San Diego police on Monday released body-camera footage of a shootout at a 4S Ranch shopping center that left an SDPD sergeant with a gunshot wound to the head and a suspect dead.
The edited footage was released about a week and a half after the incident in the 4S Commons Town Center supermarket parking lot and while SDPD Sgt. Anthony Elliott, a six-year member of the force, remained in the hospital with a bullet lodged in his brain, according to his family. The bullet cannot be removed and Elliott is unable to move his left arm or leg.
The 9-minute video begins with the 911 call around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 that alerted SDPD to a potentially stolen vehicle and the body-worn camera footage from three responding officers, which purports to show the moment the suspect, identified as Curtis Harris, flees from police inside a Ralphs store and fires at close range upon Elliott and other officers, starting a shootout just outside the front entrance.
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: The video below edited and released by San Diego police shows a shootout between a suspect and police. Viewer discretion is advised.
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The suspect was struck at least once by officers and fell to the ground, said the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which is handling the investigation under a county-wide protocol that prevents law enforcement agencies from investigating their own officer-involved shootings.
Harris was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. SDPD said a gun was recovered at the scene as well as a second magazine.
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Elliott was located by one of his officers in a shopping cart corral with a gunshot wound to the head, body-worn camera footage shows. He was treated by SDPD officers until he could be transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
Elliott was admitted to the ICU and underwent surgery. He remains hospitalized but is alert. Photos show the officer got a special visit from a French bulldog, who provides moral support to wounded law enforcement and military members.
At least three San Diego police officers, including the one involved in the incident at 4S Ranch, have been shot in the past 12 months, and all were involved in incidents involving stolen vehicles. On June 8, an officer was shot in the arm in Chollas Creek following a truck that had been reported stolen. Officials said later that day that the officer was "recovering nicely and in good spirits."
Further back, on Dec. 12, 2022, Officer Javier Hernandez was hit by gunfire following a car chase in a stolen vehicle that ended in Mountain View. Police said at the time that the round that struck Hernandez round hit him in the chest of his bulletproof vest.
"This is our third officer shot in the last 12 months that’s been shot in the line of duty,” SDPD Chief David Nisleit said the day after the shooting. "Anytime an officer is shot, it’s a serious injury so I'm very pleased to say that he is in stable condition.”
His injuries included, “several skull fractures, a brain bleed and some other things," but he was out of surgery by 10:30 a.m. and expected to make a full recovery, Nisleit said.
The sergeant works with SDPD's SWAT team and was promoted by the chief himself.
"The sergeant's a heck of a guy, you know, very proud of this sergeant," Nisleit said. "He’s had a great career. He’s done very well for himself, does great, has great officers working for him. I wish him nothing but a speedy recovery."
