Otay Mesa
The fatal shooting of an inmate by a guard at the new state prison on Otay Mesa was justified because the prisoner failed to obey shouted instructions from correctional officers, San Diego County District Edwin Miller has ruled.
Gerald Wayne Cork, a 33-year-old convict who was serving time for receiving stolen property, was killed Aug. 17. He was struck in the back with a single rifle round fired by correctional officer Kay McGuire, who was stationed on a cellblock roof.
Cork had failed to heed warnings to stay away from a fight that had broken out in the prison yard, Miller said.
The officer’s decision to open fire, Miller said in a report, “was a responsible, reasonable and necessary fulfillment of her duty as a peace officer.”
The state Department of Corrections had earlier investigated the shooting and cleared McGuire.
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