The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) has identified the officer who shot and killed a felon considered armed and dangerous in a Pacific Beach neighborhood earlier this week.
According to officials, the officer involved in the fatal shooting of suspect Timothy Gene Smith, 47, is Sgt. Scott Holslag, a 19-year veteran of the department who works with the SDPD’s Canine Unit.
On Wednesday, just before 3 p.m., SDPD officers were on patrol in the 1700 block of Garnet Avenue when they spotted Smith in the area. The officers recognized Smith as a suspect wanted for several felony warrants out of Missouri. The SDPD said Smith was considered dangerous and was believed to be armed with a handgun.
The department said officers tried to make contact with Smith, but he allegedly fled from police, running southbound through an apartment complex. Cops chased Smith on foot for about two blocks before losing sight of him.
A police helicopter soon spotted Smith hiding in a shed between two apartment buildings in the 1600 block of Thomas Avenue.
Police officers, including Sgt. Holslag with the Canine Unit, surrounded the shed. Sgt. Holslag ordered Smith to surrender, but police said Smith suddenly bolted from the shed, running towards a fence.
A police dog was deployed. The dog bit the suspect on the foot before Smith broke free and jumped over the fence.
Police said Smith then climbed onto a ledge on a neighboring apartment building and turned towards Sgt. Holslag, while allegedly reaching into his pockets. The officer demanded Smith show his hands, but he refused to comply and continued to reach into his pockets.
The SDPD said Sgt. Holslag believed Smith was trying to retrieve a weapon from his pockets, and the officer feared for his safety. That’s when the officer discharged his service gun, critically shooting Smith in the torso.
Smith died at the scene, police said. He was not armed, and no weapon was recovered from the suspect, police confirmed. It is unclear if the officer involved in this shooting was wearing a body camera.
This deadly shooting came just one hour after a separate, unrelated shooting and standoff in Bankers Hill kept SDPD officers busy and on edge for more than five hours. In that case, a man armed with a long-range rifle sprayed bullets for hours, narrowly missing officers. Eventually, that suspect was arrested.
