Napa Sheriff Releases Video From Deadly Shooting Of Juan Adrian Garcia During Traffic Stop
NAPA (CBS SF) – The Napa County Sheriff's Office released body cam video and additional details Wednesday after a deputy opened fire on an unarmed man during a traffic stop last week, killing him.
Sheriff's Sgt. David Ackman pulled over Juan Adrian Garcia near Kaiser Road and Highway 221 around 10:10 p.m. on October 5th. The sheriff's office said Garcia was driving with his headlights off.
Garcia tossed a cellphone from the driver's side window and exited his car without being told to, the sheriff's office said. Video shows him advancing towards the deputy while keeping one hand tucked behind his back.
The sheriff's office said Ackman attempted to de-escalate the situation for nearly a minute by retreating and repeatedly telling Garcia to stop and show his hands. When Garcia got within close range, Ackman fired his weapon six times.
Garcia was hit five times in the torso and once in the leg. Soon after, deputies arrived at the scene and administered CPR and first aid. He was rushed to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, but died the following night.
Investigators determined that Garcia was not carrying any weapons. Medical records showed Garcia had a blood alcohol level of 0.338.
"The training of the Napa County Sheriff's Department when we are by ourselves and faced with a deadly threat, and Sergeant Ackman believes he was faced with a deadly threat, is that we were going to meet that threat with our own lethal force," Capt. Cullen Dodd said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
"At no time did Sergeant Ackman believe Mr. Garcia did not have a deadly threat. A Taser is not the right tool to bring to a situation where he believes his own life is in danger," Dodd went on to say.
Garcia's family, their attorney and a representative from the Mexican Consulate saw the body camera video at the Sheriff's Office before it was released to the public. Garcia was a Mexican national.
Ackman has been placed on administrative leave. He has been with the Napa County Sheriff's Office for the past 21 years.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Napa County District Attorney's Office, the Napa County Sheriff's Office and the Napa Police Department.
