "He was a Hispanic guy with like a shaved head and a white 6 shirt, with a logo on the back." 7 At that point, I drive around and now I'm looking east, 8 towards Pier Plaza, and I see a subject sitting on the 9 little ledge area, like right at the base of pier -- or the 10 base of Pier Plaza, that meets the bike path. Based on the 11 clothing description that -- the clothing description, the 12 white shirt, and the shaved head, I saw this guy and thought 13 he could potentially be the subject in question. 14 I started driving slowly, towards him. He stands up, 15 at that point, and kind of looks around and I immediately 16 notice that he's down in his waistline area, and it's being 17 covered by a shirt and I can just see that he's concealing 18 something, or he just didn't want that hand to be seen. 19 That, you know, put the hairs up a little bit, a little 20 concerned at that point. 21 Based on what I've been told so far, there's weapon, 22 you know, and based on training and experience, someone 23 holding their hand in that fashion, down in their waistband, 24 making an obvious effort to conceal that area, I was now 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 24 concerned that there was some form of a weapon with this 1 guy. 2 He, again, noticed that I was coming and he was looking 3 -- appeared to be looking for a way to leave. He started 4 walking south, towards the bottom of the pier, and I'm 5 slowly driving my vehicle towards him, just to keep obs, 6 because I didn't want to lose him. It was a very crowded 7 area, but I just wanted to make sure I didn't lose him in 8 the crowd. 9 At that point, I got to a spot where I didn't feel safe 10 driving my vehicle through all those people that were there. 11 So, at that point, I decided to exit my vehicle and start 12 to follow on foot. 13 At that point, as I was walking towards the pier, and I 14 noticed Officers Koehler and Simpson coming. It looked like 15 they were coming from like the steps of the pier, and I can 16 still see the suspect looking around. It looks like he's 17 looking for a way out. I can still she he's down in his 18 waistband. His hand never left that area. As I was 19 following him, which still was concerning me, if there was 20 nothing there, you know, his hands could come free, or 21 things like that. And that just stuck in my mind, that he 22 was still right there, and that was very concerning to me. 23 And I now see one of the red side-by-side's pull up, 24 but I can't see who's in it. They're coming like on the -- 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 25 like on the boardwalk area. Same thing. He's looking 1 around and it appears he's noticing that we're all in front 2 of him now. He's still down here, you know, not moving from 3 that area, still holding nice and tight right there, still 4 concealed, I can't see his hands, all the way through. 5 At that point, I'm really worried because now we're 6 closing distance and now, I'm thinking, this is probably 7 where he's either going to get in a fight or he's going to 8 run, whatever it's going to be. 9 And, at that point, we're closing in. I'm still a ways 10 back, so I start to run up, to get closer to everyone, 11 because, at that point, I now see CJ and I could see there's 12 some kind of -- it appears some kind of words are being 13 exchanged between the male and CJ. 14 And, the next thing I know, he's coming up and he's 15 holding -- I could see the shirt still, but I can see that 16 there was something extended out and I can see him up in, 17 you know, what I would describe as a professional shooter 18 stance, like someone who knows what they're doing, how to 19 hold a firearm, how to manipulate a firearm. And, for me, 20 that was my like, "Oh, crap moment." 21 I had already drew my service weapon, it was down at my 22 side, and I started to come up, but I can see my backdrop 23 beyond me, and it was not the most ideal, because there was 24 a lot of people back there, but I knew that when he was up, 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 26 he was facing -- or pointing at CJ, so I knew CJ was going 1 to take his shot, if that's what he felt was necessary. 2 When I come up, I hear -- I hear two gunshots. I see 3 the subject go down. I start to reassess. He's down. It 4 looks like he's like holding his chest area. 5 At that point, he does like a spin, kind of like a 6 barrel roll thing on the ground, and I could see he's 7 looking and, at that point, now, after he had moved, I can 8 see the shirt on the ground. I could see it wasn't laying 9 flat. I can tell that there was something, like bulky, 10 still in there. 11 The male then reached out for it and, at that point, I 12 decided I was going to shoot because I believed there was a 13 weapon in there, at that point, and I was afraid for my 14 safety, my other partners, and the civilians around us, and 15 I felt that he was, once again, a threat, even though he may 16 or may not have been shot, based on his reaction, he was 17 still in the fight and, at that point, I decided to fire. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I'm going to just do some 19 clarifying questions. How many subjects were involved in 20 the call? And by "subjects," I mean, non-officers and non-21 employees of the venue? Was it just the one individual that 22 was involved and described as being a suspect of something 23 or the one that was acting weird? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 27 SERGEANT JONES: He was supposed to be by myself? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: As far as I was told, yes. It was 2 just one person. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And the description, you said, 4 was a male Hispanic, and how -- how was he dressed? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: They said a white shirt, with like a 6 basketball on the back. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Did they describe his hair? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: They said shaved head. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Shaved head? And they said he was a 10 male Hispanic or -- 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did they describe any tattoos 13 or socks or shoes, or anything like that? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: When you were responding to this call, 16 based on the information that Sergeant Archer, 03Uniform, 17 had put out, what was your mindset, responding? And when I 18 say, "mindset," what -- based on your training and 19 experience, what did you think you were coming into? What 20 kind of -- was there a crime that you were thinking had 21 occurred? Was there any information that was put out that a 22 crime had occurred? 23 Are you talking just from Archer's 24 broadcast? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 28 SERGEANT JONES: Yes. I mean, I'll clarify it. When 1 you get a call for service, and it's in that nature, of not 2 a lot of details, but they say this is occurring, sometimes, 3 based on our training and experience, you start maybe 4 thinking, okay, and preparing yourself mentally for what 5 you're getting into. Did you have anything in your mind, 6 like I'm going into a possible "something"? You know? 7 Based on the information that was provided, did you have 8 anything in mind? 9 Hang-on. I just want to clarify. 10 You're talking about just from the beginning, when Archer 11 talked to them? Not when like security updated him? 12 SERGEANT JONES: Correct. 13 Okay. 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Based on the original transmission 15 from the lieutenant, it was a possibly intoxicated subject. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Maybe acting irrational or something 17 like that? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And, as you were responding, you said, 20 you made contact with two separate venue employees? Is that 21 correct? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Let's focus on the first one. Do you 24 know who that person was? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 29 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 1 SERGEANT JONES: How do you know they were an employee 2 of the venue? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: Just his uniform. He was dressed like 4 everyone else that we had interacted with at the venue, at 5 that point. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Would it be like a security person or 7 like the security they hired or one of the like managing 8 people of the event? 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: Security people at the event. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember how they were 11 dressed? 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: If I remember correctly, they had like 13 red and black polos or some form of like a darker color red 14 with something else, polo. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And all the security dressed that way 16 there? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And what additional information did 19 that first security individual provide you? 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: I believe, he just told me, "That 21 there was an intoxicated male still running around the 22 venue, acting crazy." 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did he allege any other crime 24 and possibly -- did you say that he was maybe under the 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 30 influence? Is that what he said? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Of drugs or alcohol? Or both? 3 Possibly? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Did they tell you about any other 6 crimes that may have occurred? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Not that I recall. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And did that first individual direct 9 you somewhere? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. Towards the pier. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Towards the pier? And then, as you're 12 responding towards the pier, you come across a second staff 13 member of the event? Is that correct? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And is that also a security person? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And what additional information did 18 that person give you? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: He gave the description of a "Male, 20 Hispanic, with the shaved head, the white shirt, with like a 21 basketball on the back." But then, he was the one that had 22 what sounded like second-hand info reference a weapon. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And you had said, in your statement, 24 he couldn't tell you what -- what it was? Whether it was a 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 31 gun or a knife, but he had received information that the 1 individual you were responding to was armed with something? 2 That was the information that he had and he provided that to 3 you? Correct? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. No mention of a knife or a gun 6 or Billy Club, or anything though? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And when did you first observe 9 the suspect? Where was he at, exactly? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: At the Pier Plaza, like amphitheater 11 area. He was seated on the ledge, like at the very bottom, 12 closest to the bike path. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And, we'll use for reference, the bike 14 path, running, we'll say, east and west? And south would be 15 towards the sand? And north would be up towards PCH? Does 16 that make sense? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Can I reference it differently just so 18 I can -- 19 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: So, I'll call it -- it runs north/ 21 south, -- 22 SERGEANT JONES: The bike path? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: -- North of the pier. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 32 DAMIEN VELASCO: And he was -- so, if you want to say 1 Pier Plaza, he's at the far west, at the very bottom of Pier 2 Plaza, closest to the bike path. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: Sand side? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. He's -- there's Pier Plaza, then 6 there's the ledge, bike path, I'm saying. 7 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. Gotcha. 8 SERGEANT JONES: I'm sorry. 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: That's okay. Sorry. 10 SERGEANT JONES: All right. So, he's not on the like 11 three-foot retaining wall? Is he over by the amphitheater, 12 where they do concerts? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yeah. The retaining wall of the 14 amphitheater. Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, like the pier, he's 16 north of that. You have the stairs that come down; right? 17 And he's sitting on one of the retaining walls, by that 18 grass area? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And he was by himself, at that 21 time? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And did he match the description of 24 the individual that was described to you, by the security 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 33 staff? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Did you make any radio broadcasts 3 related to your observations, at that point? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And do you recall what those were? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: That I had -- I believe I said, "I had 7 observations on him, and then I mentioned that his hand was 8 concealed down his waistband." 9 SERGEANT JONES: And you broadcast that you had 10 received some information that he was possibly armed with a 11 weapon, and it wasn't known if it was a knife or a gun, or 12 what kind of weapon? Correct? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: But you did broadcast the verbiage 15 "officer safety"; correct? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And can you tell me why you did that? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: Just so everyone can know -- I just 19 wanted to like make it stand out that I'm giving them some 20 important information, officer safety wise, for the 21 concealing of his hand in his waistband area. 22 SERGEANT WHITE: And you felt that was important 23 because of the information that you were provided by 24 security? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 34 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And was that coupled with the 2 described behavior that individual was displaying? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: When you first saw the subject, did 5 you notice any behavior that was consistent with the erratic 6 behavior that was described to you? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And can you explain what that was? 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: He appeared to be very nervous, 10 looking around, walking very -- what's the word I'm looking 11 for? Hastily? Like with a purpose, it seemed. Very like 12 driven, to get away from what's now -- what he sees as one 13 officer, at least, and then now, closing in some more. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Then, based on your training and 15 experience, as an officer, did his demeanor, his -- the way 16 he was acting, did it ring any bells in your head that it -- 17 was it familiar behavior or symptoms that you'd seen other 18 people display? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And what did you -- what correlation 21 did you make between his behavior and your past experience? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Well, with the way he was holding his 23 waistband, and the way he was trying to appear to be getting 24 away, I believed he was trying to get away from the police, 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 35 at that point, because he was up to something that he 1 shouldn't have been doing. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Was he displaying a behavior that was 3 consistent with being under the influence of anything? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: At that point, I couldn't -- couldn't 5 tell. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Had you ever seen this 7 individual prior to this date? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Have you ever had any prior contact 10 with him? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Not to my knowledge. No. 12 SERGEANT JONES: So, as he is sitting there, you 13 believe he becomes aware of your presence? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And what made you think that? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: It was appearing he was scanning the 17 beach and now he sees this police car coming towards him, 18 stands up, does a quick look to see -- like it appears like 19 he's looking to see which way he should go, whether that's 20 the path of least resistance or towards the crowd, more to 21 blend in, or whatever that may be, but it appeared he was 22 trying to plan his way out. 23 SERGEANT WHITE: And you said he scanned the beach but 24 he made eye contact with either you or your vehicle. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 36 Correct? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 2 SERGEANT WHITE: That's what you saw? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: And that's when he stood up. Yes. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And that was, pretty much, 6 simultaneously, when that occurred? He got up and started 7 moving? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And, at that point, you parked your 10 car and started -- 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: Or maybe after. There was some time 12 where I still drove. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And he was on the amphitheater 14 side of the boardwalk? Did he move across the bike path 15 towards the sand, at some point? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. He crossed over to the sand, at 17 one point. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you were following him, in 19 your vehicle? 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And then, where did you -- and you 22 said he stopped your vehicle on the north side of the pier 23 and exited and continued to follow on foot? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 37 SERGEANT JONES: And then, some other officers arrived 1 on scene. I think, you said, the first two officers you saw 2 were -- correct me if I'm wrong -- Koehler and Simpson? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And they were coming down the stairs, 5 on the south side of the pier? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: It appeared they were coming down the 7 stairs. Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Was it the south stairs, by Sandy's, 9 or was it the north side? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: I think it was the north side. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, you guys linked up, kind 12 of, or were they ahead of you? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: You could say we linked up. It was 14 kind of like coming in, converging towards the same area. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And did you see any other officers 16 responding to you, while you were following -- you three 17 were now following this individual? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. I saw the side-by-side pull up, 19 but I didn't process who it was or couldn't tell. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: I could definitely see that one of our 22 side-by-side had come along. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see any other officers? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not immediately. No. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 38 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, -- 1 SERGEANT WHITE: Did you have any conversation with the 2 two officers coming down the stairs? Before you guys 3 converged on the suspect? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Not directly. No. Not that I 5 recall, at least. No. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Did they say anything to you? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I remember hearing. No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And, if you remember, were they in 9 uniform? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: These officers? 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And was their uniform consistent with 14 the one you had one? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: Similar. Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Similar? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Uh-huh. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Black? Like a Beach Detail uniform? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: With the same silver logos or grey 21 logos, and "POLICE?" Was it clearly identifiable as police 22 officers? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: So, the individual that you guys are 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 39 following, we'll call him the suspect, he's now walking on 1 the sand? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: South, I'll guess. 3 SERGEANT JONES: In between the pier and our Beach 4 Substation? Is that correct? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And is he in the sand or is he on the 7 -- I know they have boardwalks, like wooden walkways, in 8 that venue? Is he in the sand or is he on one of the 9 walkways, and you're following him? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: He's in the sand. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And is he -- 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: He may have crossed under the 13 boardwalk, at some point, but I just remember seeing him in 14 the sand. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And was he not paying attention to any 16 of you guys or was he looking back? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: It looked like he was scanning still, 18 through the -- scanning through the crowd, seeing where we 19 were at. 20 SERGEANT JONES: And, at this time, you said, he had 21 his hands around -- down by his waist and they were covered 22 by a shirt? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Or what you believed was a shirt? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 40 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Was it more than one? Or do you 2 recall? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: I couldn't tell. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember what color it was? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: White. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And you said he never moved his hands 7 from his waistband, at all? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And did you ever see -- I know that 10 you were told that he possibly was armed with a weapon and 11 that, based on your training and experience, and the way he 12 was holding his hands by his waist, that he possibly had a 13 weapon? Did you ever see one? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 15 You're talking before the shooting? 16 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. Correct. Before the shooting 17 occurred, you didn't see a weapon? Correct? 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 19 SERGEANT JONES: So now, the three of you -- those 20 being you, Simpson, and Koehler are moving towards the 21 individual on the sand now? Is that correct? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: I'm sorry. Say that again? 23 SERGEANT JONES: You, Koehler, and Simpson are now 24 moving towards the suspect, who's on the sand? Are you guys 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 41 also on the sand? 1 DAMIEN VELASCO: I definitely am. I don't recall 2 seeing really where they were, at that point. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have to scale that retaining 4 wall or were you able to maneuver -- 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. I -- I cut through -- or I 6 actually never left the sand, after I got on there, due to 7 the temporary walk on the boardwalk, and it's already like 8 on the sand? I didn't use like the regular concrete 9 boardwalk. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, if you remember -- so, 11 let's move forward a little bit. Ultimately, two other 12 officers join you. Before the shooting occurred, were you 13 aware of who those other two officers were? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: No? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Huh-uh. 17 SERGEANT JONES: So, you didn't even know who they were 18 until after the shooting occurred? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Well, I eventually saw CJ, but when I 20 first -- when they first pulled up? 21 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Originally? I couldn't tell who it 23 was. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, you're approaching and, 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 42 I think, you said, in your statement, "That it appeared CJ 1 was having some kind of interaction with the suspect?" 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Could you hear what they were saying? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 5 SERGEANT JONES: When this interaction -- did you hear 6 any other officers trying to interact with this individual? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I recall. No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And when CJ was interacting 9 with the suspect, was the suspect continuing to walk away 10 from him or what was his position, at that point? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: It looked like he was walking, but I 12 couldn't -- like my depth perception couldn't pick up what 13 he was doing though. If he walking, like parallel, straight 14 at him, or what I could really tell, honestly. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, based on the video that we 16 had seen, it seems like you're at the far -- we'll call it 17 the "west end" of the line of officers and there's an 18 officer to your left and then, proceeding down, another 19 officer to your left. Do you remember who was immediately 20 to your left? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't recall. 22 SERGEANT JONES: You don't recall? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. As you're approaching, and CJ's 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 43 interacting with the suspect, he ultimately turns and faces 1 CJ, so now CJ and the suspect are facing each other. Is that 2 correct? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see the suspect -- where was 5 his hands at, initially, when they were facing each other? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: Down -- down by his waistband still. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And could you hear, at any point in 8 time, as you got closer, anything that was being said to the 9 suspect? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I recall. No. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And then, as you came -- when you 12 closed -- as you closed the distance, you saw the suspect 13 raise his hands up, in what you said was a "professional 14 shooting stance." Did he have both hands together, and 15 extended directly in front of him? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Was that at like a 90-degree angle to 18 his body? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: I guess. If I think I'm understanding 20 you correctly. Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: But straight out? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Just straight out? Yeah. 23 (INAUDIBLE.) 24 SERGEANT JONES: Locked elbows? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 44 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yeah. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And could you tell, based on 2 the angle or the direction he was extending his arms, were 3 there any officers in what we would call like "line of fire" 4 if he were to be holding a weapon? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Officer Remington -- or Detective 6 Remington. 7 SERGEANT JONES: So, this individual -- this suspect 8 was pointing, whatever he had, directly at Officer 9 Remington? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Was it still covered with the shirt? 12 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And could you see anything of what it 14 was under there? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And then, do you know how long this 17 individual was pointing his arms at CJ? If you had to 18 guess? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: A few seconds. 20 SERGEANT JONES: A few seconds? Were there any 21 commands that you heard, while the individual -- the suspect 22 was pointing his arms and hands towards CJ? Did you hear 23 any commands being given to him? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I can recall hearing. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 45 SERGEANT JONES: Well, you said you heard two shots. 1 Is that correct? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know who fired those two 4 shots? 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: I didn't know. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Did you? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Did I? No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, after those two 9 shots, did the suspect fall to the ground? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did you hear or did you -- let me 12 stop. Did you give the suspect any commands prior to those 13 two shots being fired? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: I did not. No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Once those two shots were fired and 16 the suspect fell to the ground, did you give any commands? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Did you hear anybody else giving 19 commands? 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I recall hearing. No. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember hearing 22 anything? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 46 DAMIEN VELASCO: I mean my body went into some auditory 1 exclusion at that point. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 3 And you're talking at the time. Not 4 from listening to the video. Right? 5 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. Just your recollection at the 6 time, what it was, and you may still not, and that's 7 perfectly understandable. But you don't recall saying 8 anything or hearing anybody else give commands? 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 10 SERGEANT JONES: After the suspect hit the ground, you 11 said he did a barrel roll? 12 SERGEANT WHITE: Real quick. Just to clarify 13 something. When the suspect -- when you heard the gunshots 14 and the suspect fell to the ground, did you know he had been 15 hit? 16 DAMIEN VELASCO: Based on his reaction, I believed, he 17 was hit. Yes. 18 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. You believed he was hit, but, 19 at that point, did you see any blood or anything like that, 20 or was the suspect appearing to be in any of pain or 21 anything that would lead you to believe that he was -- he 22 was hit? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 24 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 47 SERGEANT JONES: With that in mind, did -- so, you 1 believed he was hit, but did he seem -- was he 2 incapacitated, at that point? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Huh-uh. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And you based that on the fact that, 5 as you stated, he did some type of barrel roll and started 6 making furtive movements. Is that correct? 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And when he did the barrel roll, did 9 it appear like he was looking for something? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And was it the thing that -- did he 12 seem to draw his attention towards whatever he had had in 13 that shirt? That was wrapped around the -- 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: Are you saying as in trying to find it 15 again? 16 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. Was he looking for something? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yeah. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Something that he already had in his 19 possession? 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: Uh-huh. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And that was in the area of the shirt 22 that he had previously? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see what he picked up? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 48 DAMIEN VELASCO: The shirt again. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And could you tell what it was, I 2 mean, what I'm trying to get at, did you ever see a weapon, 3 at that point? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 5 SERGEANT JONES: But, based on the totality of what 6 happened, it was your believe that -- well, why don't you 7 explain to me just a little bit, in more clarity. Based on 8 what had happened, CJ fired upon this person, this person 9 fell to the ground, did a barrel roll, and then was 10 maneuvering towards whatever he had dropped. You said that 11 you believed he was going for a weapon. Did you suspect 12 what that weapon was? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: At that point, I believed it was a 14 firearm. Because, although I heard gunshots, I see him 15 reach, and that's not to say that he didn't shoot CJ, 16 because I didn't confirm that yet. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, he makes it to the 18 shirt, and he retrieved whatever it was and, at that point, 19 what was going through your mind? 20 DAMIEN VELASCO: He's going for a gun again, to use on 21 one of us or someone else -- a civilian, whatever it may be. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And, at that point, you discharge your 23 firearm at the suspect? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 49 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember how many -- how many 1 rounds you fired? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: I believed, at the time, I had shot 3 somewhere between two to four. But knowing what I know now, 4 it was more. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And you said in your statement that 6 you had scanned the -- the area for the backdrop. Was that 7 prior to CJ's discharge of his firearm? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And were you comfortable with 10 the backdrop that you had? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: The first one? The first time I 12 scanned? 13 SERGEANT JONES: Initially. Yeah. 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. I was not. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And that's because the guy was 16 standing? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: He was standing, there was people, and 18 I can see -- I was perceiving that there were people beyond 19 him. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you reassess the backdrop 21 once the suspect had fallen onto the ground? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Were you -- what was your 24 assessment of the backdrop, at that point? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 50 DAMIEN VELASCO: He's now down, and in front of me, so 1 I felt safe at that point, that was a safe backdrop, and I 2 wasn't going to put anyone else in harms way, at that point. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Did you -- did you or anybody else 4 take cover, or was there any potential to take cover, where 5 you guys were? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: There was more concealment. There 7 wasn't a whole lot of cover. Nothing else -- 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 9 DAMIEN VELASCO: -- around that, at that given moment, 10 where I was at, there was not really anywhere for me to go. 11 SERGEANT JONES: What would the concealment have 12 consisted of? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: These -- I don't even know what they 14 were made out of, but they were like pillar kind of things, 15 that were like a commemorative pillars. I think it 16 displayed names of like previous winners of the Open, and 17 that was it. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. At the time you discharged your 19 firearm, you believed that the suspect posed an imminent 20 danger to you. Is that correct? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Did you believe that he posed an 23 imminent danger to your partner officers? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 51 SERGEANT JONES: Did you believe that he posed an 1 imminent threat to citizens in the area? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: Just to clarify something. You said 5 you believed, at the time, you shot between two and four 6 rounds, but based on what you know now, you said how many 7 rounds were shot -- were fired? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: It would have been seven. 9 SERGEANT WHITE: Seven? And that was based on video 10 you watched or being told? 11 DAMIEN VELASCO: When the Crime Lab took mine away. 12 SERGEANT WHITE: The Crime Lab took the gun and you saw 13 how many rounds? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: How many rounds. Uh-huh. 15 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. That's it. 16 SERGEANT JONES: But, to the best of your recollection, 17 it was -- 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: I believed it was somewhere between 19 two and four, at the time. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did they count the rounds 21 in front of you? Is that how you knew how many were 22 unaccounted for now? Not unaccounted for. That's not 23 correct. What I'm saying, is that were no longer in your 24 magazine or in the -- seated in your firearm? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 52 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 1 SERGEANT WHITE: Did you see -- or I know this is 2 difficult, but did you see where -- if your rounds impacted 3 the suspect? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. I don't. 5 SERGEANT WHITE: You don't know? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: Huh-uh. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember if you used your 8 sights, when you fired, or was it just a point and shoot 9 type of encounter? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: My first round or two was more just 11 through like wide picture, and then I came back down, and I 12 felt myself come down at that point. 13 SERGEANT JONES: After you fired? 14 DAMIEN VELASCO: A round or two, yes, when I was still 15 up. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, to the best of your 17 knowledge, did the other officers discharge their firearms 18 during this incident, also? Other than CJ? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you know how many? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. After the officer involved 23 shooting occurred, immediately after, did you converse with 24 any of the other officers about what had just transpired? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 53 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I recall. No. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Did you speak with any witnesses or 2 citizens after that? 3 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Sergeant Pham arrived shortly after 5 the officer involved shooting occurred. Is that correct? 6 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't know when he got there. 7 SERGEANT JONES: He was there at some point? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And then it was coordinated that -- 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: I believe he put out the "998" but I 11 don't know where he was then. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: At that point. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Ultimately, you were partnered 15 with a non-involved officers and you were taken back to the 16 station. Is that correct? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And then, ultimately, CSI was 19 performed, and you turned over your service weapon and all 20 that. Correct? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Were you injured, at all, during this 23 incident? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 54 SERGEANT JONES: To the best of your knowledge, were 1 any of the other officers injured, during this incident? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 3 SERGEANT JONES: What about uninvolved citizens? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Not to my knowledge. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 6 SERGEANT WHITE: Did you provide a public safety 7 statement? 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 9 SERGEANT WHITE: Do you remember who that was to? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: I believe it was Archer. 11 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Did you or your fellow officers render 13 first aid to the -- to the suspect, after the shooting 14 occurred? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. We had multiple officers there. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did someone request 17 paramedics or -- or any type of other personnel to respond 18 down there? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember who came? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: I think Lifeguards showed up first. 22 SERGEANT JONES: First? 23 DAMIEN VELASCO: Uh-huh. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And did they -- was CPR being 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 55 performed on the suspect, prior to them arrival -- to their 1 arrival? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: I believe so. Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Were you involved in that, at all? 4 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Just in regard to the day, in 6 general, do you remember what the weather conditions were 7 like? Was it sunny? Or -- 8 DAMIEN VELASCO: I don't recall. 9 SERGEANT JONES: It was daylight though; correct? 10 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yeah. Uh-huh. 11 SERGEANT JONES: The lighting conditions? It was well-12 lit? 13 DAMIEN VELASCO: Uh-huh. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. What about like noise level? 15 Was there any like -- I know that the U.S. Open was 16 occurring and it's different than in past, but was there any 17 concerts going on or loud speakers that -- 18 DAMIEN VELASCO: Nothing that I recall. 19 SERGEANT JONES: -- would drown out commands or 20 anything like that? 21 DAMIEN VELASCO: Not that I recall. No. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Did you hear any sirens that were 23 occurring prior to the officer involved shooting? 24 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Not that I recall. 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 56 SERGEANT JONES: Any helicopters or, you know, for the 1 venue, that were causing loud noises? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: No. Not that I recall. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. All right. Do you have 4 anything? 5 SERGEANT WHITE: No. (INAUDIBLE). 6 SERGEANT JONES: (INAUDIBLE.) 7 SERGEANT WHITE: What's that? 8 SERGEANT JONES: You don't have anything else? 9 SERGEANT WHITE: I don't have anything else. 10 SERGEANT JONES: do you have -- do you want to 11 clean up or clarify anything? 12 A couple things, really quick. When he 13 brought up his arms, I think, and was pointing at CJ, did it 14 look, to you, that he had something in his hands? 15 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 16 Meaning that it didn't look like -- it 17 did not look like the shirt was just covering his bare 18 hands? Correct? 19 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 20 And did you believe, at that time, that 21 he was holding a gun? 22 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 23 And is that based on the totality of 24 the circumstances, of everything that had occurred prior to? 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 57 DAMIEN VELASCO: Correct. 1 I don't have anything else. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Let me go back on that. So, you said 3 that he was standing in like a -- what you described as a 4 "professional shooting stance." Based on your training and 5 experience, would it be safe to say that regardless of you 6 seeing an actual firearm, that it was his intent to make 7 himself appear to be pointing a weapon or a firearm at CJ? 8 I'm sorry. Will you ask that again? I 9 was (INAUDIBLE). 10 SERGEANT JONES: I know. Based on your training and 11 experience, and the way he was positioning his body, with 12 his arms extended, even though it was covered -- his arms 13 and his hands were covered with that shirt -- is that 14 consistent with someone trying to either point the firearm 15 at somebody or replicate that they are pointing a firearm at 16 somebody? 17 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I don't have anything else. 19 You don't have anything else? 20 No. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 22 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. I'm going to read you this 23 advisement real quick. Damien Velasco, I am ordering you 24 not to discuss this interview or investigation with anyone 25 INTERVIEW OF: DAMIEN VELASCO CASE NO.: 2021-012353 58 other than your representative, or us, Sergeant Jones or 1 Sergeant White. Do you understand? 2 DAMIEN VELASCO: Yes, sir. 3 SERGEANT WHITE: And I'm going to have you circle "yes" 4 on here and initial next to that. 5 DAMIEN VELASCO: Right here? Yes? 6 SERGEANT WHITE: Yes. 7 DAMIEN VELASCO: (CIRCLES AND INITIALS.) 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. That concludes this interview. 9 The time is 10:43 AM and we will be off tape. 10 11 (END OF INTERVIEW.) 12 HUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW OF: OFFICER NICHOLAS KOEHLER INTERVIEWED BY: SERGEANT BRIAN JONES SERGEANT SHAWN WHITE ALSO PRESENT: ATTORNEY CASE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 & FD 21-0001 TIME: 7:43 AM DATE: 10-01-21 LOCATION: HUNTINGTON BEACH PD PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS UNIT AUDIO FILE: Koehler OIS Interview TRANSCRIBED BY: FILE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 N. Koehler 100121 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 SERGEANT JONES: This is Sergeant Brian Jones. We are 1 on tape. This is an involved officer interview for Officer 2 Nicholas Koehler, related to the officer involved shooting 3 that occurred on September 25th, 2021. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: All right, Nick. I'm going to read 5 you this advisement here. The date of this interview is 6 October 1st, 2021. The time is 7:43 AM. The location is 7 the Huntington Beach Police Department, Professional 8 Standards Unit office. The investigation is under the 9 direction and command of Captain Haught. 10 Present in this room is yourself, Nicholas Koehler, 11 your attorney, Sergeant Brian Jones, and 12 Sergeant Shawn White, of the Professional Standards Unit. 13 This investigation concerns an officer involved 14 shooting. You have the right to have one representative of 15 your choice present during this interview, and you have 16 chosen Correct? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 18 SERGEANT WHITE: You have the right to make your own 19 tape recording of this interview. 20 "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say 21 may be used against you in court. You have the right to an 22 attorney before and during questioning. If you cannot 23 afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before 24 questioning, if you wish." Do you understand each of these 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 3 rights that I have explained to you? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 2 SERGEANT WHITE: Will you provide us with a statement? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: All right. While you have the right 5 to remain silent with regard to any criminal investigation, 6 you do not have the right to refuse to answer our 7 administrative investigation questions. This is an 8 administrative investigation. I am, therefore, now ordering 9 you to discuss this matter with us. If you refuse to 10 discuss this matter, your silence can be deemed 11 insubordination and result in administrative discipline, up 12 to and including termination. 13 Any statement you make under compulsion of the threat 14 of such discipline cannot be used against you in a later 15 criminal proceeding. Nicholas Koehler, I am ordering you to 16 answer any and all questions asked of you in a truthful and 17 accurate manner. 18 Failure to do so may be deemed insubordination and 19 result in administrative discipline, up to and including 20 termination of your employment with the City of Huntington 21 Beach. Do you understand what was just explained to you? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I do. 23 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. I'm going to have you sign 24 here, on the "subject" line. Sergeant Jones is going to 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 4 sign next to you, on the "interviewer" line. 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: (SIGNS DOCUMENT.) 2 SERGEANT JONES: All right, Nick. We're going to go 3 into -- just some of your training -- your experience, not 4 training. 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Right. 6 SERGEANT JONES: How long have you been an officer with 7 the City of Huntington Beach? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I graduated the academy in March of 9 2018, so it's been about three and half years. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And do you have any prior law 11 enforcement experience? 12 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I do not. 13 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to Saturday, September 25th, 14 2021, this past Saturday, were you on-duty on that day? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I was. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Was this an overtime shift? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And what was your assignment? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I was assigned to the U.S. Open 20 Surfing event. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And what time did that shift start? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It started at 9:00 AM. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And did you attend a briefing? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I'm sorry, it started at 8:00 AM. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 5 SERGEANT JONES: Oh, at 8:00 AM? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did attend a briefing. Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And who held that briefing? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It was Sergeant -- or Lieutenant 4 Archer and Sergeant Pham. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember what call sign you 6 were assigned? 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. I was 91X. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Were you assigned a partner for that 9 shift? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I wasn't assigned a partner, but I 11 chose to ride along with Officer Simpson that day. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did they say what the 13 objective or mission of that assignment was for that day? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: We were assigned to the venue. Our 15 parameters were, basically, the event venue, in Pier Plaza, 16 and just make sure there were no issues at the sporting 17 event. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Were there security personnel that 19 were private security for that event? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know what they were dressed 22 -- like their uniform? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I believe they were wearing black 24 pants and red T-shirts. I think the company is EES or 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 6 something similar. 1 SERGEANT JONES: But they were clearly identifiable? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Clearly. 3 SERGEANT JONES: In the 24-hours prior to your shift on 4 Saturday, September 25th, did you -- so, that would be like 5 the 24th? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 7 SERGEANT JONES: From 8:00 AM, on the 24th, to 8:00 AM 8 on the 25th, did you sleep prior to your shift -- 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did. 10 SERGEANT JONES: -- on the 25th? 11 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And how many hours, do you think, you 13 got? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Maybe seven. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And during the course of your day, on 16 the 24th, did you eat regularly? Like breakfast, lunch, and 17 dinner? 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: During your shift, on Saturday, 20 September 25th, prior to the officer involved shooting, did 21 you happen to eat? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. We had breakfast and lunch. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And was that provided by the event? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It was. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 7 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to your shift, on September 1 25th, that Saturday, did you consume any alcoholic 2 beverages? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did not. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Did you take any medication or drugs? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did not. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Did you take any exercise supplements, 7 like "Creatine" or anything like that? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: If I drank anything, it was this 9 thing called "Burn." It's not -- it's nothing like a pre-10 workout, or anything like that. I think it maybe has a 11 minimal amount of caffein. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Is that purchased over the counter? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 14 SERGEANT JONES: It's not a prescription or anything 15 like that? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Prior to your shift on 18 September 25th, did you work any overtime assignment from in 19 the 24-hour period, or regular shifts in the 24-hour period 20 prior to that? 21 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did not. 22 SERGEANT JONES: So, you were off on Friday, the 24th? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I was. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. The following questions will be 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 8 directed, specifically, at Saturday, September 25th. Okay? 1 Following the officer involved shooting, were you given the 2 opportunity to review body-worn camera footage that captured 3 the incident? 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And did you review some of that body-6 worn camera footage, or all of that body-worn camera footage 7 today, prior to our interview? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And those videos consist of one by 10 Officer Velasco and the other by Officer Simpson? 11 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: That's correct. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And they were also involved in this 13 incident. Correct? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to this interview, have you had 16 the opportunity to see other videos that were from sources 17 outside of the police department? Like news broadcasts? Or 18 social media? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I have. Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was there anything in those 21 videos that you felt contradicted the body-worn camera 22 footage that you've seen? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And specific to that shift, on the 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 9 25th, can you describe your uniform that you were wearing? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I was wearing the summer approved 2 uniform. I was wearing black shorts, black tennis shoes, a 3 black polo T-shirt, with the Huntington Beach patch on both 4 my shoulders, in gray. I was wearing my -- I was wearing my 5 belt, with my gun, handcuff case, tourniquet, my radio, and 6 the keys to the vehicle, and then I was wearing my exterior 7 vest, which had my department-issued badge on the left side 8 of my chest, it has my taser on there, an extra set of 9 handcuffs, and two extra magazines. 10 On the back of my vest, it says, "POLICE" in big white 11 letters, in addition to the patches that I have on my 12 shoulder and the badge. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you had -- I know you had 14 the external vest. Did you have like a Sam Browne on or a 15 gun belt on, as well? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And did you have a holster with your 18 service weapon in that? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. I had a holster with my Glock 20 17 and a light on it. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, during this officer 22 involved incident, there were four other officers that were 23 assigned -- let me start over. And I'm going to go back 24 just a little bit. For that shift, that was a special 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 10 assignment to work the U.S. Open, down on the beach. 1 Correct? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember how many people 4 were assigned to that detail, that day? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: There were five officers, including 6 myself and a sergeant. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And those -- so, a total of 8 six? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And those employees were Officer 11 Velasco, Detective Parker, Officer Simpson, obviously, you, 12 Sergeant Pham, and CJ Remington? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And those officers, were they dressed 15 similarly to you? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. Two of the -- one of the 17 officers had his normal Class "B" uniform on. Officer -- or 18 Detective Remington was wearing the same uniform as I was, 19 except that he had this black legging type material on, and 20 Officer Velasco was wearing the same uniform as I was, and 21 Officer Simpson had pants on instead of shorts. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And all of you were clearly 23 identifiable as police officers? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. In addition to what I 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 11 provided, I also was wearing a Huntington Beach Police 1 Department hat, which is black in color and has "POLICE" on 2 the front, in white. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. During the course of the 4 investigation, that ensued after the officer involved 5 shooting, the Orange County Sheriff's Department came down 6 to conduct a part of that investigation and, as part of that 7 investigation, they brought their CSI technicians down, to 8 process the scene? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Photographed the officers involved, 11 and collected some property from each officer. During that 12 time, did their CSI photograph you? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And, at the time that they photograph 15 you, were you in the uniform that you just described, that 16 you were wearing during the officer involved shooting? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Had you taken anything off that 19 uniform, when the photographs were taken of you, that you 20 were wearing at the time when the officer involved shooting 21 occurred? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 23 SERGEANT JONES: So, when those pictures were taken, 24 that's how you looked at the time when the officer involved 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 12 shooting occurred? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to your service 3 weapon, can you tell me the make of it? If you know the 4 model, please tell me. If you don't, it's totally okay, and 5 the caliber. 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It's a Block 17, .9 millimeter. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And, you said -- I think you told me 8 you had two magazines in our external vest? Is that 9 correct? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have any other magazines? How 12 many magazines total do you have? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Three magazines. One was in the 14 weapon, and two were in the vest. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And were your magazines fully 16 loaded? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: They were. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know how many rounds each 19 magazine holds? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: 17 rounds. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, did you have a round, 22 if you did, in the -- or chambered in your Glock? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: So, for your service weapon, you had 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 13 the magazine with 17 inserted into the gun, plus one, which 1 would be the round that's chambered in the firearm. Is that 2 correct? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: You may or may not know this, but do 5 you know what brand or type of ammunition you were carrying? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: If I -- based on boxes I have seen, 7 Winchester? 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. If you don't know, it's fine. 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. To my best guess, that's what 10 it would be. 11 SERGEANT JONES: But the ammunition that you were 12 wearing -- not wearing -- but carrying, that day, during 13 this officer involved incident, that's the ammunition that 14 was issued to you by the Huntington Beach Police Department? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Nick, are you right-handed or left-17 handed? 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Right-handed. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And do you shoot with the same hand? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: So, you shoot right-handed and do you 22 carry your service weapon on the right side of your person? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I do. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Have you successfully completed the 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 14 required department-qualifications with the weapon? The 1 service weapon you fired during this officer involved 2 shooting? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And prior to your shift, on the 25th 5 of September, did you perform any function checks or press 6 checks of your service weapon, prior to going into service? 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: To your knowledge, prior to this 9 incident, were there any issues with your weapon? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 11 SERGEANT JONES: The firearm that we're discussing 12 right now, the one that was used during the officer involved 13 shooting, by you, was that, ultimately, turned over as 14 evidence to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, CSI 15 personnel? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Do you carry a backup weapon? 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Aside from firearms, were you carrying 20 any less lethal or any other type of weapons, as in like a 21 conductive energy weapon, commonly referred to as a "taser," 22 a baton, asp, pepper spray, or anything like that? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did have my taser, conductive 24 energy weapon, on my person. I did not have any other less 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 15 lethal options. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And how do you carry the taser? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It is seated on my external vest, 3 basically, right in the middle, and it's in an AR magazine 4 pouch. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you do any function 6 checks of the taser, prior to going into service on 7 September 25th? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 9 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to getting down to the 10 beach, for that shift, because, I mean, I understand that 11 some people don't -- that's a special event, on the beach, 12 for the surf contest. Correct? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 14 SERGEANT JONES: So, typically, you're on foot patrol 15 down there. 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: But, to get down there, you guys take 18 vehicles, and you may have to transport people, but did you 19 have a specific unit assigned to you, for that day? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. We took out 1414, which is 21 one of the SUVs in the back lot. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And when you say "we," I'm assuming 23 you're talking about some of the people assigned to the 24 event? 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. Officer Simpson, Officer 1 Velasco, and I rode in the SUV, down to the event. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And I understand that Detective Parker 3 and Detective Remington, who were part of that team, they 4 have City-issued vehicles of their own. Did they drive 5 those cars down there? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And that's why they weren't in 1414, 8 with you guys? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Was there any equipment, as in like 11 less lethal platforms inside of the patrol unit, that you 12 guys took down to the beach? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: The patrol unit would have had a 14 40 millimeter projectiles and, in my bag, that I brought 15 with me, there would have been a baton. 16 SERGEANT JONES: When you say, "There would have been," 17 do you know, for a fact, that there was a 40 millimeter 18 projectile launcher in there? Or are you just saying that 19 there should have been? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Every car should have a 21 40 millimeter projectile. I didn't -- I don't recall seeing 22 one, that day, or checking for one. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: But that's, typically, in the back 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 17 of the cars, is where they are. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And there's a chance there might not 2 have been on in there? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: My point is, you didn't check? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you know where that car was 7 positioned at the time this officer involved shooting 8 occurred? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. It was parked at Lifeguard 10 Headquarters. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Is that in close proximity, as in is 12 it -- would that have been easily accessible to you guys, at 13 the time you were encountering this suspect, when the 14 officer involved shooting occurred? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. From the position we were, we 16 would have had to pass him to go to the vehicle and then 17 come back, so it wouldn't have been feasible. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And that would have taken a 19 considerable amount of time. Correct? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to the specific incident 22 that we're discussing today, on September 25th, that 23 Saturday, of this year, at 3:08 PM, did you hear a radio 24 broadcast come out over the radio? 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know who broadcast that 2 transmission? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It was Thoby Archer. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know what his call sign 5 was, for that day? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I believe it was 03Uniform. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And was he down at the event, 8 do you know? Or -- or like working the event, and that's 9 why he broadcasted or where was he; do you know? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Part of the day, he was down at the 11 event, with Sergeant Pham. At the time of the broadcast, I 12 don't know where he was. I assume, given the time, it was -13 - he was back at the station for swing shift briefing. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was he the watch commander for 15 that day? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: So, his primary assignment was not 18 down at the surf contest; correct? It was to be the watch 19 commander? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And what did he broadcast, that you 22 recall? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: He broadcast that staff from the 24 event were following a possibly drunk or male under the 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 19 influence of drugs, down by the beach service -- sorry. 1 Down by the water, and that he had possibly stolen from one 2 of the stores down there -- one of the vendors. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, where were you when 4 that transmission was broadcast? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Officer Simpson and I were in Pier 6 Plaza. We were doing a patrol check, as requested, by 7 Sergeant Pham. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, you didn't initially 9 respond to this call, because you guys were doing something 10 else. Is that correct? 11 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And did you hear additional radio 13 broadcasts come out, after the initial broadcast? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. Officer Velasco made a 15 broadcast. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And do you -- can you explain to me, 17 if you recall, what those broadcasts were? 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. Officer Velasco stated he had 19 further information that the suspect, that the officials 20 were following, was a male Hispanic, short in stature, with 21 a white T-shirt, with what appeared to be a basketball print 22 on the back, and shorts. Further information was received, 23 that he either had a handgun or a knife on his person. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And that information was broadcast by 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 20 Officer Velasco? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And did an additional broadcast come 3 out, providing additional information about the suspect? 4 And I'm going to refer to this individual as "the suspect" 5 throughout most of this interview, just to make it more 6 simple. 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Did anymore broadcasts come out, 9 providing more information about the suspect? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. For the location, we had 11 possibly under the pier, or heading under the pier, and that 12 he warned us of officer safety, saying that there was 13 something concealed in his waistband. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And when you say, "he" are you 15 referring to Officer Velasco? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 17 SERGEANT JONES: At that point, did you and Officer 18 Simpson start responding to this call? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. Officer Velasco indicated he 20 was going to standby for a back and that's when I assigned 21 myself and Officer Simpson to the call. 22 SERGEANT JONES: If I can go back just one question, 23 when Officer Velasco put out "officer safety," did he 24 describe some behavior that this suspect was doing, that's 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 21 why he put out a warning for "officer safety"? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: From what I recall, that he had 2 something concealed in his waistband, and then he said, 3 "officer safety." 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, he was describing something 5 of -- that he was possibly concealing something? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. And when somebody says, 7 "They're concealing something in their waistband it, 8 typically, means a weapon." 9 SERGEANT JONES: And that's based on our training and 10 experience? 11 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Based on my training and experience. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, as you guys start 13 responding, did you, ultimately, identify the suspect in the 14 area? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And did he match the description that 17 was provided to you by -- initially by Lieutenant Archer's 18 broadcast, and then the subsequent broadcast by Officer 19 Velasco? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And what did you see him wearing, when 22 you saw him? Or can you describe him to me, please? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: He was a male Hispanic, bald head, 24 wearing a white T-shirt, per -- like Velasco described, with 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 22 some type of a basketball print or a round print on the back 1 of his shirt. He was wearing shorts and socks -- white 2 socks. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And did you take note of anything in 4 regard to his behavior or any observed actions that he was 5 doing? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. He had clothing, what looked 7 like articles of clothing, in his hand, that he was 8 clenching. As Officer Simpson and I approached him, he was 9 repeatedly looking over his shoulder. He would make eye 10 contact with us and immediately turn his attention away from 11 us. He looked back at Officer Velasco, where his vehicle 12 was, and he was walking in a brisk manner. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, based on your training and 14 experience, coupled with the information that you had been 15 given over the radio, and now your observations, does that 16 behavior cause you concern? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And why? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: When somebody is said to have a 20 weapon, they're acting nervous, they have clear eyes on 21 officers, and they walk away, it's indicative that there's 22 something more going on than we realize. We don't know what 23 their plan is, at the moment, or their motive. We just know 24 that, hey, they're possibly armed, either they don't want to 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 23 talk to us, for whatever reason, and it was clear that he 1 didn't like that we were there. 2 SERGEANT JONES: So, would you say that it's -- it's 3 suspicious in nature? 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. Suspicious in nature. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And that it's likely that, based on 6 the information you had, he either had committed a crime? 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Was about to commit a crime? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Or had already committed one? 11 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: As you were responding to that call, 13 and coupled with the information and your own observations, 14 what did you think that you were dealing with, at that time? 15 As in like crimes that may have occurred? Or that you were 16 going to use to make contact with this person? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: So, based on the initial broadcasts 18 that went out, coupled with the fact that there was possibly 19 a theft, and then Officer Velasco's transmission that the 20 guy was possibly armed. Normally, when there's a theft and 21 someone's armed, I immediately went to maybe it was a 22 robbery, or some sort of brandishing of a weapon, or 23 something that had occurred, because most people don't 24 normally just say someone is armed without saying -- without 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 24 seeing something, indicating that to be so. Can you, sorry, 1 can you repeat the question? 2 SERGEANT JONES: I'll even clarify it. Based on the 3 information that was given, and your own observations, did 4 you feel that there was reasonable suspicion to detain this 5 individual? Or was this going to be a consensual contact? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: We were going to detain him. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, as you guys get closer, 8 do you remember what officers were now with you? Obviously, 9 you said Simpson. I know that Velasco was in the immediate 10 area of you. Were you aware of where Velasco was? 11 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. So, me and Officer Simpson 12 were on the north side of the little retaining wall that 13 separates the beach service road and the sand. I knew that 14 Officer Velasco was south of us, and as we were approaching, 15 I could see Officer Remington and Officer Read approaching 16 us, coming northbound on the beach service road, in the 17 side-by-side. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, as you guys are converging 19 on the suspect, why don't you -- and I won't interrupt you 20 during this part of the interview. I just want you to lay 21 out what you recall, and what you were feeling, and try to 22 describe it, as best as possible, what occurred, from that 23 point on. 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. We were still -- we were 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 25 still following him. As we were going southbound, towards 1 the area where the incident took place, where the Beach Sub 2 is, things I noticed immediately was the heavy presence of 3 individuals from the surfing competition, where the vendors 4 were, there were people on the boardwalk, people above the 5 pier, people under the pier, so we had hundreds, if not 6 thousands of people, in that immediate vicinity. 7 We elected -- I elected not to make any contact, at 8 that point. To kind of follow him, see what -- see what he 9 was doing, his actions. 10 As we were walking, I could see that he had the items 11 clenched in his hand, in front of him, in clothing. At one 12 point, I could see that there was a black object wrapped in 13 that clothing. 14 At that point, I cannot definitively tell what it was, 15 whether it be a knife or a handgun, or any other sort of 16 weapon, but I knew that he was concealing something in this 17 -- in this clothing. So, that immediately kind of escalated 18 things, in my mind, and my perception of what there may or -19 - what he may or may not do. 20 As we all sort of came together, at the same spot, when 21 Officer Remington got out of his side-by-side, and 22 approached, Officer Remington, I think, he went over the 23 wall and so did Officer Simpson. 24 And they began to approach the subject and were giving 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 26 him some sort of commands. I can't recall or speak to what 1 those commands were; however, I know that they were the two 2 people that contacted him. 3 As I elected to walk around, the barrier wall, as I was 4 doing so, I could distinctly hear him say, "You don't want 5 to do this." At that point, he had whatever -- 6 SERGEANT WHITE: And who is actually saying that? 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: The suspect. 8 SERGEANT WHITE: The suspect? Okay. 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: The suspect looked at us and said, 10 "You don't want to do this." At this point, he raised his 11 arms and took what we recognized as a shooting stance. He 12 had whatever item underneath, wrapped around the article of 13 clothing, which was draping it, and I saw that, out of the 14 corner of my eye, as I was coming around, at this point, I 15 fully expected him to have a weapon and, specifically, a 16 handgun, given the fact that he took the shooting leg 17 stance, which is easily recognizable. That's what we do. 18 That's what we're trained to see. 19 At this point, as I'm coming around, I see, in my 20 peripheral, I hear a series of shots go off. That's when 21 I'm running around, and I get into the position that I was. 22 I had Officer Read to my left, I had myself, and then the 23 three other officers. We kind of had like this open "U" 24 almost, half horseshoe right there. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 27 I saw the suspect rolling around on the ground and I 1 saw the white article of clothing with the black object in 2 it. At that time, I perceived that weapon in the article of 3 clothing was a gun, based on the shooting like stance that I 4 saw, and coupled with the fact that there was already a 5 shooting, that had taken place. At that time, I did not 6 know whether the suspect was the one shooting, officers were 7 shooting, it was not clear to me, at that time. 8 The suspect was on his knees and he grabbed the article 9 of clothing, and the black object, and pointed it at myself 10 and Officer Parker's direction. At that time, I recognized 11 the fact that my life, as well as my partner's life and 12 whoever was behind me, their life was in danger of great 13 bodily injury or death due to the weapon he had in his hand, 14 and that's when I fired my weapon. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I'm just going to ask you some 16 clarifying questions. 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: This suspect, he was the only 19 individual that was described as being involved in the 20 activity that you were dispatched to, or that was broadcast 21 over the radio. Correct? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: He wasn't in the company of anybody 24 else? 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 28 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Did you make any radio broadcasts, 2 during this incident? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. I made the broadcast that 4 myself and Officer Simpson, I believe, I don't recall his 5 call sign, were coming from Pier Plaza. I made the 6 broadcast that we were following the suspect towards the 7 Beach Sub, which would have been in a southbound direction, 8 and that, I think, that said he was on the sand or walking 9 towards the beach. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And did you -- when you saw this 11 suspect, did you recognize him, as in have you ever had 12 prior contacts with this individual before? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Not that I recall. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you said that, as you all 15 converged on the suspect, while he was on the sand, in 16 between the Pier and the Beach Substation that, I believe, 17 you said it was Simpson and Detective Remington were giving 18 him some commands or trying to communicate with him, in some 19 fashion. Is that correct? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: But you don't recall exactly what they 22 said? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I can't speak to anything other than 24 the video. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 29 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you -- did you, 1 personally, at that point in time, did you say anything to 2 the suspect? And give him any commands? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I don't recall. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. As you guys got closer, you 5 said that you went around the retaining wall. I believe you 6 said Remington and Simpson hopped over the retaining wall to 7 make contact with this individual. 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I know Simpson did. I can't -- I 9 don't know if Remington had gone around the retaining wall 10 or not, but he was -- he was in between the retaining wall 11 and the suspect. He was closest to where the suspect was. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you came around and so, as 13 you were coming around, that's when you heard the shots 14 being fired? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And you said that you saw the suspect 17 -- well, let me go back a little bit. You said that the 18 suspect, as you guys were approaching him, and officers were 19 making contact with him, that they were giving him commands 20 or saying something to him, and he responded to the effect 21 of, "You don't want to do this today." Is that correct? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I don't know if "today" was 23 mentioned. Just, "You don't want to do this." 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. "You don't want to do this?" 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 30 Was that -- how did you take the tone in that statement that 1 he made? Was it, "You don't want to do this," or was it 2 like more -- you tell me. Was it like a threat? Like you 3 don't want -- just explain to me what you -- you -- 4 SERGEANT WHITE: Interpreted that as? 5 SERGEANT JONES: -- interpreted that as? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I interpreted that as a statement of 7 either he wanted to harm us or he wanted us to harm him, 8 based on the statement that he was making, coupled with the 9 stance he immediately took afterwards, I mean, it's not a 10 statement that people typically make, I mean, I was 11 immediately fearful when he made the statement that he, was 12 looking to hurt us or himself. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And that statement, was it clear to 14 you that he was not going to comply with any of you guys' 15 orders? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And you said that he had -- at that 18 time, he had his hands -- was it both hands? Or one hand? 19 Down by his waistband? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Prior to -- prior to the initial 21 contact, he had his hands in front of him, where the 22 clothing was, and he was -- it looked like he was holding 23 onto something, like a black object, and that's when he was 24 walking. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 31 When officers initially made contact with him, he was 1 facing the officers, at this point, the items were in his 2 hand, in front of him, and that's when he raised the items. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And while his hands were down -4 - both hands were down at his waistband, during the contact, 5 and as you guys following him, actually, -- 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 7 SERGEANT JONES: -- it was covered with something. 8 Correct? His hands were concealed underneath something, an 9 article of clothing, or a towel? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. Correct. It looked like 11 articles of clothing. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And what color was it? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I -- the one I saw was white. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you said that you could see 15 some type of black object concealed under -- in his hands, 16 concealed under the white towel or shirt? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Could you tell what that object was? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 20 SERGEANT JONES: So, you don't know if it was a weapon? 21 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Based on the -- the only information 22 I had, led me to believe it was a weapon. 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: So, based on all the information 24 that was broadcast, and your observations, and coupled with 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 32 his demeanor, is it safe to say -- and I don't want to 1 assume -- but you strongly believed that this individual, 2 this suspect was, indeed, armed with some type of weapon? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: That is correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. As you came around the cinder 5 block wall, to join the officers who were making contact 6 with the suspect, you said that you saw him raise his arms 7 up, in what you described as a "shooting stance." 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 9 SERGEANT JONES: That means, to me, and correct me if 10 I'm wrong, were his arms extended straight out in front of 11 him, with like his elbows locked and in a standard like the 12 Weaver stance? Shooting platform position? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. That's correct. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And were both of his hands together? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know who or was he pointing 17 his hands in the direction of a specific officer or was he 18 moving it around, at multiple officers? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: He was pointing in the direction of 20 Detective Remington. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And your observation, it was directly 22 pointed at -- never mind. 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Based on my -- well, what I 24 observed. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 33 Yeah. Just from your recollection. 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. 2 SERGEANT JONES: As his hands are extended, directly in 3 front of him, at that time, he still has -- does he still 4 have something in his hands, that's being concealed by a 5 white article of clothing or -- 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: -- or a shirt or something? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. You could see that something 9 was being draped over, with the clothing. 10 SERGEANT WHITE: At no time, when -- during your 11 observations of him, knowing that he had something to 12 conceal, did he try to discard anything? So, whatever was 13 under that article was still in his control? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. Correct. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Based on what you saw, as you were 16 coming around and he's presenting this -- his posture 17 towards officers, and your belief that he was armed with a 18 weapon, based on all his actions, and your observations, did 19 you feel that he posed a significant threat to officers? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. And the public in the 21 background of officers. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And there were other citizens in the 23 area? Not just because it's the beach but, specifically, 24 because there's an event going on down at the beach. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 34 Correct? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: So, is it your opinion that that's a 3 significant risk to the public, as well? 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And then, you heard shots. Correct? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And do you recall how many shots you 8 heard? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: From my recollection, it was two or 10 three in the first round of shots. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And I know you said that you 12 saw -- you next saw the suspect on the ground. Is that 13 correct? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see if any of the officers had 16 been hit? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did not see. There was no 18 communication as to that. 19 SERGEANT WHITE: Did you know which officer or whether 20 the suspect had fired his weapon? 21 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 22 SERGEANT WHITE: You just knew two shot -- two to three 23 shots had been fired? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 35 SERGEANT JONES: In your mind, was it possible that 1 officers may have been shot by the suspect? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And that's because of your belief he 4 was armed with a weapon, and in conjunction with the 5 shooting stance that he had taken? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember -- I'm going to go 8 back just a little bit because I forgot to ask this 9 question. 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 11 SERGEANT JONES: As officers were approaching the 12 subject and giving him commands, initially, were they -- did 13 they have their guns drawn on the sky and were they pointing 14 weapons at him, at that point? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Not from what I recall, initially. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Were you? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. When the suspect -- we'll go 19 back to where you were. When the suspect's now on the 20 ground, did you know if he had been hit by gunfire? 21 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I did not. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see any wounds on him, that 23 would have indicated that? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 36 SERGEANT JONES: Was he lying like proned out on his 1 back and motionless? Or what was he doing? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: He was moving around, like he was 3 almost kind of rolling around on the ground. Not motionless 4 and he was able to get on his knees. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Did you see anything, in the immediate 6 area, that would have provided officers with cover? 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: There were -- I don't know what 8 those were? They were trophies or -- 9 SERGEANT WHITE: Those pillars? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah, pillars. There were pillars 11 that would have been the only cover in that immediate 12 vicinity, and the cover would have been the retaining wall 13 that separates the sand and the beach service road. 14 SERGEANT JONES: When the officers -- 15 SERGEANT WHITE: About how back would that retaining 16 wall have been? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: The retaining wall probably would 18 have been maybe like 40 feet. It was significantly further 19 than where the pillars were and where the suspect was. 20 SERGEANT WHITE: So, for the most part, they're in an 21 open area where the suspect was? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: So, it wouldn't have been, I mean, in 24 order to get to that wall, for cover and concealment, they 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 37 would have had to turn their back to the suspect and run? 1 Right? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Is that a practical option to you? 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Those pillars that we're talking 6 about, those are -- I know, from the investigation, are -- I 7 think they're like wood or composite-based? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And they have a translucent top; 10 correct? 11 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: In your opinion, is that sufficient 13 cover? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Is it even sufficient concealment? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 17 SERGEANT JONES: As the suspect's now lying on the 18 ground, and there is no option for cover and concealment, 19 did he still have the object in his hand? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: He did not have the -- when I, 21 initially, went up, he did not have the object in his hand. 22 He reached for the object, which was to his left. 23 SERGEANT JONES: So, the object that he had been 24 holding, that was covered by the white material, that was 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 38 laying on the sand, south of him? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And could you see now, what the object 3 was, that he was holding? 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It was a black object, partially 5 covered by the article, so the white article of clothing, 6 and I perceived it to be a weapon. 7 SERGEANT JONES: What kind of weapon did you believe it 8 was? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Based on the events that occurred, I 10 believed it was a handgun. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And were you giving the suspect 12 any commands, at that point? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I do not recall. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember hearing any of 15 the other officers, that were involved, giving the suspect 16 commands? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I recall there were commands. I 18 don't recall what the specific commands were. 19 SERGEANT JONES: But there were some type -- there was 20 some communication being delivered or attempting to be 21 delivered to the suspect? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Was he complying? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 39 SERGEANT JONES: And what did he do next? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: He raised the item/weapon and 2 pointed it -- and he held it in his left hand, and pointed 3 it in Officer Read and my direction. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was he, at that point, was he 5 still lying on -- was he lying on his back or had he 6 maneuvered to a different position, to get to that? 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: He was -- he was on his knees, and 8 he turned his left side of his body towards Officer Read and 9 I. 10 SERGEANT JONES: So, when he -- just let me -- when the 11 officers contacted him, they were facing the -- maybe not 12 directly -- but facing in the direction of the ocean? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Is that correct? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And the suspect was facing in the 17 direction, generally, of Pacific Coast Highway; is that 18 correct? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. When he -- when you say he was 21 on his knees, did he -- he had to have -- initially, he was 22 sitting on his -- he was on his back or butt; right? So, 23 does he sit up? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. He seemed to have rolled 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 40 over. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Rolled over like, I think, probably 3 on his right side, to get to his knees, and yeah. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And so, would you say he had to 5 scramble to get to what he was going for? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. It was more of a lunge than it 7 was anything. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, he was able to, in 9 fact, pick up the object that he had been holding? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Which you believed was a firearm? 12 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And you were uncertain, at that time, 14 if he had shot officers or if he had been shot? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And was it clear to you, at that 17 point, he was attempting to re-arm himself? 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And what was your concerns or fears, 20 at that point? 21 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Well, at that point, he was pointing 22 the weapon directly in Officer Read and my direction. I 23 feared for my life, I feared for the life of my partner, and 24 the people that were behind me, the citizens. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 41 SERGEANT JONES: So, based on that determination in 1 your mind, did you fire rounds at the suspect? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember how many you 4 fired? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I only know the number based on the 6 investigation. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And prior to firing your weapon, did 8 you -- and I know this is a very quick and dynamic 9 situation. 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have an opportunity to -- or 12 did you, at all, and it's not a right or wrong answer, have 13 an opportunity to assess the background, where your rounds 14 would go, if not impacting the suspect? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. The area that we were open 16 in, was pretty open. There was nobody in the immediate 17 vicinity behind him. I think that was part of the reason 18 that we were contacting him in that space, as opposed to 19 where we first, initially, saw him. 20 SERGEANT JONES: When you fired your weapon, you were 21 standing? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And he was on the ground. Correct? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 42 SERGEANT JONES: So, would the trajectory of your fire 1 -- your fire -- your rounds, would it have gone in a 2 downward angle? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And if missed, would that have 5 continued into the venue, or into the public space, or would 6 it -- where would you think it would have impacted had you 7 not struck the suspect? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Had I not struck him, the rounds 9 would have gone there the same. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And that's a safe background for 11 shooting. Correct? 12 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 13 SERGEANT JONES: After you fired your rounds, and I'm 14 sorry, I forgot, how many did you think that you fired? 15 SERGEANT WHITE: And this is just to the best of your 16 recollection. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. This isn't -- 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: When I, initially, when I initially 19 gave my safety statement, I said, "I think two or three." 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you see where those 21 rounds impacted? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Did you use your sights to fire or was 24 this a point and shoot? 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 43 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Point and shoot. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And that's because of the dynamic and 2 quickly evolving situation. Correct? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know if other officers -- 5 obviously, you know, that there was a volley -- an initial 6 volley that you were not part of. 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: And you didn't know if the suspect 9 fired or if the officers fired? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: But, during the second volley, that 12 you were engaged in, when you fired your weapon, do you know 13 if any other officers fired their weapons, at that time? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know who those officers 16 were? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Every officer or detective Read, 18 myself, -- 19 SERGEANT WHITE: And is this information you knew at 20 the time or -- 21 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Well, I knew other officers had 22 fired but shortly after -- 23 SERGEANT WHITE: At the time, did you know who shot and 24 how many? 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 44 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Not until after we were assessing. 1 SERGEANT JONES: So, I'll clean that up. 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Sorry. 3 SERGEANT JONES: You knew that you weren't -- based on, 4 I'm assuming, the audible noises you were hearing? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: You knew that you weren't the only one 7 that was firing, at that time? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: That is correct? 9 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know if the suspect was able to 10 fire a round off when he was on the ground and retrieved 11 what you believed was the firearm? 12 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I was not aware of that. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And then, you became -- I'm 14 assuming you became aware that each officer that was with 15 you, at that time, fired, and that was probably after the 16 suspect had been rendered incapacitated? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 18 SERGEANT JONES: So, that leads to my next question. 19 After the officer involved shooting, did you speak with the 20 officers that were with you there? I, mean did you discuss 21 what had happened or what did you guys do next? 22 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Are you taking about after we 23 rendered aid? 24 SERGEANT JONES: No. Just after the shooting occurred, 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 45 did you guys start talking to each other or what did you 1 guys do? 2 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: We all made sure we were okay. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: That no one was injured. We made 5 the decision to holster our weapons and talked about that we 6 would put on our gloves and provide aid. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And did you guys provide CPR and other 8 attempting life-saving measures to the suspect? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. And an officer was performing 10 CPR and I was using both my hands to cover the wounds. 11 SERGEANT JONES: In an attempt to control bleeding? 12 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Did you, or anyone else, radio for 14 additional resources? That being lifeguards or the fire 15 department paramedics? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Other officers did. Yes. Not 17 myself. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And did they eventually, or 19 ultimately, respond? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. I think the first on scene was 21 the lifeguard truck, who took over compressions. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And you said that you gave a safety 23 statement? Do you know who you gave that to? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I do not recall. 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 46 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. But you did give one? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And that contained information 3 about how many rounds you believed you fired? 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And in what direction? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember if they asked you 8 if the suspect had fired a round? Or had fired on you guys? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I don't recall them asking about 10 that. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you receive any injuries 12 from this incident? Like physical injuries? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Do you know if any of the officers 15 did? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 17 SERGEANT JONES: What about any citizen's, other than 18 the suspect? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 20 SERGEANT WHITE: Can I clarify something really quick? 21 SERGEANT JONES: Yes, please. 22 SERGEANT WHITE: At the time you fired your weapon, 23 what would you estimate the distance was from the suspect? 24 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I'd say I was within -- within 15 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 47 feet. 1 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to that day, in general, was 2 it cloudy? Was it sunny? 3 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: It was a sunny day. I think it was 4 little overcast towards the end of the day. 5 SERGEANT JONES: So, would it be bright -- like 6 lighting conditions? 7 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: No visual obstructions? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Correct. 10 SERGEANT JONES: So, there was an event going down at 11 the beach and, in the general day, it's kind of loud down at 12 the beach. You have the street noise from PCH and you have 13 planes flying with banners, but because it was an event, 14 there's a possibility of concerts going on, loud speakers, 15 sirens. All kind of noise -- 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yeah. 17 SERGEANT JONES: -- that could be down there. Do you 18 remember hearing any noise that was so great that it would 19 have drowned out the commands that officers were giving the 20 suspect? 21 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: No. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And is it your belief that the 23 commands that were being given, even though you don't know 24 exactly what those were -- were clear and probably easily 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 48 heard by the suspect? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: And you said that you were able to 3 hear the suspect responding to something and you heard what 4 he had said? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Something to the effect of, "You don't 7 want to do this?" 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: So, you could hear clearly? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I could. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Were you wearing your body-worn 12 camera during the incident? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I was. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And was it activated? 15 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: The body-worn camera was activated 16 once I was giving medical aid. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, do you keep your body-worn 18 camera in the buffering position or in the off position, and 19 then turn it on? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: My typical practice is I keep it in 21 the off position. When I'm responding to a call, or an 22 event, is when I turn it on "standby." I actually turned it 23 on standby when I was in the area of Pier Plaza. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And was there a reason why it 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 49 wasn't activated prior to making contact? 1 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Because of the dynamic situation and 2 it wasn't safe to do so until I did. 3 SERGEANT JONES: But you did, ultimately, during the 4 course of this incident, activate your body-worn camera? 5 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. I was down and I realized that 6 the green light was flashing, indicating it was on standby. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And you, obviously, this was a serious 8 call, coupled with what you observed. Would you say that 9 your focus was solely on the suspect? 10 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And that was for officer safety 12 reasons? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Are you aware of the policy 15 that states we're supposed to have our body-worn cameras 16 activated? 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I am. 18 SERGEANT JONES: When we make contact with individuals? 19 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I am. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I don't have any other 21 questions. Do you have anything? 22 SERGEANT WHITE: No. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Sir, to do you have anything you'd 24 like to ask or clear up? 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 50 You know, I think, just something just -1 - just to reiterate and, I think, it's important. You said 2 that when you approached, came around the wall, with your 3 peripheral, you see him in a firing -- you classified it as 4 a "firing stance" and holding what you had already somewhat 5 perceived to be some type of weapon? 6 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 7 But with some type of clothing draped 8 over it, and that's when you hear shots fired? 9 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 10 And, again, you said that, at that time, 11 you weren't sure who shot, if it was officers, if it was the 12 suspect, but you perceived that some shooting had happened? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 14 When he was on the -- then you said you 15 saw him on the ground and the clothing was off to the side? 16 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 17 And you believed you saw a black object 18 in that clothing? And did you still perceive that was some 19 type of weapon? 20 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 21 And from all the information that you 22 had, leading up to that, as well as the shooting that just 23 occurred, you perceived that to be a handgun? Is that 24 correct? 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 51 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: That is correct. 1 Okay. I think the verbiage that was 2 used was the "suspect scrambled towards that." Is that 3 something you observed? 4 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 5 Did you feel that was an intentional 6 movement, on his part, to retrieve what you perceived to be 7 a weapon? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 9 And did you feel that he had the 10 intention of grabbing that weapon and then, you said, that 11 he then -- it sounds like he was facing west, on his knees, 12 and rotated towards you? 13 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Uh-huh. 14 And that is when you felt that he was 15 attempting to use the weapon, that you perceived -- or to 16 use the object that you perceived to be a weapon, that 17 would, at that time? Is that what you? 18 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Yes. 19 Okay. What did you feel at that point 20 that he was trying to do, when he made that intentional 21 movement and made that intentional rotation towards you, 22 while holding the object that you perceived to be a weapon? 23 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I thought he was trying to shoot 24 Officer Read or myself, or the officers in the direction 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 52 that he was pointing. 1 And then, the only other thing I wanted to clarify -- 2 that the body-worn, as I know, I know we're supposed to have 3 it on but just reading over, per the policy, it's "when safe 4 to do so," and that's when I did it. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Does anybody have anything else? Any 6 other -- anything else you think that we needed to ask, that 7 we didn't? Or that you think needs to be put out there? 8 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: Nothing I can think of. 9 SERGEANT WHITE: I'm going to read you one last 10 advisement here. Nick Koehler, I'm ordering you not to 11 discuss this interview or investigation with anyone other 12 than your representative or Sergeant Jones or myself. Do 13 you understand? 14 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: I understand. 15 SERGEANT WHITE: I'm going to have you circle "yes" on 16 this form and initial right next to that, at the bottom. 17 NICHOLAS KOEHLER: (CIRCLES "YES" AND INITIALS.) 18 SERGEANT WHITE: Correct. 19 SERGEANT JONES: All right. That concludes this 20 interview. The time is 8:36 AM and we will be going off 21 tape. 22 23 24 25 INTERVIEW OF: NICHOLAS KOEHLER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 53 1 2 3 4 5 6 (END OF INTERVIEW.) 7 HUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW OF: DETECTIVE READ PARKER INTERVIEWED BY: SERGEANT BRIAN JONES SERGEANT SHAWN WHITE ALSO PRESENT: ATTORNEY CASE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 & FD 21-0001 TIME: 11:14 AM DATE: 09-30-21 LOCATION: HUNTINGTON BEACH PD PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS UNIT AUDIO FILE: Parker OIS Interview TRANSCRIBED BY: FILE NO.: HBPD 2021-012353 R. Parker 093021 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 2 SERGEANT RANDELL: This is Sergeant Brian Jones. This 1 is our interview with Detective Read Parker, related to the 2 officer involved shooting, occurring on September 25th, 3 2021. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: All right, Read. This Sergeant Shawn 5 White. I'm going to read you the administrative advisement 6 here. The date of this interview is September 30th, 2021. 7 The time is 11:14 AM. 8 The location of this interview is the Huntington Beach 9 Police Department, Professional Standards Unit office. This 10 investigation is under the direction and command of Captain 11 Haught. 12 Present in this room is yourself, Read Parker, your 13 representative, attorney Sergeant Brian Jones 14 and Sergeant Shawn White, of the Professional Standards 15 Unit. 16 This investigation concerns an officer involved 17 shooting. You have the right to have one representative of 18 your choice present during this interview and you have 19 chosen Is that correct? 20 READ PARKER: Yes. 21 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. I'm going to read you your 22 Miranda advisement. "You have the right to remain silent. 23 Anything you say may be used against you in court. You have 24 the right to an attorney, before and during questioning. If 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 3 you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you 1 before questioning, if you wish." Do you understand each of 2 these rights that I have explained to you? 3 READ PARKER: Yes. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: Will you speak with us about this 5 incident? 6 As your attorney, I advise you not to 7 waive your rights. Say no. 8 READ PARKER: No. 9 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. I'm going to read you another 10 advisement here. That while you have the right to remain 11 silent, with regard to any criminal investigation, you do 12 not have the right to refuse to answer our administrative 13 investigation questions. This is an administrative 14 investigation. I am, therefore, now ordering you to discuss 15 this matter with us. 16 If you refuse to discuss this matter, your silence can 17 be deemed insubordination and result in administrative 18 discipline, up to and including termination. 19 Any statements you make under compulsion of the threat 20 of such discipline cannot be used against you in a later 21 criminal proceeding. Read Parker, I am ordering you to 22 answer any and all questions asked of you, in a truthful and 23 accurate manner. Failure to do so may be deemed 24 insubordination and result in administrative discipline, up 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 4 to and including termination of your employment with the 1 City of Huntington Beach. Do you understand what I just 2 read to you and explained? 3 READ PARKER: Yes, I do. 4 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. I'm going to have you sign on 5 the "subject" line and Sergeant Jones is going to sign on 6 the "interviewer" line. 7 READ PARKER: Here? 8 SERGEANT WHITE: Yes. 9 READ PARKER: (SIGNS DOCUMENT.) 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay, Read, we're going to get into a 11 little bit of your work experience. How long have you been 12 a police officer for the City of Huntington Beach? 13 READ PARKER: About 16 years. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Do you have any prior law enforcement 15 experience with another agency? 16 READ PARKER: No. 17 SERGEANT JONES: What is your current assignment? 18 READ PARKER: I'm assigned to the General 19 Investigations Unit. 20 SERGEANT JONES: As a detective? 21 READ PARKER: As a detective. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And how long have you been in that 23 assignment? 24 READ PARKER: Six years. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 5 SERGEANT JONES: In regard to this past Saturday, 1 September 25th, 2021, were you on-duty on that date? 2 READ PARKER: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Was this an overtime shift or a 4 regularly scheduled shift? 5 READ PARKER: Overtime. 6 SERGEANT JONES: And what was your assignment? 7 READ PARKER: We were assigned to the U.S. Open venue. 8 SERGEANT JONES: For the surfing contest? 9 READ PARKER: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember what time your 11 shift started? 12 READ PARKER: It started at 0800. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember what time it was 14 scheduled to have ended? 15 READ PARKER: 1800. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, at 6:00 o'clock? 17 READ PARKER: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And prior to going down to the 19 beach, for your assignment, did you attend a briefing? 20 READ PARKER: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember who held that 22 briefing? 23 READ PARKER: Sergeant Anthony Pham. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And do you happen to remember 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 6 your call sign? 1 READ PARKER: 92Xray. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Were you assigned to a partner? 3 READ PARKER: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And who was that? 5 READ PARKER: Detective CJ Remington. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember his call sign, 7 by any chance? If you don't, it's fine. 8 READ PARKER: I believe it was 93Xray. 9 SERGEANT JONES: How many officers -- not supervisors. 10 How many officers were assigned to your details for that 11 day? 12 READ PARKER: If I recall correctly, it was five. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And those five would be yourself, you 14 already said CJ Remington. Am I correct in saying that 15 Velasco was one of those officers? 16 READ PARKER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Officer Simpson? 18 READ PARKER: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And Officer Koehler? 20 READ PARKER: Yes. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And you had said that Sergeant Pham 22 ran the briefing so, I'm assuming, he was the supervisor 23 down there? 24 READ PARKER: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And he was 90Sam? Do you 1 remember? 2 READ PARKER: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember what the stated 4 objective or mission for your assignment, at the U.S. Open 5 was? 6 READ PARKER: Just patrol the venue of the U.S. Open, 7 and make sure everything is, you know, good to go, any calls 8 for service, we'd handle, and just make it a good enjoyable 9 day for the spectators and the people participating in it. 10 SERGEANT JONES: So, providing law enforcement 11 presence, specifically, to that venue; right? 12 READ PARKER: Specifically, to the venue. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And there were security guards also 14 assigned to the venue? That you guys leaned onto us a 15 little bit? 16 READ PARKER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And they were identified by uniform 18 or? 19 READ PARKER: Yes. I believe it was yellow shirts -- 20 yellow or red shirts. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 22 READ PARKER: I don't remember which. 23 SERGEANT JONES: But they were pretty much uniform? 24 READ PARKER: Yes. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 8 SERGEANT JONES: They were wearing the same thing and 1 identifiable as security? 2 READ PARKER: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I'm going to have you think 4 back to the 24 hours prior to your -- the start of your 5 shift on Saturday, September 25th, 2021. Do you remember if 6 you slept the night prior? 7 READ PARKER: I did. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Do you remember about how many hours 9 you got? 10 READ PARKER: It was probably about nine or 10 hours. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, a good night's sleep? 12 READ PARKER: Very good. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Did you eat regularly the day before 14 this shift? 15 READ PARKER: Yeah. Me and the wife went to dinner. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you have anything to 17 eat the day of the 25th -- September 25th, prior to the 18 officer involved shooting? 19 READ PARKER: That morning, the venue provided 20 breakfast. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In the 24-hours prior to your 22 shift on the 25th, did you consume any alcoholic beverages? 23 READ PARKER: At dinner, the night before, me and the 24 wife had a couple glasses of wine. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. You felt fine the following 1 morning? 2 READ PARKER: Absolutely. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Did you take any prescribed medication 4 or drugs in the 24-hours prior to that shift? 5 READ PARKER: The only thing I'm prescribed is -- 6 Hang-on, hang-on, hang-on. I'm going 7 to object as to medical privacy, HIPAA. The medication he 8 takes, it's private. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. I'll move past that. Did you 10 take any exercise supplements or drinks or anything like 11 that? Prior to your shift on the 25th? 12 READ PARKER: Zinc. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Zinc? And what's that for? 14 READ PARKER: They say it -- they say it helps with 15 COVID. 16 SERGEANT JONES: COVID? Prior to the shift on 17 Saturday, the 25th of September, did you work a regular 18 shift or an overtime shift on the Friday before, so that 19 would be the 24th? 20 READ PARKER: Regular shift. 21 SERGEANT JONES: A regular shift? And that was in the 22 Detective Bureau? 23 READ PARKER: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And what hours was that? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 10 READ PARKER: That's 6:00 to 4:00. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And did you get off on time, at 4:00? 2 READ PARKER: I got off an hour early. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, you got off at 3:00 on 4 Friday, the 24th? 5 READ PARKER: Yes. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. My next line of questioning is 7 going to be specific to your shift on Saturday, September 8 25th, 2021. Following the incident, that being the officer 9 involved shooting, did you have the opportunity to review 10 body-worn camera footage? 11 READ PARKER: Immediately after or just -- 12 SERGEANT JONES: Prior to our -- prior to our meeting 13 today, have you had the opportunity to view it? 14 READ PARKER: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And were you also afforded the 16 opportunity to review the videos -- the two body-worn camera 17 footage videos today, with that being officer Velasco and 18 Officer Simpson's, prior to our interview today? 19 READ PARKER: Yes. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. You had a body-worn camera 21 deployed, with you, during the shift. Correct? 22 READ PARKER: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Did you -- was there body-worn camera 24 footage that you reviewed that you recorded? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 11 Hang-on. I'm going to object that 1 you're getting -- there was no -- no notice provided of an 2 allegation that he didn't turn on his body-worn camera or 3 anything like that, so I'm going to object that there's no 4 proper notice for it. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 6 And it's outside the scope of the 7 notice that was provided. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. We haven't noticed you with 9 being a subject of anything. And I understand your 10 objection, but I'm going to ask you to answer, please. 11 READ PARKER: Say the question one more time? 12 SERGEANT JONES: You had a born-worn camera that you 13 were wearing when you went 10-8, for the shift on the 24th. 14 Correct? 15 READ PARKER: On the 25th? 16 SERGEANT JONES: 25th. I'm sorry. Thanks for 17 clarifying that. Did you have an opportunity to view any 18 video that you captured of the officer involved shooting? 19 READ PARKER: No. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you have an opportunity to 21 view any videos, from outside sources, that being like the 22 internet, or like social media, of the incident? 23 READ PARKER: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And did you find that or was it sent 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 12 to you? 1 Hang-on. I just want to object, if 2 you're going to get into stuff that I sent to him, that's 3 attorney/client communication. 4 SERGEANT JONES: It's not important. Have you seen 5 other videos, besides Huntington Beach recordings from body-6 worn cameras? That being in the news, or on social media? 7 Did you see videos? 8 READ PARKER: Yes. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to your shift on 10 Saturday, the 25th, can you describe what uniform you were 11 wearing for that assignment? 12 READ PARKER: It would be our Class "B" uniform. So, 13 blue wool pants, blue shirt, with our Huntington Beach 14 patches on it, and I was wearing an outer -- an outer vest -15 - an outer bulletproof vest. 16 SERGEANT JONES: The ones that you can put equipment 17 on? 18 READ PARKER: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Is there a badge on that external 20 vest? 21 READ PARKER: Yes. My badge was on it. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And is that on your left breast? 23 READ PARKER: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And does it say, "POLICE" anywhere on 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 13 that vest? 1 READ PARKER: On my badge, it says, "Detective, 2 Huntington Beach Police." 3 SERGEANT JONES: On the back of the vest, does it say 4 anything? 5 READ PARKER: No. 6 SERGEANT JONES: No? So, no white emblems that say 7 "POLICE" like on some raid vests that have that? 8 READ PARKER: No. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. During the investigation that 10 ensued, after the officer involved shooting, the Orange 11 County Sheriff's Department came down to handle enforcement 12 of that investigation. That included their CSI personnel, 13 that came and processed the scene and then, also, conducted 14 CSI on the officers involved in the shooting. That included 15 photographs and then collecting of weapons. When the Orange 16 County Sheriff's, the CSI people came, did they photograph 17 you, during the course of their investigation? 18 READ PARKER: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Was that at the scene or was that at 20 the station? 21 READ PARKER: That was here at the station. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember where at, in the 23 station? 24 READ PARKER: In the Detective Conference Room. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 14 SERGEANT JONES: When they photographed you, were you 1 dressed in the uniform, wearing the equipment that you had 2 on at the time the officer involved shooting occurred? 3 READ PARKER: Yes. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And had you taken anything off that 5 would be different? Let me clarify. You didn't remove any 6 equipment prior to being photographed by the CSI people? 7 READ PARKER: No. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 9 Can I just clarify something? 10 SERGEANT JONES: Yes. 11 You don't mean -- you mean just for the 12 photo? Right? Not like if he had his gear off, while he 13 was sitting, waiting for them, and then put it back on? 14 SERGEANT JONES: Correct. So, basically, yeah, that's 15 a good point. Obviously, I know you were sitting in this 16 room for a very long time, and it wouldn't be practical for 17 you to leave your gun belt on or even your external vest on, 18 for hours on end. But when they did conduct the 19 photographs, did you don all the equipment, including your 20 ex ternal vest and your gun belt, with all the equipment 21 that you had on you, at the time the officer involved 22 shooting occurred? 23 READ PARKER: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. In regard to your service 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 15 weapon, during this incident, when you went in-service that 1 day, can you tell me what the make and model and caliber of 2 your firearm is? 3 READ PARKER: Glock 17, .9 millimeter. 4 SERGEANT JONES: .9 millimeter? And how many magazines 5 do you carry? 6 READ PARKER: Just the magazines? Three. 7 SERGEANT JONES: So, you carry two on your belt, I'm 8 assuming? 9 READ PARKER: On my vest. 10 SERGEANT JONES: On your vest? Okay. And one seated 11 in the -- the firearm? 12 READ PARKER: Yes. 13 SERGEANT JONES: And do you keep a round chambered in 14 the firearm? 15 READ PARKER: Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And, to the best of your knowledge, 17 were all the magazines at full capacity? 18 READ PARKER: They were. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And do you know how many rounds your 20 magazine capacity is? 21 READ PARKER: 17. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, you have two 17-round 23 magazines, in your external vest. You have a 17-round mag -24 - to the best of your knowledge -- seated in your gun, plus 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 16 one in the chamber, for 18, in the actual service weapon? 1 READ PARKER: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you -- you may or may not 3 know this, but do you know what type of round you carry in 4 your service weapon? 5 READ PARKER: It's a Winchester, .9 millimeter round. 6 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 7 READ PARKER: It's made by Winchester. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And that ammunition was that 9 kept in your magazines, and in your service weapon, at the 10 time of this incident, was provided by the department? 11 READ PARKER: Yes. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Are you right-handed or left-13 handed? 14 READ PARKER: I shoot right-handed, but I'm left-15 handed. 16 SERGEANT JONES: You're left-handed? 17 READ PARKER: Uh-huh. But I shoot right-handed. 18 SERGEANT JONES: That was my next question. So, you're 19 left-handed? 20 READ PARKER: Left-handed. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And you shoot with your right-hand? 22 READ PARKER: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: And do you carry your firearm on your 24 right side or your left side? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 17 READ PARKER: Right side. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Have you successfully completed 2 the required department-qualifications for your service 3 weapon? 4 READ PARKER: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And that's the weapon that was 6 utilized by you during this officer involved shooting? 7 READ PARKER: Yes. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Are you also -- are you a range 9 instructor? Okay. 10 READ PARKER: Firearms instructor. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Firearms instructor. Prior to going 12 into service on Saturday, the 25th, did you perform any 13 safety checks or functionality checks on your firearm? 14 READ PARKER: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And can you describe what that was? 16 READ PARKER: I made sure all my magazines are fully 17 loaded and then I do a function check to make sure there's 18 one in the chamber. 19 SERGEANT JONES: So, like what I would recognize as 20 like a press check type thing? 21 READ PARKER: Press check. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And were there any issues with 23 your service weapon, to your knowledge? 24 READ PARKER: No. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And that service weapon, that 1 we're discussing right now, is the same service weapon that 2 you turned over to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, 3 CSI people, during this investigation? 4 READ PARKER: Yes. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you carry a backup weapon? 6 READ PARKER: No. 7 SERGEANT JONES: No? Okay. Aside from firearms, 8 during your shift, on September 25th, were you carrying any 9 batons or asp? Or did you have a conductive energy weapon? 10 Were you wearing any of that -- those pieces of equipment? 11 READ PARKER: I did not have my baton on me, but I did 12 have a taser. 13 SERGEANT JONES: A taser? 14 READ PARKER: Yes. 15 SERGEANT JONES: And do you carry that in a holster? 16 READ PARKER: It's in a pouch. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And do you carry that on your belt or 18 in your external vest? 19 READ PARKER: External vest. 20 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. What side of your chest? Left 21 or right? 22 READ PARKER: Left side. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you happen to know the model 24 of the taser? Or the conductive energy weapon? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 19 READ PARKER: I don't. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you -- were you assigned 2 this specific vehicle for this shift? 3 READ PARKER: No. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you drive down in a patrol 5 vehicle? 6 READ PARKER: No. 7 SERGEANT JONES: And, as a detective, you likely have a 8 City-owned vehicle that you utilize for your regular 9 assignment. Correct? 10 READ PARKER: Correct. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Is that the vehicle that you drove 12 down to the venue, that day? 13 READ PARKER: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And what -- if any, other equipment do 15 you keep in there -- do you keep any rifles or shotguns or 16 40 millimeters or pepper ball in that car? 17 READ PARKER: No. I don't have that -- I didn't have 18 any of that. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And where did you park your car 20 at? 21 READ PARKER: In the front of Lifeguard Headquarters. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, going back to Saturday, 23 September 25th, at about 3:08 PM, did you hear a radio 24 broadcast? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 20 READ PARKER: I did. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And do you recall what that broadcast 2 was? 3 READ PARKER: It was a -- something about a "925 4 person, possible theft." 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And do you know who generated 6 that call? Or who broadcast that information? 7 READ PARKER: To my recollection, I believe, it was 8 Lieutenant Archer. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 10 SERGEANT WHITE: What would you define 925 as? What's 11 that radio code? 12 READ PARKER: Suspicious person. 13 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Did you respond to that call? 15 READ PARKER: Initially, no. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. When that call was broadcast, 17 were you with your assigned partner, Remington? 18 READ PARKER: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And where you guys? 20 READ PARKER: In the Beach Sub. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Inside the substation, on the beach? 22 And that's the one that's just south of the pier? 23 READ PARKER: Yes. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Ultimately, did you respond to 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 21 that call? 1 READ PARKER: Yes. 2 SERGEANT JONES: You said, initially, you did not 3 respond. What prompted you to respond to the call? 4 READ PARKER: I recall it was Officer Velasco that 5 said, "He had observations on the subject and that there was 6 something mentioned about a knife or a gun. He had his 7 hands concealed, like he was concealing a weapon and he, 8 specifically, put out just, you know, be advised officer 9 safety." 10 SERGEANT JONES: And do you recall him saying, "Officer 11 safety"? 12 READ PARKER: I do. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, at that time, you and CJ, 14 after hearing that additional broadcast from Velasco, you 15 guys started to respond to the call? From the Beach 16 Substation? 17 READ PARKER: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And, at that time, had they broadcast 19 where they were, and where they were observing this suspect? 20 We're going to call him the "suspect" because I'll go back 21 and forth too many times, calling him something, so we're 22 just going to refer to him as the "suspect." Did they 23 identify where he was at? 24 READ PARKER: I recall it was underneath the pier. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 22 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And so, you started responding 1 from the substation, heading towards the pier, when you 2 encountered other officers, I'm assuming, or what did you 3 see? 4 READ PARKER: Me and CJ, we got into the side-by-side 5 and started driving towards the pier. Maybe drove 20, 30 6 feet, and that's when I saw Officer Simpson walking on the 7 boardwalk and he pointed to the suspect and I remember the 8 suspect's description was male Hispanic, shaved head, light 9 shirt with a basketball imprinted on it. So, as soon as he 10 pointed to the suspect, I saw -- I made contact -- I made 11 eye-contact with the suspect. 12 SERGEANT JONES: And, based on all of the information 13 that had been provided, you were -- were you confident that 14 was the subject of this call? 15 READ PARKER: Yes. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 17 SERGEANT WHITE: And, at that point, you were in the 18 side-by-side, with Officer Remington, and you were on the 19 beach service road? 20 READ PARKER: The Boardwalk Beach Service Road. 21 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 22 SERGEANT JONES: Based on the broadcast that had come 23 out, that being the initial one from Lieutenant Archer, 24 about the subject's behavior, that was reported to him, and 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 23 then the information that was broadcast by Officer Velasco, 1 what was in your mind? What were you rolling into? 2 READ PARKER: Well, there were tons of people 3 everywhere. It's the U.S. Open. It was the quarter finals, 4 I mean, there were people all over, on the pier, there 5 people all over the boardwalk, you know, kids, women, people 6 riding their bikes, and as soon as I heard "possible gun 7 that he's concealing," I was like, "Okay." This could be -- 8 this could be potential active shooter, you know, it could 9 get violent pretty quick, so we needed to contact this guy 10 as soon as possible, to make sure that he didn't have a gun. 11 Or, if he did, to detain him, take him into custody, as 12 soon as possible, without any civilians getting hurt. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Was there any crime that had been 14 described that you were anticipating or that you thought may 15 have already occurred? 16 READ PARKER: Well, when the call went out, they said, 17 "Possible 488," so I don't know who was going to confirm 18 that or not. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, as you're closing in, and 20 other officers are responding, you see the person who now 21 you have identified as the likely suspect of this call. Can 22 you just run through what transpires from that point on, 23 when you and CJ get on-scene with the other officers and 24 started engaging with this individual? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 24 READ PARKER: And he's walking southbound on the sand. 1 I guess it would be kind of west of that retaining wall and 2 the U.S. Open, they had created a little walkway. A little 3 wooden walkway, that he's walking next to, and he's walking 4 right towards me and CJ. So, as soon as he gets within 5 maybe 10 or 15 feet, I pull the side-by-side into the sand. 6 I didn't realize it, but CJ had got out of the side-by-side, 7 when I stopped, and walks around. 8 The suspect's about 10, 15 feet away. I can remember 9 saying, "Hey, come here. Come here." At which point, I 10 could see, right-away, that he has a large bulge in front of 11 him -- in front of his waistband. It looks like a white 12 shirt, maybe like a dark blue or black bandana, and it 13 appears that he's concealing his hands. I tell him, to 14 "Come here." And he says something, you know, to the effect 15 of, "Today's not the day. Today's not the day to mess with 16 me." And I said, "Come here." 17 And he starts to walk out towards the sand. And, as 18 he's walking, I can -- in my peripheral vision, I could see 19 a couple officers. I don't know who they are, but I could 20 see the officers kind of pushing him, you know, just walking 21 up to him, to contact him, and he's walking out, into the 22 sand, and now he has both hands concealed under this white 23 shirt. He was concealing something. I don't know what it 24 was, at that point, but he was -- the officers, I could hear 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 25 some of the officers telling him to, "Stop. Stop." So, not 1 wanting him to run out into the sand, farther into the 2 venue, I take my side-by-side and I drive it around the 3 little retaining wall, in the event that if it does turn 4 into a foot pursuit, and he's armed, it would be a lot 5 easier for me to chase him down in the side-by-side, on the 6 sand, than officers running on the sand. 7 So, as soon as I turn, and I'm pulling around, I see CJ 8 close the distance on him. A guy -- that's when he uses 9 both hands and he raises up and I could see him pointing at 10 CJ, and I don't see a gun, but he's in a stance and, you 11 know, we call it the Weaver stance, and he's pointing 12 directly at CJ and he's probably about eight to 10 feet 13 away. And so, as I'm driving, I'm looking to my side, and I 14 see this, and I'm like, thinking in my head, shit, does he 15 have a gun? 16 And that's, as I was turning around, and that's when I 17 hear shots fired, and I could hear, you know, three or four 18 pops go off and I turned around, the suspect goes down, and 19 I can't -- I couldn't see CJ. I couldn't see him in my 20 peripheral vision and I thought -- I thought CJ had been 21 shot. 22 So, at that point, you know, I'm focused on the 23 suspect. He goes down. I don't see any blood. I don't 24 know why he's down. Maybe, you know, he fired at CJ and 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 26 maybe he got shot, or maybe he tripped and fell, but as soon 1 as he falls, he's in kind of like a seated position and he's 2 looking around, and he's looking all over, and he looks over 3 to where the shirt's at, and he immediately starts going 4 after the shirt and I looked down at the shirt and I could 5 see clearly there's a gun in the shirt. I guess as it fell, 6 it wasn't concealed anymore, and I could see the -- the 7 bottom half of a shirt and so I'm probably, I don't know, 10 8 feet away? 9 You said bottom half of the shirt? Did 10 you mean bottom half -- 11 READ PARKER: I mean bottom half of the gun. I'm 12 sorry. So, I could see there's a gun, and I heard shots. I 13 thought my partner had been shot. So, in my head, this is a 14 real gun. This guy just fired on us and now he's down and 15 he's not giving up. He's not lying there. He's looking 16 around for the shirt and he looks at me and he sees the 17 shirt, and he takes his -- his left hand and he starts 18 reaching for this gun and he picks it up. I'm trying to 19 close the distance, he picks it up, and he points it at me, 20 and that's when -- that's when I shot him. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Was he the only suspect 22 involved in the broadcast? There was no one else described 23 to have been with him; right? 24 READ PARKER: No. It's my understanding, he was alone, 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 27 he was the only one there. After the OIS, you know, nobody 1 came up saying anything about him, saying we're with him or 2 anything like that. So, to my knowledge, he was alone. 3 SERGEANT JONES: And you said, Officer Velaco had 4 provided additional information after the initial broadcast 5 that he had obtained, and that being the suspect of this 6 call was possibly armed with a weapon and you said was it 7 either a knife or a gun, but he wasn't specific to either. 8 Is that correct? 9 READ PARKER: That's correct. 10 SERGEANT JONES: But it was your understanding that 11 Velasco was receiving information that the suspect in this 12 call was armed? 13 READ PARKER: Yeah. Looking back, I do recall, I 14 believe, maybe some information came out that the suspect, 15 himself, said he had a gun. 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you make any radio 17 broadcasts during this incident? 18 READ PARKER: (INAUDIBLE.) 19 SERGEANT JONES: When you first saw the suspect, up 20 until the shooting occurred, did you notice anything about 21 his demeanor or his body movements or his actions that 22 raised any concern to you? 23 READ PARKER: Yeah. Just completely non-compliant, 24 confrontational, you know, he -- he, obviously, had a loaded 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 28 gun on him and when we were approaching him, you know, he 1 made no effort to ditch the gun. He made no effort to put 2 up his hands. He was completely non-compliant with -- with 3 us. Aggressive. As soon as we contacted him, both his 4 hands were concealed underneath this shirt, which we know 5 had this gun now, and he didn't let go of it. 6 SERGEANT JONES: You said that when you first got into 7 -- I think you said, within 15 yards or 15 feet of this 8 individual, you told him to, "Stop." 9 READ PARKER: I told him to, "Come here." 10 SERGEANT JONES: "Come here." 11 READ PARKER: I said, yeah, "Come here." You know, 12 "Come here, let's talk." 13 SERGEANT JONES: And he made some statement to the 14 effect of, "Today is not the day and to leave him alone"? 15 READ PARKER: Yeah. Something to the effect of, 16 "Today's not the day to mess with me." Or, "Today's not the 17 day," something -- something to that effect. I don't recall 18 verbatim what it was. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And, at that point, he had his -- both 20 hands near his waistband? 21 READ PARKER: Yes. 22 SERGEANT JONES: And they were completely covered with 23 a shirt or something? 24 READ PARKER: Yeah. It was -- it looked like a white -25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 29 - a white shirt with maybe like a dark black or blue 1 bandana. 2 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And, at that time, you had not 3 seen any type of weapon in his hands? 4 READ PARKER: No. 5 SERGEANT JONES: But based on your training and 6 experience, and coupled with the information that was being 7 given, it was your belief that he had a weapon of some sort 8 in his hands? 9 READ PARKER: Yes. And then, when he took that Weaver 10 stance, and actually pointed at CJ, you know, yeah. In my -11 - in my head, he had a gun on him. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have any doubt that it was his 13 intent to -- like I said before -- did you have any doubt 14 that either one, he had a gun or that he wanted you -- all 15 of the officers there to believe that he had a gun, based on 16 his actions? 17 READ PARKER: Based on his actions, he wanted us to 18 believe he had a gun. 19 SERGEANT WHITE: Can you just briefly describe what the 20 Weaver stance looks like? 21 READ PARKER: Yeah. It's a solid shooting platform 22 where, you know, you're legs and your knees are kind of 23 spread out, you know, shoulder length, and where you're 24 using both your hands and kind of your body to give yourself 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 30 a good shooting platform, so as to help with accuracy and, 1 you know, just a good shooting stance. 2 SERGEANT WHITE: Where you say your hands -- where are 3 your hands? Are they extended out in front of you or are 4 they -- can you describe where your hands would be? 5 READ PARKER: Yeah. They're extended out in front of 6 you, with both hands on the gun. 7 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Based on the totality of everything 9 that's occurring, can you think of any other reason for that 10 individual to extent his arms in such a manner, when being 11 confronted by the police? 12 READ PARKER: Based on -- on everything, no. I don't 13 know why he wouldn't just comply. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Have you ever -- did you recognize the 15 suspect from past contacts? 16 READ PARKER: I'd never seen him before. 17 SERGEANT JONES: You've never had any contact with him 18 prior? 19 READ PARKER: No. 20 SERGEANT WHITE: Just real quick. When you got -- when 21 you guys pulled up, in the side-by-side, or you stopped the 22 side-by-side, I should say, and CJ got out, before you 23 repositioned, you said, "CJ went to contact the suspect." 24 Did you see CJ -- did it appear that he had his firearm out? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 31 Or could you tell? 1 READ PARKER: Yes. As soon as this guy pointed the gun 2 at CJ, I did see CJ pull out his gun and point it back, but 3 there wasn't enough -- the crazy thing is there wasn't like 4 an immediate gunshot. You know? This guy's pointing a gun 5 at us and, typically, we're trained, you know, to shoot 6 back right away, to eliminate the threat, but there was like 7 a -- it was weird. It was like a one or two second like 8 gap, from the time this guy pointed the gun and the only 9 thing I can escribe is it's probably because we didn't 10 actually see a gun. We saw a white shirt, being pointed at 11 us. So, you know, we're not going to just shoot someone for 12 pulling, you know, for pointing a cellphone or -- or 13 anything like that. So, there was like this split second 14 lag, from the time he actually pointed the gun at CJ, to 15 when I heard shots fired and that's when I -- that's where -16 - that's what freaked me out, was I thought this guy took a 17 very good aim at CJ, and shot a round down. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Did -- so, if I'm understanding you 19 right, neither yourself nor CJ, was he the only one you were 20 focused on? Did you know what other officers were there? 21 READ PARKER: Well, I knew Simpson was there, because I 22 saw him walking towards the suspect. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 24 READ PARKER: I never saw Velasco. I never saw 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 32 Koehler. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 2 READ PARKER: I knew it was me, CJ, and probably 3 Simpson. And as soon as those shots rang out, and I saw the 4 suspect on the ground, I completely just focused on him and 5 I don't know, you know, I was focusing on him and I was 6 focusing on the people, back underneath the pier, up on the 7 pier, and I don't know where -- I couldn't see anyone else 8 in my peripheral vision. 9 SERGEANT JONES: So, do you recall -- and, I think, you 10 answered this already but, you don't recall the positioning 11 of the other officers, in relation the suspect? 12 READ PARKER: The only thing I recall is after the 13 shooting, I looked to my right, and I saw CJ. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 15 READ PARKER: And he was standing closer to me. 16 SERGEANT JONES: And I want to be clear about this. So, 17 the officer you do recall, while you were first addressing 18 the suspect, who was not complying is definitely CJ, and you 19 see Simpsons approaching, as well? You said that -- well, I 20 don't want to answer it for you but, at that time, did you 21 have your firearm out of its holster? 22 What time are you talking about? 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Let me be specific here. From 24 the time you see this guy, and you start addressing this 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 33 guy, prior to him raising his arms up, in what you described 1 as the Weaver stance, had anyone had their weapon out and 2 addressing the suspect with a firearm? As in the officers? 3 READ PARKER: Me -- no, I did not have my weapon out. I 4 was still in the side-by-side. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 6 READ PARKER: And then, I remember, when I drove 7 around, I saw CJ draw his weapon, when the guy came up and 8 started pointing the gun at him. 9 SERGEANT JONES: And, I guess, that's my point. You 10 didn't see -- you, yourself, did not. You said that 11 already, but you did not see CJ present his weapon towards 12 the suspect until the suspect brought his arms up in a 13 Weaver stance. Is that correct? 14 READ PARKER: Correct. That's what I recall. 15 SERGEANT JONES: The officers that were present with 16 you, that being that you knew, at that time, Simpson and CJ, 17 were they wearing police uniforms? 18 READ PARKER: Yes. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Do you recall if they were Class "B" 20 like you had on, or were they different? 21 READ PARKER: I believe CJ was wearing the summer 22 uniform, so it's shorts -- he was wearing shorts, but he has 23 an outer vest, as well. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 34 READ PARKER: Like me. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And when you say "summer uniform," 2 that's the black polo shirt, black shorts, and that's 3 department-issued stuff, that has the same patches on the 4 shoulders, but they're in gray? Right? And then, an 5 embroidered badge on it? 6 READ PARKER: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: They're all clearly identified -- 8 identifiable as police officers? 9 READ PARKER: Yes. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Based on the suspect's demeanor, was 11 it your belief that he posed a danger to the officers that 12 were present? 13 READ PARKER: Absolutely. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And if he presented that kind of 15 danger to officers, did you believe that he also posed a 16 threat to the citizens and bystanders in the area? 17 READ PARKER: Absolutely. 18 SERGEANT JONES: And you already had said that commands 19 were given to this suspect, by you, and he did not comply. 20 Did you hear commands being given by any other officers? 21 READ PARKER: I can't remember. I was in the side-by-22 side, so the motor is running. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. 24 READ PARKER: So, as I'm coming around the motor must 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 35 have washed all that out. 1 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. So, you described that you kind 2 of drove south, back towards the Beach Substation, to get 3 around the retaining wall, so that you could cut off an 4 escape route for the suspect, on the sand. Correct? That 5 being him, if he started running towards the venue, towards 6 the ocean, you could cut him off? As you were rounding the 7 corner, you heard the shots fired and you said you estimated 8 two to four? 9 READ PARKER: In my head, I heard two to four shots. 10 SERGEANT JONES: And did you know who fired those 11 rounds? 12 READ PARKER: I did not. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And as you're coming around, 14 are you watching the suspect, at that time? Even though 15 you're driving around the -- the wall? 16 READ PARKER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And he fell to the ground, on his 18 back? 19 READ PARKER: Fell? I don't remember if he fell like 20 on his back. I just remember him in a seated position, 21 sitting on his butt, and he just immediately starts moving 22 around, looking for the gun that he dropped. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And when he was in his seated 24 position, was he facing the officers? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 36 READ PARKER: Yes. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And the officers were between the sand 2 and the -- the bike path. Right? 3 READ PARKER: (INAUDIBLE.) 4 SERGEANT JONES: So, they were closer to the bike path, 5 looking towards the ocean, and the suspect was on the sand, 6 looking towards PCH. Is that about correct? 7 READ PARKER: I would describe that they were -- the 8 officers were closer to that little wooden walkway. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 10 READ PARKER: With the U.S. Open bill. So, I want to 11 say they were on the -- it would be the south side of that 12 retaining wall, on this end. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Uh-huh. Did you see anything in the 14 immediate area where this contact and, ultimately, the 15 officer involved shooting occurred, where officers could 16 have taken cover or concealment? 17 READ PARKER: There was zero cover and concealment. 18 SERGEANT JONES: After the initial shooting occurred, 19 you came around and then started driving north, towards 20 where the suspect was now on the ground, in the seated 21 position, and you said that you saw him looking around in a 22 direction, as though he was looking for something, and it's 23 your belief that he was looking for what you now know was a 24 gun? At that time, when you saw him seated in that 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 37 position, had you seen a gun or a weapon of any sort? 1 READ PARKER: When I looked down, at the white shirt, I 2 could clearly see the bottom half of a gun. 3 SERGEANT JONES: After you stopped and got out of the 4 side-by-side? 5 READ PARKER: As I get out and I'm approaching him, and 6 he's looking around for the gun, I looked at what he was 7 looking at and I could clearly see the bottom of a gun. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Did you hear anyone -- let me stop. 9 Did you make that known to the officers that there was a 10 gun? Like did you make any like verbal notifications that 11 there was a gun present? 12 READ PARKER: I didn't have time. 13 SERGEANT WHITE: How far were you at that point? From 14 the suspect? 15 READ PARKER: Approximately, maybe 10 feet. 16 SERGEANT WHITE: And how far was the gun from the 17 suspect? 18 READ PARKER: Arms reach. 19 SERGEANT WHITE: Arms reach? 20 SERGEANT JONES: At the time you first saw the gun, he 21 had not put it in his hand yet? Is that correct? 22 READ PARKER: Correct. 23 SERGEANT JONES: But he -- you said that he -- did he 24 turn around? How did he -- so he, ultimately, starts 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 38 crawling towards the firearm? Correct? How did he get into 1 that position from a seated position? 2 READ PARKER: So, he's seated, facing, you know, the 3 boardwalk, and he's looking over his shoulder and, from what 4 I recall, he looked over his right shoulder and then used 5 his left hand to reach down and grab the gun, which was in 6 the shirt. And I want to say that's the exact point where I 7 saw the gun, as well. 8 I wanted to close the distance, as fast as I could, you 9 know, he's going for a gun, he had just shot my partner, and 10 as -- as I'm close -- as I get out of the side-by-side, to 11 close the distance, I immediately see the gun, and see him 12 going for the gun, and I pull out my service weapon. In my 13 head, I want to say, I told him to "stop," but I don't know 14 if I did. I don't think there was time. He saw me and I, 15 specifically, remember making eye contact with him. He saw 16 me, reached for his gun, picked it up, and pointed at me, 17 and then, that's when I fired. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Can you describe what the gun 19 looked like? Was it a revolver? Was it a semi-automatic? 20 READ PARKER: It was a black semi-automatic handgun. 21 SERGEANT JONES: And, to the best of your knowledge, it 22 appeared to be a real firearm? 23 READ PARKER: Looked very real. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember how many shots 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 39 you fired? 1 READ PARKER: Well, I know now, after CSI, I shot four. 2 SERGEANT JONES: How many did you think you shot, at 3 the time? 4 READ PARKER: Two or three. 5 SERGEANT JONES: Two or three? Did you see where your 6 rounds impacted? 7 READ PARKER: I was aiming center mass, so I'm assuming 8 center mass, so that's where I was aiming. 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And when you fired your service 10 weapon, you were standing south of the suspect and facing 11 north, towards the pier, and fired in that direction. 12 Correct? 13 READ PARKER: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: Did you have an opportunity to survey 15 the backdrop of where you were firing your rounds? 16 READ PARKER: Yes. 17 SERGEANT JONES: And did you feel comfortable with 18 deploying your firearm, at that time? 19 READ PARKER: That's why I tried to close the distance, 20 as quickly as I could, to get a more downward angle because 21 the farther back, you know, you're going to have that linear 22 trajectory and there was no way I was going to -- if I had 23 that shot, you know, there's people behind him. So, I 24 wanted to close the distance, as soon as I can, and get that 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 40 downward angle to where, if there is a round that, you know, 1 is errant, it goes straight into the sand. 2 SERGEANT WHITE: Do you recall about how far you were 3 from the suspect when you fired your first shot? 4 READ PARKER: Six feet, maybe? Six to eight feet. 5 Somewhere around there. 6 SERGEANT JONES: I know you've answered this and I'm 7 going to ask you just one more time. The weapon that you 8 turned into the Orange County crime scene people, was the 9 weapon you fired during the officer involved shooting? 10 READ PARKER: Yes. 11 SERGEANT JONES: And did you use your sights or was it 12 like a point and shoot encounter? 13 READ PARKER: I used my front sight, so that, you know, 14 as being a firearms instructor, when you're that close, you 15 know, we call it "focusing on the front sight." 16 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 17 READ PARKER: You focus on the front sight, and you put 18 his -- his body behind the front sight. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 20 SERGEANT WHITE: And by "center mass," you said you 21 shot him, and you're talking in the chest? 22 READ PARKER: Yes. 23 SERGEANT JONES: Did, to your knowledge, did the other 24 officers that were present fire their -- fire their service 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 41 weapons during the incident? 1 READ PARKER: I do recall some other shots going off, 2 so I assumed there were other officers involved. I didn't 3 know who. I didn't know who else shot. I wasn't focused on 4 them. 5 SERGEANT JONES: After the officer involved shooting 6 occurred, did you speak with the other officers that were 7 present about the incident? 8 READ PARKER: No. After, I just -- I made sure they 9 were all okay, and being a senior officer, I kind of just 10 said, "We're all going to be taken back to the station and, 11 you know, the investigation will be long so just, you know, 12 call your loved ones, tell them you're okay, and the process 13 will play out." 14 SERGEANT JONES: After the suspect was incapacitated, 15 you and other officers, you guys rendered first aid to the 16 suspect? 17 READ PARKER: Yes. 18 SERGEANT JONES: That consisted of CPR and attempts to 19 control bleeding. Is that correct? 20 READ PARKER: Correct. 21 SERGEANT JONES: Did you personally, were you engaged 22 in any of that activity? 23 READ PARKER: No. I stood by and a couple of the 24 officers, I believe Simpson and maybe Velasco, I told one of 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 42 them to start CPR/chest compressions. 1 SERGEANT JONES: And that occurred? 2 READ PARKER: Yes. 3 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And do you -- did you or did 4 someone radio for additional resources, as in like 5 lifeguards or paramedics, or anything like that? 6 READ PARKER: There was radio traffic going on. I 7 don't know -- I don't know who was on the radio, I don't 8 know who requested all that, but they showed up very 9 quickly. 10 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And did you give a public 11 safety statement during the aftermath of the officer 12 involved shooting? 13 READ PARKER: I did. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember who you gave that 15 to? 16 READ PARKER: I think it might have been Lieutenant 17 Archer. 18 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Did you receive any injuries as 19 a result of the incident? 20 READ PARKER: No. 21 SERGEANT JONES: To your knowledge, were any of the 22 other officers injured during the incident? 23 READ PARKER: No. 24 SERGEANT JONES: And were you still present, on scene, 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 43 or was the suspect, ultimately, transported away from the 1 scene? 2 READ PARKER: Yes. I had left already. I was taken 3 back to the station already. 4 SERGEANT JONES: And do you remember what the weather 5 conditions were like that day? Was it sunny? Was it 6 cloudy? 7 READ PARKER: It was beautiful. 8 SERGEANT JONES: Was it nice lighting and sun was 9 shining? 10 READ PARKER: Yeah. The sun was out, clear, crystal 11 day, maybe some clouds in the sky, but it was -- it was a 12 beautiful day. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Considering that it was at a special 14 event, being the Surf Contest, were there any loud speakers 15 or sirens or helicopters like flying over or planes with 16 banners, that were causing noise that would have prevented 17 this individual -- this suspect from hearing orders and 18 commands? 19 READ PARKER: No. To my knowledge, the surf 20 competition had just ended so there was no more competition 21 and no more speakers out there, at the ocean, and then there 22 was no -- yeah. There was no helicopters or anything that 23 was -- it wasn't loud. 24 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. And you already had stated that 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 44 you had your body-worn camera on, during the incident. Do 1 you, typically, keep it in a powered off position or do you 2 keep it in what is known as the "buffering" position where, 3 if you activate it, during an incident, it will capture 30 4 seconds prior to its physical activation? 5 I'm say objections to the body-worn 6 camera questions. Okay? 7 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Noted. 8 READ PARKER: It was in the off position. 9 SERGEANT JONES: So, it wouldn't "buffer"? 10 READ PARKER: It was not buffering. 11 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you remember activating your 12 body-worn camera during this incident? 13 READ PARKER: Yes. 14 SERGEANT JONES: And do you -- can you -- I'm sure you 15 can't be very specific, but do you recall about when that 16 occurred? 17 READ PARKER: As soon as the OIS occurred, and I had 18 holstered up, I turned it on, and hit the button. 19 SERGEANT JONES: And you're aware of the department 20 policy that says we're supposed to activate the body-worn 21 camera during encounters such as this? 22 Well, hang on. I don't think you're 23 saying the policy verbatim. 24 SERGEANT JONES: No. I'm not. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 45 Right? 1 SERGEANT JONES: No. I'm not. 2 Because I think it's one practical or 3 something similar. 4 SERGEANT JONES: I'll reword it. Do you know what the 5 policy is, in regard to activating your BWC? 6 READ PARKER: Yes. 7 SERGEANT JONES: Can you briefly describe it to me? 8 READ PARKER: "Shall record all contacts." 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Do you have anything else? 10 SERGEANT WHITE: Just real quick. So, from the time 11 that you guys initially saw the suspect, to the time that 12 you -- you fired your service weapon, can you estimate about 13 how long that was? In your best estimation? 14 READ PARKER: From when I -- 15 SERGEANT WHITE: Initially seeing the suspect, leaving 16 the Sub, he left the Sub, you see the suspect, to the time 17 you fired the service weapon? 18 READ PARKER: From the time we left the Sub, to the 19 time I saw him -- it went quick, but I'm going to say -- I'm 20 going to say maybe a minute or two? 21 SERGEANT WHITE: Okay. So, very quickly that this -- 22 READ PARKER: Yeah. 23 SERGEANT WHITE: -- this transpired? It transpired and 24 there wasn't a whole lot of time to -- 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 46 READ PARKER: No. 1 SERGEANT WHITE: -- decision make. And then, the other 2 -- the other thing, just to clarify, was the -- it just flew 3 out of my head. Go ahead. It'll come back to me. 4 SERGEANT JONES: Obviously, we've talked about your 5 state of mind and what you knew at the time of the incident. 6 Since -- since this incident occurred, have you learned any 7 information about the suspect's actions during this 8 encounter? That you did not know about? 9 I'm just going to object if you're 10 asking about attorney/client communication, so he can answer 11 but not to anything I told you, that you learned. 12 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 13 READ PARKER: I've learned the suspect's name, and that 14 he's a gangster out of Orange. 15 SERGEANT JONES: Were you aware -- were you aware, at 16 the time of the incident, that he had fired rounds at the 17 officers? 18 READ PARKER: I was not. 19 SERGEANT JONES: Were you aware of that fact prior to 20 this interview? 21 Hang-on. When you're saying, "aware," 22 you mean that confirmed? Because, I think, he said he 23 didn't know if the guy shot or CJ shot, and I don't want 24 this to conflict that. 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 47 SERGEANT JONES: Yeah. No. And I'm not trying to 1 trick you. Do you know, now, that it's been reported or 2 that information has come out that the suspect fired a round 3 during this encounter? 4 READ PARKER: I have heard that he fired a round at us. 5 SERGEANT JONES: And do you -- did you see that? Or 6 hear that? At the time? 7 READ PARKER: Yeah. It makes sense, I mean, when I 8 heard those rounds, I thought he shot -- 9 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. 10 READ PARKER: -- I thought he shot, and I thought he 11 shot CJ. So, knowing that he actually did fire a round, 12 makes complete sense. 13 SERGEANT JONES: Okay. Shawn? 14 SERGEANT WHITE: No. 15 SERGEANT JONES: 16 No. 17 SERGEANT JONES: Read, I don't have any other questions 18 but if you want to say anything, now is the time, if you 19 need that -- or if you know anything or? All right. 20 SERGEANT WHITE: I'm going to read this to you real 21 quick, Read. Read Parker, I'm ordering you not to discuss 22 this interview or investigation with anyone other than your 23 representative or Sergeant Jones, or Sergeant White. Do you 24 understand? 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 48 READ PARKER: Yes. 1 SERGEANT WHITE: I'm going to have you circle "yes" on 2 this form and initial next to that, at the bottom. 3 READ PARKER: (CIRCLES "YES" AND INITIALS.) 4 And how long is that order in place? 5 SERGEANT JONES: Through the culmination of the witness 6 interviews and -- yeah. 7 SERGEANT WHITE: Unknown duration at this point. 8 Forever, Sergeant White? 9 SERGEANT WHITE: Forever. No. 10 SERGEANT JONES: That concludes this interview. The 11 time is now 12:06 PM, and we'll go off tape. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 INTERVIEW OF: READ PARKER CASE NO.: 2021-012353 49 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (END OF INTERVIEW.) 9