Transient on San Diego Freeway in Rush Hour Fatally Shot by Officer

A transient who witnesses said had been running from police across heavy traffic on Interstate 5 during Monday morning’s rush hour was shot and killed by a San Diego police officer after the man reportedly swung a construction tool at officers.

The unidentified victim, believed to be in his late 20s, was killed when Officer Thomas K. O’Connell fired about eight shots from his semiautomatic weapon.

Rush-hour traffic on the freeway near La Jolla came to a stop as morning commuters watched in horror as O’Connell and two highway patrolmen attempted to subdue the man, whom some witnesses described as being dressed like a clown because of his bright red and green clothing.

Police said O’Connell shot the man after repeated warnings. But some witnesses questioned the way the officers handled the incident.

“Why not throw a net over the guy?” asked Stan Fleener of Encinitas, who was forced to stop his car to avoid hitting the man and the officers.

Dave Cohen, a police spokesman, said the incident began shortly before 8 a.m. when CHP Officer Joe Gutierrez was driving northon I-5 near Ardath Road in La Jolla and spotted a man walking along the freeway.

He stopped and told the man he could not walk on the freeway and offered him a ride. The man refused to enter the car, and instead ran across the traffic into the southbound lanes. Gutierrez called for help, and another CHP officer, William Shipley, arrived.

Cohen said that when the CHP officers confronted the man, he hit both of them with a cement trowel. But Lt. Gary Learn of the police homicide unit and Jim Anderson, a CHP spokesman, said only Gutierrez was hit and that he suffered minor cuts.

O’Connell arrived, Cohen said, pulled his 9-millimeter pistol, and warned the man to drop the trowel. When the man lunged, the officer fired , Cohen said.