Searching for truth in San Luis Obispo police shooting

The city of San Luis Obispo has stated that it wants to maintain “transparency, accountability and public trust” following the tragic, May 10 shooting that resulted in the deaths of Police Det. Luca Benedetti and Eddie Giron.

Much evidence exists now, but without action by officials — who are accountable to the public — we may never know the whole story of what happened.

According to The Tribune’s recent reporting with independent record verification, contrary to Sheriff Ian Parkinson’s statement, some SLO police officer(s) had evidence of Giron’s deteriorating mental state, his possession of a gun and as a friend told an officer, his “...inherent risk to himself and the community.”

Beyond listening to what officials say, citizens must watch what they do. The wagons are circling. Critical questions are:

Is an independent investigative agency necessary?

Of course. Former interim SLO Police Chief Brian Amoroso and new Chief Rick Scott called for an “outside” agency investigation.

Is the Sheriff’s Office “outside” and independent?

No, the Sheriff’s Office is an integral part of county law enforcement. The office, and Sheriff Parkinson himself, are extensively entwined with all county police departments e.g., the coroner’s office and crime labs, and both had longstanding relationships with Det. Benedetti.

Sheriff Parkinson teaches “leadership development” to county law enforcement, and he has made several statements about the case, some of which raise credibility issues. Photos of the crime scene capture deputy sheriffs’ presence; the extent of participation is not known by the public.

City officials must insist on using a true outside, independent agency.

At the critical point when they were demanding entry, what did police know?

With certain exceptional situations, the law does not permit police to forcibly enter a dwelling, even with a search warrant.

Those exceptional situations include immediate threat of harm to persons, destruction of contraband, hot pursuit of a suspect for a serious crime, escape, or an unreasonable delay in a response to the knocking and announcement of police presence and purpose.

Officials claim there was no response and an unreasonable delay before police burst through the door. The audio and video record from police body-cams, and any other cameras, should help answer the question.

Exactly what happened?

Because of contradicting statements by officials, the community may ask, “How did Giron and Det. Benedetti die?”

Helpful in answering all questions will be: the written affidavit submitted to a judge to issue the warrant; audio and video recordings by police and citizens; notes and statements made and communicated to and from the six officers before, during and after the raid; all forensic evidence; all witness statements, including evidence of Giron’s background and mental issues, reported to any SLO governmental agency.

Suspicion is not proof, so citizens should beware of reaching conclusions before an independent agency completes its work, but they should insist on answer to, “Was the violent entry reasonable and justified?”

Were there alternatives?

While police anticipated finding climbing gear and a few personal items from the gym in Giron’s apartment, other than Giron not answering soon enough, the public may wonder what urgency justified the violent break-in, which witnesses described as “a confusing cacophony of banging, yelling and gunshots,” according to The Tribune.

Concern for officer safety suggests other alternatives should have been considered before crashing through Giron’s door.

In Kings County on May 24, CHP chased a man known to be armed and in a tactical vest, for 50 miles. Negotiations with a Crisis Resolution Team were conducted for over 10 hours, until the man shot at the police, and was then shot by the police. Apparently, no officers died or were injured.

Were there planning mistakes here? Possibly.

Could there have been organizational hubris, resulting from the warrior mentality that begins the first day of training? Of course. Even though all cops do not accept the codes of the brotherhood, many do. Carol Fieldhouse, a veteran Whittier, California, lieutenant long ago confided to this writer, “Knock, announce, and wait? Nah, are you kiddin’ me? Breaking down doors is the fun part of the job!”

Of course there were alternatives.

Who dares question the cops?

We do. The public is entitled to look behind the repeated official narrative: Receiving no response to their knock and announcement, officers broke through the door, and Giron, “lying in wait,” shot two of the six officers.

If that official narrative is accurate, the evidence will support it; however, with Giron dead, there will be no criminal court case, no judge, no lawyer to press for evidence disclosure.

Without public pressure, we may never know if the young life we commemorated May 20 and the one we did not might have been spared.

Sadly, Sgt. Caleb Kemp, a SWAT team leader with Benedetti, said that during operations, Det. Benedetti often counseled, “No stress, we have all day.”

In this case, what was the rush here?

Another enemy of giving light to truth is a civil suit, which frequently ends in a settlement and a non-disclosure agreement. So much for transparency.

Truth is often unpopular, but we must have it, or who are we?

Howard Gillingham is a former federal public defender and former adjunct professor at Loyola Law School. He lives in Atascadero.

This viewpoint has been updated to remove incorrect information about Det. Benedetti’s start date with the San Luis Obispo Police Department.

This story was originally published May 30, 2021 at 6:30 AM.