Decision Is Expected on Taped Shooting

San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Michael A. Ramos is expected to announce today whether he will file charges against a sheriff’s deputy involved in the videotaped shooting of an Air Force police officer after a high-speed chase in Chino.

On Monday, the wife of the wounded airman urged the district attorney to prosecute Deputy Ivory John Webb Jr.

“I’m hoping they file [a criminal charge] against him,” Elio Carrion’s wife, Mariela, said Monday. “He messed up, he committed a crime, and he should pay for it, just like any other criminal. It was just a horrible crime that he did.”

In the videotape, Carrion, 21, appears to be obeying Webb’s commands to get up from the ground when the deputy opens fire.

Carrion, a senior airman who had recently returned from a tour of Iraq, continues to recover from his wounds at an undisclosed medical facility in Southern California.

Ramos’ office has never filed a criminal charge against a law-enforcement officer involved in an on-duty shooting.

Law-enforcement officials said that if Webb were prosecuted, he could face charges ranging from the accidental discharge of a handgun to attempted murder. Assault with a deadly weapon is also a possibility.

Webb, an eight-year veteran of the department who was based at the Chino Hills station, is the son of a former Compton police chief. The deputy, who was placed on administrative leave after the shooting, also is a former University of Iowa wide receiver who played in the 1982 Rose Bowl.

The Jan. 29 shooting occurred after Webb was involved in a high-speed pursuit of a Corvette driven by Carrion’s friend Luis Fernando Escobedo at reported speeds of more than 100 mph through a residential area in Chino. Carrion was a passenger in the car.

After the Corvette crashed into a fence, a resident of the street, Jose Luis Valdes, began videotaping the incident. In portions of the poor-quality recording, Carrion is sprawled on the ground and tells Webb that he is “on the same side” as Webb and means him “no harm.”

After repeatedly ordering Carrion to stay down and “shut up,” Webb appears to tell Carrion to “get up, get up,” then fires three shots at the airman as he begins to rise.

Webb’s father told The Times last month that his son felt threatened when Carrion started to rise, adding that he did not believe his son ordered the airman to get up.

“It was a surprise, and he had a split second to react.... If Carrion had got down and stayed down, none of this would have happened,” the elder Webb said at the time.

Both Ramos and San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod took the unusual step of expressing concern for Carrion and his family. The FBI also launched an investigation into the shooting, and was asked to enhance the quality of the video.

“Every time I think about [the shooting], I thank God death didn’t happen,” Mariela Carrion said.

Carrion family attorney Luis Carrillo said “the family is waiting for justice.”

“He [Webb] was trying to kill Elio, he wasn’t backing up in self-defense,” Carrillo said. “He shot to kill, and he abused his authority.”

The San Bernardino County district attorney has reviewed 131 officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths since 2000 without filing a criminal count against an officer.