Posted on 12/23/2006 5:00:42 AM PST by radar101
San Diego police Officers R. Gutierrez, left, and Vernon Kindred deliver flowers for the slain officer at the Oceanside Police Station on Friday. The officers said they were in the area and decided to pay their respects.
Jenny Quezada, front, and her mother Connie Marsteller visit the memorial for the slain officer at the Oceanside Police Station Friday.
OCEANSIDE ---- Oceanside police officials said Friday they have arrested a second suspect in connection with the fatal shooting Wednesday of police Officer Dan Bessant in the northeastern edge of town.
A 16-year-old Oceanside boy was arrested Thursday night after he was detained for questioning, police officials said Friday. Police also said they arrested a 17-year-old Oceanside boy Thursday morning. They have not released the name of either boy.
Oceanside police Chief Frank McCoy said Friday that the motive for the shooting is not known.
"The investigation is ongoing and our goal is to make sure every stone has been turned over," McCoy said. "We are going to continue our efforts until we feel we have exhausted every lead out there."
The district attorney's office is reviewing the evidence and will decide Tuesday morning whether to file charges, said Deputy District Attorney Tom Manning.
He said if charges are filed against either or both of the boys, the arraignment will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Vista Courthouse. The district attorney's office will have to decide whether to charge the boys as adults, Manning said.
"We are still waiting for reports and evidence," Manning said Friday.
On Friday evening, an Oceanside resident said she saw 10 to 12 police cars with emergency lights on rushing to Gold Drive in the area of the shooting.
"They did serve a search warrant related to this case," Sgt. Leonard Mata, police spokesman, said later.
He said he didn't have any more information.
Earlier Friday night, Bessant's family issued a statement through the Police Department.
"Dan loved being a cop, and he was a good one," the statement said. "He was a great husband and Daddy who enjoyed spending all of his free time with his family. Dan was a lot of fun to be with and he was liked by everyone. He will be missed by many."
The statement also said the family would like to "extend its gratitude to the community" for the outpouring of support as the family copes with its loss.
Funeral arrangements were announced Friday through the department.
A public viewing has been scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Ambassador Family Church at 1602 S. El Camino Real in Oceanside. Funeral services open to the public will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at New Venture Christian Fellowship at 4000 Mystra Way, also in Oceanside. A private reception will be held after the service.
Oceanside police officers will meet at police headquarters at 3855 Mission Ave. for the procession that starts about 9 a.m. to go to the New Venture Church.
Officers from other agencies will meet at the Westfield Plaza Camino Real mall before joining the procession on Highway 78.
In addition to financial contributions, many residents have brought flowers to the police station and the site of the shooting, McCoy said.
Police officials said they are touched by the support and condolences received in the wake of Wednesday's shooting.
"The outpouring of support from the community has been tremendous," McCoy said. "It's been great to see the community pull together with the Police Department during this tragic event."
Bessant was shot Wednesday, police say, at the intersection of Gold Drive and Arthur Avenue near Vandegrift Boulevard in northeast Oceanside after responding to a request for backup from Officer Karina Pina. She made the call at about 6:20 p.m. Bessant died after being airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
Police officials said several shots were fired at the officers, from behind and from as far as half a block away. They said that a bullet struck Bessant in his left armpit, which was not covered by the protective vest he was wearing.
There were strong indications Friday that the suspects may have been gang members.
Manning, the lead prosecutor on the case, is assigned to the North County Gang Unit in charge of gang cases. Moreover, the neighborhood of the shooting ---- near the back gate of Camp Pendleton ---- has been the flash point for several gang shootings in recent years, including the shooting death of 16-year-old Rusty Seau in June 2005.
Bessant, 25, graduated from Oceanside High School and lived in the city with his family. He had been involved with the Police Department since 2000 and was hired as an officer in 2003.
Tim Felkins, 23, said Friday that Bessant had been a friend of his since the two met as teenagers. Felkins said he remembers taking trips out to the desert with Bessant, who enjoyed driving his truck off road.
"Dan was always the funny guy around the campfire telling jokes all night," said Felkins. "He was a guy everyone loved."
Bessant also enjoyed fishing and was a great cook, said Felkins, who went to North Coast Church with Bessant and his family.
The Bessants have been active for many years at the church on North Melrose Drive in Vista, a 6,000-member evangelical congregation, Felkins said.
"Everyone is just in shock," Felkins said when asked about Bessant's family. "(His wife) seems to be doing OK, and she said she is just taking it one step at a time."
Felkins said the Bessant family had received tremendous support from the Police Department, neighbors and friends.
"The officers are focused on their jobs, but there is an attitude of sorrow," McCoy said. "This has definitely opened up old wounds."
Bessant is the second Oceanside police officer shot and killed in the last three years. Officer Tony Zeppetella was fatally shot on June 13, 2003, during a traffic stop gone bad.
Adrian George Camacho, a five-time convicted felon and twice-deported illegal immigrant from Mexico, was convicted of first-degree murder in Zeppetella's death and is now on California's death row.
Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood said the Zeppetella shooting had given the city an understanding of what's ahead of it.
"We know it's going to be a long, tedious process," Wood said Friday. "It would be an understatement to say the mood in the city is sad."
Since the shooting on Wednesday, city officials have said they will try to do everything possible to help the family. Wood said the event had affected the morale of many residents in the city.
"Everyone was very upbeat about the holidays, and this was like a bomb that dropped and totally changed everyone's attitudes," Wood said. "I have found myself forcing myself to try to be happy so the city can try to celebrate the holidays despite the sadness."
Police officials said several shots were fired at the officers, from behind and from as far as half a block away.Ambushed?
Sad. very sad. The cussed gangs are running wild. Eradicate them, I say.
TC
Gangs?? What gang---black,white ,Hispanic?
Probably not white since no race was mentioned.
Every time I read of a police officer being killed it turns my stomach.
Every day they risk their lives to 'Serve and Protect'.
Many times they are trashed for doing their jobs by the MSM and 'others'.
Enough of all this PC crap. Let the police do their jobs without fear. It is time to get very tough with the gang problem no matter how young that gang member is.
LOL!
Are you talking about the Long Beach shooting, the Oceanside shooting, or both?
http://www.1personalinjurylawyers.com/pi/news/ca-police-death.html
A lawsuit has been filed in US District Court in San Diego that could have ramifications in the way police are trained nationwide .
The federal wrongful death lawsuit seeks damages in the shooting death of a young man in Vista, CA on August 1, 2005. Jesus Eduardo Manzo, 23, wound up being the third man of Latino descent to die in separate police shooting incidents in a five-day time span. Vista has a very large Latino population, though its police force does not racially represent that.
Groups around San Diego County have called on the Sheriff's Department to review the way they train their officers in situations where they may have to use force. A review is currently in its preliminary stages and will take place sometime this summer, according to Assistant sheriff Earl Wentworth.
The shootings sparked protests by a number of people and groups, who called for an independent review of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department use-of-force policies and procedures.
Assistant sheriff Earl Wentworth said last week that bids are being prepared for a review that might start by midyear. The department investigations into the three fatal shootings may go to the District Attorney's office next month for review, sheriff's homicide officials said.
The federal wrongful death lawsuit was brought on behalf of the victim's mother, Maria Maldinado, his 8-month-old daughter, and his estate. The suit alleges use of excessive force, failure to train, supervise or discipline deputies, battery, and negligence . The suit also names the following defendants: San Diego County, Captain Rob Ahern of the Vista Sheriff Station, Deputy Lewis Schott - the man who killed Manzo, and some 100 others.
The lawsuit alleges that Ahern promoted racial discrimination in the city's police tactics and that police often targeted persons of Latino descent. The lawsuit also wants to change the way that officers are trained in the County. Currently there is very little training for alternative means of subduing suspects other than using a gun .
Deputy Schott fired at Manzo because the officer thought the man was reaching for a gun. Manzo, a convicted car thief, did not have a gun or any other weapon on him, however.
The lawsuit seeks federal status because it claims that it needs an independent investigation, rather than one brought on by San Diego County itself. The case could have ramifications around the country for potential police brutality cases or other wrongful death claims and the way they are handled and tried.
"Many times they are trashed for doing their jobs by the MSM and 'others' "
Unfortunately, "others" includes a decent number of lunatic fringe on FR.
Yes, and probably not white because the article refers to the suspects as "boys," rather than men. If they'd been white victims of non-white criminals, they'd have been "men."
"The district attorney's office will have to decide whether to charge the boys as adults, Manning said Friday."
Not a difficult decision..CHARGE THEM AS ADULTS!
"Oceanside police officers will met at police headquarters at 3855 Mission Ave, for the procession that starts about 9 a.m. to go to the New Venture Church."
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On the news last night I saw them arresting one of the suspects. Not sure if it was from the Oceanside or Long Beach shooting but the guy they were arresting was crawling on his stomach on the ground. Helicopter shot caught it and he was definitely hispanic.
He looked just like all the thugs roaming around our city daily.
California has a pitiful mess going on with the hispanic gangs and thugs.
No they won't. They'll just say it is worth it to put up with this one illegal thug to get the other 5 fine upstanding, hard workers that put food on our table.
Besides, Americans are criminals too.
Their excuses never end.
ping
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