SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Police have released video of a deadly officer-involved shooting after a 33-year-old man authorities said shot and killed a police K9 was shot to death by an officer during a standoff at Mesa College.
WARNING: The below video contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.
The incident started on August 2 around 1:23 a.m. when San Diego Police received a call from a 26-year-old stating a shooting had occurred outside his home on the 3500 block of Ben Street.
"The incident had started minutes earlier on the roadways. A white Tesla sedan was driving erratically. When the victim drove around the Tesla, he heard a gunshot. The Tesla followed the victim to the location he parked. A passenger got out of the Tesla and fired rounds at the victim. One of those rounds went into a residence near the victim's vehicle. No residents were injured. The Tesla drove away," police said.
After locating the Tesla at an apartment complex on Armstrong Street, the department said officers saw that the 33-year-old man had a gun.
RELATED: Man who shot K-9 to death killed by police during standoff at Mesa College
Officers surrounded the car, but the driver sped away, leading police on a half-mile chase, police said.
After spotting the Tesla with its driver's side door open on Mesa College Drive, officers found the suspect wielding a gun nearby, giving him orders to drop it.
Police said the man refused to comply, and officers released the K9. That's when police said the gunman raised his firearm and officers opened fire. The suspect was hit in the upper left area of the torso and he fired one time, shooting the dog in the upper right chest.
The K9, identified as Sir, was rushed to an animal hospital but died after arriving. The suspect was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
The K-9, later identified as Sir, was rushed to an animal hospital but died after arrival.
The suspect, later identified as Benjamin Pickens, 33, was rushed to Scripps Hospital where died from his injuries around 3:20 a.m., police said.
