2 Shootings by Police Stir Issue of Trust in Southeast

Community leaders in Southeast San Diego said Monday that they are concerned that two controversial police shootings on the same block could seriously jeopardize efforts to curb the gang and drug problems there.

“The misjudgments of a few officers can destroy it all,” said Herb Cawthorne, president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of San Diego.

“The hot-tempered, trigger-happy few can destroy the spirit of partnership that is developing among the many.”

The latest shooting occurred Saturday night when three officers entered the apartment of 32-year-old Stanley P. Buchanan, surrounded him, then shot him six times after he allegedly brandished a flashlight at the officers.

Buchanan’s apartment is in the 4900 block of Logan Avenue, where Wednesday night a 14-year-old boy sitting in a stolen car was seriously wounded when he was shot in the head by a police officer.

Prompted Many Phone Calls

Cawthorne and his executive assistant, Leah Goodwin-Carter, said the two shootings prompted a flurry of telephone calls to their office from ministers and other community leaders in the predominantly black neighborhoods of Southeast San Diego.

“That boy could have been killed too,” said Goodwin-Carter. “And all he was doing was sitting in that car. He wasn’t driving a stolen car.”

Cawthorne said there are unresolved questions about both shootings, primarily over whether deadly force was essential.

“If these officers applied the deadly force policy in situations in which their lives were not threatened,” he said, “then they should be dismissed from serving as officers of the peace, for they have contributed to the atmosphere of violence unjustifiably.”

In the Buchanan shooting, police over the weekend released sketchy details that conflicted with the reports of some eyewitnesses. But on Monday morning, Capt. Dick Toneck, the chief spokesman for the Police Department, issued a lengthy statement on the fatal shooting.

1 Reportedly Ran Away

He said the officers, part of the department’s new Special Enforcement Division that concentrates on drug and gang activities, were interviewing a group of people about 8 p.m. in the apartment complex parking lot when one of the young men suddenly ran away.

He said another man told police the man lived in Apartment 11. Three officers, including Timothy Fay, knocked on the apartment door.

Toneck said an unidentified man answered and let them inside the dimly lit apartment. Suspecting that drugs or weapons might be on the premises, the officers began to “pat down” the occupants, including Buchanan.

Buchanan was facing a wall during the pat-down when one of the officers found some rock cocaine in his possession, Toneck said. The officers then prepared to arrest Buchanan, when he spun around, grabbed one of their flashlights and threatened the officers, Toneck said.

“While trying to take custody of Buchanan, a brief, violent struggle took place,” Toneck said. “Officer Tim Fay believed he or the other two officers were about to be struck with a blunt object by Buchanan. Fearing great bodily injury, Fay drew his weapon and fired six shots.”

Toneck said he did not know if some of the shots hit Buchanan after he had already fallen to the ground, as one witness has contended. But the police captain added: “I do know all six shots hit the upper torso.”

Buchanan was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. A deputy county coroner said Monday that the victim died of “multiple gunshot wounds” and that a full autopsy report will be released later.

Asked if the officers were justified in entering the apartment and suspecting the occupants of drug activity, Toneck said:

“My feeling is they wanted to pat these people down to make sure they had no weapons, for their own safety. It was dark in there. And that’s a real ripe area for drug activity.”

Court records show that Buchanan has a lengthy criminal conviction record dating to the 1970s, for such offenses as burglary, auto theft and possession of drugs for sale.

Toneck said Fay has been placed on administrative duty while an internal investigation into the shooting continues. Officer Danny Vega is also on leave, pending an internal probe into the shooting of the teen-age boy.

Officer Fired 4 Rounds

In that incident, Vega and his partner reportedly stopped a stolen car outside the apartment complex, and, when the car attempted to back up and strike Vega, he fired four rounds. One of the shots struck the boy in the head while he was in the passenger seat of the car.

In both shootings, witnesses and officials with the Urban League questioned whether deadly force was necessary and voiced hope that the shootings do not destroy community efforts to combat drugs and gangs.

“We want drug dealers arrested and prosecuted swiftly,” Cawthorne said. “Likewise, we want officers who use excessive force and fail to follow policy to be punished swiftly as well.”

Toneck said the Police Department will continue to support the Urban League’s efforts, including participating in its weekend marches against crime. “We’ve been working with the community to undercut the drug activity down there,” he said.

Cmdr. Cal Krosch, who heads the Special Enforcement Division, said that, since March 31, the unit has made 977 arrests and recovered about $100,000 in cash, narcotics totaling $250,000 in street value, and 28 firearms, including three assault rifles.