One day after San Diego police revealed they had been called out to a Point Loma home twice in the week before a deadly shooting earlier this week, a victim's family member told NBC 7 on Friday he believes responding officers are not at fault.
"I don't blame responding officers. They are handcuffed by the policies they have to follow. I blame the policymakers," Hank Robinson told NBC 7.
Hank is the father of 30-year-old Brett Robinson, who died in Wednesday's triple shooting.
“I know if I were over there, my son would still be alive,” Hank said.
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The suspected gunman, 60-year-old William Bushey, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder on Friday.
William sat expressionless, barely even blinking during the arraignment — even when Judge John Pro issued an order prohibiting contact of any kind with his mother, June Bushey, who police say William has lived with for at least 15 years.
"This defendant must stay 100 yards away from her home, job, workplace, vehicle, school, any location where June Bushey is located," Pro said.
Police believe William shot 85-year-old June with a shotgun that was found in their front yard on Zola Street. She survived the ambush, but her daughter, Laurie Robinson, and Laurie’s son, Brett, were killed.
Capt. Matt Dobbs with the San Diego Police Department confirmed that Thursday officers had been called out to the home on Zola Street two other times in the last two years. The first was five days prior to the shooting, on Aug. 16. Dobbs said police stayed for an hour and that, at the time, the family didn't know if any weapons were in the house.
"He was just verbally aggressive. There were no specific threats made towards anyone in the family. No crimes had been committed," Dobbs said.
On Aug. 19 — two days before the shooting — Dobbs said responding officers spent 45 minutes at the house. They were told family members had removed what appeared to be a pellet gun and the kitchen knives.
In both cases, police say William didn't meet the criteria for a psychiatric hold.
"The police officers on the 19th talked to Mr. Bushey for quite a while, and he exhibited no signs of being in mental distress or being mentally ill," Dobbs said.
Dobbs asserted the officers made the right decision in response to both calls.
"We ask our officers every day to make very difficult decisions, and even when they make the right decision — which in this case they did — tragedies can still happen," Dobbs said. "And don't think for a minute that the officers aren't second-guessing themselves based on the results that happened in this."
In court, NBC 7 learned William has a chronic medical condition requiring medication. The details of his illness were not explained.
For now, William remains behind bars without bond.
If convicted on all charges, William faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to appear in court in December for another pre-trial hearing.
