The state has gotten involved in a high-profile road-rage incident in Oceanside involving an off-duty police officer and a mother and her 8-year-old child.

The attorney general's office will decide whether to charge Rachel Silva, the woman involved in the March incident that ended with the off-duty officer shooting Silva and her 8-year-old son, officials said Wednesday.

The San Diego County District Attorney's office will decide whether to charge Frank White, the San Diego police officer involved.

The two agencies "mutually agreed" to separate the cases to assure the public there would not be a conflict of interest, said Gary Schons, senior assistant attorney general.

"You couldn't get more distant," Schons said of his office and the district attorney's.

Attorney Michael Pancer, who represents shooting victim Silva, supported splitting the cases.

"It just makes sense from a conflict perspective and appearance perspective," Pancer said.

On March 15, an alleged road rage incident escalated into White's shooting of 28-year-old Silva and her son Johnny while mother and son were in a car in a parking lot on Old Grove Road.

Silva was hit twice in the arm. Her son was hit once in the knee.

Oceanside police have said Silva was intoxicated at the time, testing positive for alcohol and marijuana. Police said they did not test White for substance use at the time because he did not show signs of being under the influence.

Schons said an announcement about whether Silva will be charged may come within the next 10 days. Based on accounts of the incident, those charges may include driving while intoxicated, assault with a deadly weapon, and child endangerment.

The attorney general and the district attorney agreed to split the cases in April, on the day the Oceanside Police Department revealed the results of its investigation to officials at the district attorney's office, Schons said.

The district attorney did not ask the attorney general to take one of the cases and did not express a preference for handling one side of the case or the other, Schons said.

"It was just decided that we'd take Silva and they'd take White," he said.

The district attorney is responsible for reviewing all officer-involved shootings and determining whether criminal charges should be filed. Since 1996, there have been more than 200 officer-involved shootings in San Diego County. All were found to be legally justified.

Pancer said he did not see a problem with the district attorney's office deciding whether to charge White.

"I don't want to prejudge (District Attorney) Bonnie Dumanis' investigation," Pancer said. "I trust and am hopeful that she will conduct a thorough and complete investigation.

"On the other hand, I just can't think of how they're going to justify this shooting."

In April, after weeks of withholding key details about the incident, police issued a statement indicating that witnesses said Silva caused the confrontation on Old Grove Road, then followed White into a shopping center parking lot, "tailgating, revving her engine and yelling and screaming."

Affidavits say White fired five shots into Silva's car because he "feared for his and his wife's safety." White did not see Silva's son in the vehicle, the documents state.

Attorneys representing Silva and her son have said Silva's actions did not warrant White's lethal force.

White, who has reportedly returned to administrative duties, could not be reached for comment.

A representative of the San Diego Police Officers Association's law firm, Bobbitt, Pinckard & Fields, declined to say whether the firm was handling White's case, citing attorney-client privilege.

Representing White under the police union's contract would indicate that officials believe his role in the shooting falls within the "course and scope" of a police officer's duties.

Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.