OCEANSIDE ---- After nearly three weeks of silence on the shooting of a North County woman and child by an off-duty police officer, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis released a short written statement Thursday that asks the public for patience.
View the statement
"I understand the public's desire to know more facts surrounding the March 15th officer-involved shooting in Oceanside," the statement read. "But until all those facts are in, we will not rush to judgment about the guilt or innocence of either party involved ---- and neither should the public."
The statement sheds no light on the remaining questions surrounding the shooting, in which off-duty San Diego police Officer Frank White fired five shots at a silver Honda Accord driven by Oceanside resident Rachel Silva, 27, wounding her and her 8-year-old son.
The Oceanside Police Department, which is investigating the shooting, has said the incident stemmed from a traffic dispute, but have released few other details about the events that led up to the shooting. Police said Silva has declined to talk to investigators.
Gene Iredale, the attorney representing Silva, said Thursday that he continues to advise her not to speak with police.
Iredale said detectives had recently tried "rather rudely" to interview several of Silva's friends and he does not believe investigators will treat Silva fairly. Toxicology tests were ordered on Silva, but not on White, on the night of the incident. The results of the tests have not been released.
"It seems like they are more interested in convicting Ms. Silva of drunk driving than they are of investigating her and her son's shooting," Iredale said.
Oceanside police Chief Frank McCoy has repeatedly denied that his department's investigation is unfair and city officials have backed him up.
At the end of Wednesday's Oceanside City Council meeting, Mayor Jim Wood again defended the department, stating that he believed the investigation has been "very professional."
Meanwhile, residents appear increasingly frustrated that so few details have been made public.
William Carpenter, a retired electrical engineer who has lived in Oceanside since 1988, said Thursday he is "very unhappy" with the way the investigation has been handled.
"There are not circumstances where I could go into a local shopping center, fire five shots, and not go to jail," Carpenter said. "The police would not accept any explanation on my part that would keep me out of jail, but we have this police officer still out walking around."
Authorities have been mum on the reasons White gave for discharging his weapon and have also declined to say whether Silva threatened the off-duty officer in any way that might have justified the use of deadly force.
McCoy told the North County Times on March 29, that the district attorney's office has asked his office to withhold recordings of 911 calls made to the department before, during and after the shooting, which occurred in a shopping center parking lot at 155 Old Grove Road.
In her statement, Dumanis declines to discuss how her office has or has not worked with Oceanside police investigators.
"I'm not going to address questions regarding the handling of the incident or subsequent investigation by the Oceanside Police Department," the statement reads, adding "They are responsible for their own decisions and policies."
Though the statement seems to put some distance between the Oceanside police's investigation and the district attorney's office, that has not generally been the case. On Mar. 27 the Police Department released a statement that said: "The District Attorney's Office was notified and responded to the scene. Their investigators have been working very closely with our detectives."
Iredale said he is perplexed by the twin statements regarding the district attorney's office's involvement in the investigation.
"Who's doing the work? Is it the Oceanside Police Department or is it in conjunction with the DA's office?" Iredale said.
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