City Officer Kills Unarmed Man in His Apartment

A San Diego patrol officer shot and killed an unarmed 20-year-old man inside a South San Diego apartment Thursday morning after he “saw a movement he interpreted as a threat,” police said.

Richard W. Cross Jr. was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. at Mercy Hospital, 47 minutes after the patrol officer and two plainclothes detectives appeared at his apartment in the 2200 block of Palm Avenue. Cross was shot once, and was hit in the right arm and chest, police said.

Dispatchers had alerted them to a possible domestic dispute involving a man with a gun. But Cross’ fiance, Lori Crosson, who made the 911 emergency call, said she mentioned no gun and that police simply burst into their apartment and fired immediately.

Crosson told a KNSD-TV reporter that Cross had gone to answer the door when police burst in.

“He turned the doorknob, I was going to come to the door, before the door was completely open--BOOM!--they just shot him in the chest,” she said. “There was no gun, he has no gun, I have no gun, there’s no gun in the house. At all.”

It was the second fatal slaying by police within 24 hours. On Wednesday afternoon, a police narcotics agent serving a search warrant in East San Diego shot a man who reportedly was reaching for a handgun. That killing, the 11th this year, gave the city its highest annual total in six years.

In all, San Diego police have shot 26 suspects in 1990, 12 of them fatally.

Police, citing a new policy of delaying the identification of officers involved in shootings, have not released the names of those involved in the Wednesday or Thursday shootings. They said they do not want witnesses to shootings to know anything about the officers’ histories because it might alter their statements.

Police Chief Bob Burgreen said Thursday that an internal police study on lethal force that has been under way for more than three months may include recommendations calling for more frequent training with batons, nunchakus, police dogs and other defensive tactics.

Burgreen said he knew little about Thursday’s incident, which began at 10:34 a.m. when dispatchers notified officers of a domestic disturbance between a man and woman. Dispatchers said the man had a gun, according to homicide Lt. Dan Berglund, who is investigating the case.

Berglund said a 911 dispatcher called back to the apartment to talk to the woman and verify her claim. A man answered and the dispatcher hung up, not wanting to let him know that police had been notified.

The uniformed patrol officer and two detectives then arrived at the apartment complex, climbed the stairs to the apartment, and the officer yelled “Police!” as he first knocked and then pushed open the door, Berglund said.

“As he entered, he saw a movement that he interpreted as a threat,” Berglund said. Cross “was turning and had his hand in a position. He made a movement. The officer felt threatened. (But Cross) did not have a weapon on him when paramedics administered first aid.”

After the shooting, police obtained a search warrant but said they found no weapon.

Crosson, who is pregnant, and Cross were scheduled to be married Jan. 6, neighbors said.

Crosson told KNSD that she dialed 911 because Cross had gotten physical with her during an argument. But she said the fight had long been over when police arrived and Cross opened the door. Berglund said a police officer opened the door.

After the shooting, Crosson, 23, went to Scripps Memorial Hospital in Chula Vista because she feared she might have a miscarriage.

Although police have shot several suspects this year who were armed with guns, some of those shot were not.

In May, police shot a man wielding a cement trowel. In June, two men holding baseball bats were shot, in two different incidents. In August, police shot a man who made “a furtive movement” that an officer thought indicated he had a gun. No gun was found.

In September, a man who police said threatened them with a garden stake was fatally shot through the chest. Two days later, police shot and killed a man who police said grabbed a pair of nunchakus from an officer.

Thursday’s shooting, as is normal practice, will be reviewed by the homicide division, the district attorney’s office, police internal affairs and a shooting review board of police commanders, who will study possible violations of law and department policy.