Body-worn camera footage released Tuesday shows a sheriff’s detective fatally shoot a 46-year-old man who opened fire on the investigator at close range in a National City car dealership.
Sheriff’s Detective Douglas Akers killed Gene Stewart, 46, of Lakeside, in a Dodge dealership lot on Mile of Cars Way and Hoover Avenue on Sept. 27. Stewart died at the scene. The detective suffered cuts from broken glass, but the wounds were minor.
The edited video released this week contains text from the sheriff’s office and images from the dealership’s security cameras and body-worn camera.
The sheriff’s office video begins by showing body-worn camera footage from a deputy who was working with other law enforcement agencies in the area investigating drug activity in National City, according to text in the video.
The camera footage shows the deputy, who was riding as a passenger in a sheriff’s vehicle, pull up behind an Acura sedan during a traffic stop on Mile of Cars Way around 1:20 p.m. Before the deputy has exited the vehicle, a passenger in the Acura, later identified as Stewart, is shown running away.
The Acura’s driver — a 29-year-old man — and a passenger in the backseat — a 36-year-old woman — were quickly arrested on suspicion of drug-related charges and felons in possession of body armor.
The video then cuts to security camera footage showing Stewart walking through the dealership parking lot after running away from the deputies. He then hops into a tow truck parked on the lot.
Akers’ body-camera footage is then shown. A witness tells Akers — who had arrived to help search for the suspect — that he saw the fleeing man hop into the tow truck.
The detective is heard on the body-worn camera footage confirming to dispatchers that he found Stewart in a tow truck he is standing a few feet behind. A National City police officer then walks up, and the two devise a plan on how to approach the suspect.
