Authorities Friday identified two men — one of them a college police officer — who got into a violent confrontation that left one of them wounded and the other dead last week on Fiesta Island.
Victor Bocaya, a lawman employed by the San Diego Community College District, was off-duty and visiting the city park on Mission Bay with his dogs when he opened fire on 41-year-old Brian Maloney III on Oct. 2, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Maloney allegedly prompted the shooting at about 10 a.m. that day by confronting and stabbing Bocaya for unknown reasons shortly after the officer arrived at the island.
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Homicide detectives have determined that Bocaya was unloading his dogs from his vehicle when Maloney began yelling at him from about 75 feet away while standing near his parked van, SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell said.
Maloney soon began approaching Bocaya, who responded by displaying his badge, identifying himself as a police officer and taking out his cellphone to make an emergency call.
"Maloney then began stabbing Officer Bocaya with a knife, which was later located on the sand near Maloney," Campbell said. "Officer Bocaya pulled out a firearm and shot Maloney one time. Officer Bocaya then ran back to his car and called 911."
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Maloney died at the scene. Paramedics took Bocaya to a trauma center for treatment of serious stab wounds to his upper body. He was released from hospital care several days later.
The reason for the deadly encounter remains unclear.
Various agencies, including the SDPD, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, are investigating the case to determine if Bocaya bears any criminal liability over the shooting.
