Stanislaus Sheriff's Office Releases Bodycam footage Of Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting That Killed Modesto Teen
MODESTO (CBS13) – The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office on Saturday released bodycam footage of a deadly officer-involved shooting involving a Modesto 16-year-old.
The footage starts with a deputy approaching a vehicle during a traffic stop and asking the driver, 16-year-old Xander Mann, to roll down his window. Officials told CBS13 he was reportedly pulled over for expired registration and a broken headlight.
Just a short moment later, the driver takes off from the scene and the deputy rushes back to the patrol car to chase after the vehicle.
The chaotic chase lasted more than 20 miles at times reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour, Stanislaus Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said in the video.
You can watch the full video here. Viewer discretion is advised.
Criminal defense attorney Linda Parisi questions if the chase was warranted.
"The young man stops, the officer sees him, he has got the license plate," Parisi said. "Don't they have what they need to ultimately have for the traffic infraction?"
Continued footage shows authorities in-chase discussing a pit maneuver a separate deputy vehicle was about to attempt on the suspect vehicle. Moments later, a field training officer can be heard calling out shots fired.
The Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy who shot Mann was identified as Deputy Gerardo Zazueta. He has been with the department for four years, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office.
According to Sheriff Dirkse, due to the rapid nature of the unfolding events, Deputy Zazueta was not able to activate his body camera during this time.
"I'm not sure the video tells us enough about the story," Parisi said.
Parisi says if a civil suit is filed, the missing video could play a factor but may not be the deciding factor.
"Failure to have the camera is not completely fatal to either side," Parisi said. "There has to be some consequence for failure to turning those cameras on. We need to be able to see those because what started as a traffic stop ended up in a fatality."
The sheriff's office said Mann sped forward and narrowly missed Deputy Zazueta, who was outside of his vehicle and then discharged his firearm.
The shooting happened at around 2 a.m. on May 18 in the area of Finch and McClure roads in Modesto, just after the alleged chase between the teen and deputies ended.
The video then shows several law enforcement officials swarming the car, which had smoke coming from the front-end after it crashed into a pole following the shooting.
Deputies say there were five teenagers in the car at the time, and the driver was the only person who was shot. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died three days later.
"Hands up" and "Get him out" could be heard as authorities pulled Mann from the crashed car.
Officials can be seen in the video performing CPR, which went on for more than 15 minutes until paramedics arrived and transported Mann to the hospital.
The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office said the investigation remains ongoing. Internal affairs is also conducting a separate review to make sure policies were followed.
