SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The parents of a tow truck driver who killed himself during a raid at the company he worked for want to know more about the circumstances leading to his death.
“What was he feeling? What was he thinking at that time when he had that gun to his head and 30 cops or more are facing him down? How hopeless did he feel?” said Anthony Ackee, in an interview with ABC 10News on Friday with his wife Marlene.
The couple said their son Gary, 50, died by suicide on August 5th during a police search of S & S Towing.
The business is accused of using “illegal practices” to rip off drivers over the last three years primarily in immigrant communities.
Police said when they arrived to execute the search warrant at the business on El Cajon Blvd in City Heights, a tow truck driver ran away and pulled a gun on himself.
Marlene said soon after she got the call from police every parent fears.
"He said Gary had spoken to them and that he took off running. He said (for) 30 minutes, they tried talking to him and he pulled the trigger,” she said.
San Diego police spokesman Travis Easter was tight-lipped Friday about the investigation and the moments leading up to Gary’s death.
ABC 10News asked him why there was such a large police presence for the search warrant.
“I cannot explain the response. You know you’re executing a search warrant. That’s what they were there for,” Easter told investigative reporter Austin Grabish.
Easter said police are aware of dozens of drivers who were towed improperly by S&S Towing but refused to say if any arrests have been made.
Police say a private towing company cannot remove a vehicle from a public road without authorization from law enforcement and the state has strict rules that govern the industry.
Investigators are asking anyone who thinks they were towed illegally to email TowingFraudReport@pd.sandiego.gov
