SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Santa Maria Police Chief Danny Macagni issued a statement for the first time since the officer involved shooting that killed Officer Albert Covarrubias Jr .
Here is a what the Chief had to say:
"The past few days have been among the most difficult in the history of our police department. Regrettably, one of our own was implicated in a serious crime. We had credible information that he likely was about to harm himself and also a member of the public. In an effort to protect the officer and the public, we felt we had to move as quickly as possible to detain somebody who we believed posed a dangerous threat to himself and others. Our goal, as it is in every situation, was to secure the accused officer with minimal risk to everyone involved. Nobody anticipated that events would unfold so tragically.
Police work is never easy and judgment calls must sometimes be made quickly based on circumstances presented at the time. Thankfully, most of our contacts with the public end without incident. Sadly, sometimes they don't.
While we begin the healing process - and deal with the shock and sadness surrounding this tragedy - we will continue the process of reviewing our policies and procedures to ensure they meet the highest possible standards.
As you know, we immediately invited the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department to handle the entire investigation of this officer-involved shooting, with their findings to be reviewed by the District Attorney. We have also invited an expert on internal affairs, from outside our department, to conduct an independent administrative investigation. I have also instructed my officers to fully cooperate in these investigations.
In the meantime, I encourage the public to continue to support our police officers. We are pleased to have secured the assistance of the FBI's Crisis Management Team to work with department personnel during this difficult time. We have added additional crisis counselors to assist us. As the media has reported, many of our officers are dealing with the loss of somebody close to them.
The City acknowledges the desire of the public and media for more information on this issue and that the lack of more available information may be frustrating to the public. Therefore, we have set-up a webpage to be a clearinghouse for all available City information on this matter. For more information, view our website at http://www.ci.santa-maria.ca.us/home.shtml. "
