SAN DIEGO, Calif., -- A majority of San Diegans now believe the shooting of an unarmed black man by El Cajon police last week was justified, this following the release of two videos showing the incident.
51 percent of those surveyed believed the shooting was justified, according to a poll released Monday by 10News and the San Diego Union Tribune. This marked an increase of six points over a poll conducted prior to the release of the videos. In the new poll, 34 percent believed it was unjustified and 15 percent were unsure.
629 people were questioned by SurveyUSA with a margin of error of 4 percent.
In the previous poll, 45 percent of respondents believed the shooting was justified, 34 percent believed it was unjustified and 20 percent were unsure.
On Sept. 27, Alfred Olango, 38, was mortally wounded by an officer while outside a strip mall restaurant near the intersection of Interstate 8 and state Route 67.
Police said that Olango was uncooperative, repeatedly refused to remove his hand from his pocket, assumed "what appeared to be a shooting stance" and pointed at one of the officers an object that turned out to be an electronic smoking device that resembled the barrel of a gun.
El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis confirmed that Officer Richard Gonsalves fired his service gun at Olango as Officer Josh McDaniel simultaneously shot him with an electric stun gun. Both officers have 21 years of law enforcement experience and were placed on administrative leave per department protocol.
Authorities released two videos of the shooting Friday. Each was recorded at a taco shop parking lot in the 800 block of Broadway. One was by a surveillance camera next to a drive-through window, the other by a witness who recorded it on her cellphone.
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