Judge: Officer who shot Steve Foley has no records of prior misconduct
By: North County Times wire services | ∞
SAN DIEGO - A review of personnel records for a Coronado police officer who shot former Chargers linebacker Steve Foley revealed no relevant information about prior incidents of misconduct, a judge ruled Friday.
Attorneys for Foley, 31, who is charged with DUI, and Lisa Maree Gaut, who was with the football player when he was shot last Sept. 3 in Poway, requested the review by Judge Charles Rogers in advance of trials for both defendants.
Ray Vecchio, the attorney for Gaut, asked the judge to review Officer Aaron Mansker's personnel files from Palomar Community College and the Coronado Police Department to see if the records contained any complaints of unreasonable force, dishonesty or fabrication of evidence.
Gaut, 26, is charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and DUI.
Mansker testified that he followed Foley's Oldsmobile from downtown San Diego to Poway because the car was being driven erratically at speeds of 30 to 90 mph.
The officer said the driver was weaving in and out of lanes and almost slammed into another vehicle and a center divider before pulling over around 3:30 a.m. near his home on Travertine Court and getting out of his car.
Mansker said he got out of his vehicle -- not a marked patrol car -- and fired a warning shot into a berm, but Foley kept walking toward him and Gaut kept moving the car forward.
The officer said the vehicle suddenly went around Foley and sped toward him. Fearing he would be crushed between the oncoming Oldsmobile and his car, Mansker said he fired two shots at the hood of Foley's sedan.
Mansker said he backed up and saw Foley near the front of his unmarked car, lifting up his shirt, and fired at the athlete, who dropped to the ground.
Mansker said he fired a few more rounds, sending Foley to the ground again, when he started to get up and reach into his waistband.
Foley's attorney, Jack Phillips, urged Rogers to look into whether Mansker had ever been investigated for excessive force.
Phillips wanted to know "why, in a DUI case, he shot someone in the back of the leg three times?"
Rogers said he was not making any finding of whether Mansker acted appropriately the night Foley was shot.
Foley, whose blood revealed a .23 percent blood-alcohol level after the incident, has his misdemeanor trial set for May 7.
Jury selection for Gaut's trial is set to begin April 2.
Her blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.15 percent following the shooting.
More Stories
Advertisement
No Prior Misconduct wrote on Mar 17, 2007 8:03 AM:Well ... it seems that when he decides to screw up he takes it all the way!
Officer has no records of prior misconduct wrote on Mar 17, 2007 11:46 AM:Gee I wonder if they can say the same thing about Steve Foley ! LOL
esteban wrote on Mar 19, 2007 9:03 AM:Nice argument by the defense..."Why, in a DUI case, do you shoot someone three times?" So if a cop stops someone for jaywalking, and the guy starts shooting or acts as if he's armed, must the cop not defend himself and say, "I cannot do anything because this is just a jaywalking case."???? Nice try Phillips, you loser.
REGGIE wrote on Dec 6, 2007 5:58 PM:STEVE, MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS OF ON HANGER HILL, I KNOW YOU NEVER THOUGHT SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAD IN THE SUBURBS OF SAN DIEGO. MAN KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND GOD WILL SEE YOU THRU ALL OF THIS...
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Today's Stories
Advertisement