Police Policy on Shooting Was Violated, Board Says

A Carlsbad police officer violated department policy when he fired a shotgun blast into the tailgate of a stolen pickup earlier this month, a shooting review board has concluded.

Officer Jay Eppel skirted the department rules against using a weapon except under certain specified conditions involving an immediate danger, police officials said Wednesday.

Police said they believe no one was hit by the shotgun blast as the suspected car thief managed to flee the scene on foot.

Lt. Greg Fried, a member of the three-member shooting review panel, said the matter will be handled administratively by Chief Vincent Jimno and that Eppel could face punishment ranging from additional training to termination.

Fried said, however, that there was little chance that Eppel, a six-year veteran of the department, would be fired.

For Eppel, 36, the incident marks the second time in less than a year that he has been called before a department shooting review panel.

Incident Last July

Last July, the officer wounded a man suspected of a drug-related offense when the man allegedly attacked Eppel with a can of Mace. Although a review board concluded that Eppel took appropriate action in the incident, a judge ruled that the suspect had been unjustly detained and dropped all charges against the man.

The more recent shooting unfolded when Eppel and officers in two other patrol cars chased down a stolen pickup truck shortly before 2 a.m. on June 6. When the driver stopped, the officers drew their weapons and began talking to the suspect over a loud speaker.

Eppel told the review board that he fired his shotgun at the tailgate of the truck as “a warning shot” when the driver reached down toward the floor of the vehicle. The officer said he was fearful the suspect was reaching for a weapon.

After Eppel fired a single shot, the suspect took off again in the pickup, but eventually crashed into an embankment and fled on foot. The man eluded officers and apparently was uninjured by the shotgun blast because no blood was found at the scene and the pellets appeared to have lodged in the tailgate, Fried said.

Fried said the department has a policy forbidding the firing of warning shots except in very special circumstances. Members of the shooting review board, he said, were concerned because the situation did not seem to dictate use of a warning shot, he said. In addition, the panel was troubled because the officer directed the blast directly toward the vehicle, Fried said.

Eppel, who could not be reached for comment, has remained on active duty since the shooting.