Urban League Asks Grand Jury to Probe Slaying in Drug Raid

The San Diego Urban League on Thursday called for a grand jury investigation into the police shooting last weekend during which a police officer killed a 56-year-old man inside his Southeast San Diego home.

At a press conference, Urban League Executive Director Herb Cawthorne and a group of ministers voiced their concerns over strained police-community relations in Southeast, particularly since two black men have been killed by police this month.

The most recent shooting, in which Tommie C. Dubose was slain Saturday night in his home near 50th Street and Federal Boulevard, occurred as police officers were conducting a massive service of search warrants aimed at curtailing drug activity.

Many community residents have said Dubose was opposed to drugs and that police entered the wrong house when they knocked on his door.

“We believe there are numerous questions remaining that must be answered which aren’t consistent with the hard and fast conclusions that the police information unit is putting out,” Cawthorne said.

However, senior police officers said Wednesday that an informant had given them reliable information that the Dubose home was an active drug house, and that the informant had purchased drugs inside the home during a controlled buy supervised by police.

Assistant Chief Bob Burgreen said police acted properly during the search of the Dubose home, and that the victim was shot only after he charged an officer and attempted to wrestle away the policeman’s service revolver.

Burgreen said Thursday that the Police Department felt it had nothing to hide and was more than willing to cooperate with a grand jury investigation into the slaying, should it be instigated.