EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on the fatal shooting of a black man by police in a San Diego suburb (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
Police say it was a 4-inch-long electronic smoking device that a black man pointed at a Southern California police officer who shot and killed him.
El Cajon police said Wednesday night that they recovered the vaping device consisting of a cylinder and a box that 38-year-old Alfred Olango was holding when he was shot on Tuesday.
Police Chief Jeff Davis says Olango pulled the device from his pocket, held it with both hands and took a “shooting stance” toward one of the two officers who were there.
Police released a still image of a video of the shooting that showed Olango in the stance.
One of the officers attempted to shock him with a stun gun, and the other shot and killed him.
Police had only previously revealed that Olango pointed something that was not a weapon at the officers. ___
6:15 p.m.
A lawyer says the unarmed black man shot by police in a San Diego suburb was distraught over the recent death of his best friend.
Attorney Dan Gilleon said Wednesday that Alfred Olango was having an emotional breakdown over his friend’s death.
Gilleon is representing Olango’s family after the Ugandan refugee was killed by an officer in El Cajon.
Court records show Olango had several brushes with the law in California and Colorado.
Federal court files show he was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for being a felon in possession of a gun in 2005.
The records say he was previously convicted in San Diego of receiving stolen property in 1999 and selling drugs in 2001.
He was caught in Colorado in 2005 with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol in his car. He pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to 46 months in prison.
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5:50 p.m.
One of the officers involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man in a San Diego suburb was demoted last year amid allegations that he sexually harassed a lesbian colleague.
El Cajon’s mayor identified one of the two officers Wednesday as Richard Gonsalves, a 21-year veteran of the force.
Gonsalves was demoted last year from sergeant to officer after a colleague, Christine Greer, alleged that he repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances and even texted her a photo of his penis.
Greer settled her lawsuit against Gonsalves and the city. But she filed another one in August, saying that she has faced retaliation from Gonsalves.
Her attorney, Dan Gilleon, says the lawsuit alleges Gonsalves has spit on her locker and followed her down a hallway.
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4 p.m.
The mayor of a California city says two officers who answered the call about a mentally unstable person that led to the shooting of an unarmed black man had received only basic training to deal with people with mental health problems.
El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells said Wednesday the department tries to send out officers who have had specialized mental health training to handle such calls.
But Wells says none were available, so the two officers were sent instead.
Wells says he was concerned that it took police an hour to respond to the report of the mentally unstable person and that victim Alfred Olango was shot dead a minute after officers arrived.
Olango is a refugee from Uganda.
Wells says El Cajon officers get excellent cultural differences training in the city with a large refugee population.
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1:50 p.m.
Police in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon shot and killed a black man a minute after arriving at the scene to investigate a report of mentally unstable person walking in and out of traffic.
El Cajon Police Department spokesman Lt. Rob Ransweiler said Wednesday two officers arrived at the scene at about 2:10 p.m. Tuesday. Ransweiler says the shooting happened at 2:11 p.m.
He says police received the report about the mentally unstable person at 12:57 p.m. He says police did not immediately respond because they had other calls for service.
Police say the man refused to comply with instructions to remove a hand from his pants pocket, paced back and forth, then rapidly drew an object from the pocket, placed both hands together and extended them in a “shooting stance.”
The officers simultaneously fired a handgun and an electric stun gun.
The victim has been identified as Alfred Olango, a refugee from Uganda.
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1 p.m.
The man fatally shot by police in suburban San Diego has been identified as Alfred Olango, a refugee from Uganda.
Agnes Hassan, originally from Sudan, said she spent time in a refugee camp with Olango.
She said they both suffered to get the United States and described Olango as well-educated but mentally ill.
Olango’s sister called police Tuesday afternoon and said he was acting erratically.
Two El Cajon officers who responded told him to raise his hands but police say instead Olango pulled something from his pocket and took what they described as a shooting stance.
One officer fired a Taser and the other shot Olango several times. Police later said Olango was unarmed.
Christopher Rice-Wilson, associated director of the civil rights group Alliance San Diego, questioned why one of the officers felt non-lethal force was appropriate while the other did not.
He was among those who identified Olango on Wednesday.
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10:45 a.m.
Dozens of people have peacefully protested the fatal shooting of a black man by police in a San Diego suburb.
Demonstrators gathered outside the El Cajon police headquarters Wednesday, chanting “no killer cops” and “black lives matter.”
The shooting happened Tuesday in a strip mall when officers responded to calls about a man acting erratically.
Police say he ignored commands and pulled an object from a pocket and pointed it in a “shooting stance.”
Officers simultaneously fired a stun gun and a firearm.
Speakers at the demonstration included pastors who said they had spoken to the man’s relatives.
The Rev. Shane Harris of the civil rights group National Action Network said that the man’s sister had called 911 and reported that her brother was acting out but made it clear he had mental health issues.
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