CA - Cop shot dead by fellow officers arresting him for alleged sex with 17-year-old

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Pictured: Cop who was shot dead on duty by fellow officers 'arresting him for explicit sexual relationship with girl, 17'
Albert Covarrubias Jr, 29, who worked for Santa Maria police in California, was killed as officers tried to arrest him while he manned a DUI checkpoint in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The motorcycle traffic officer, a newlywed who had been with the department for four years, was declared dead after emergency surgery.
---
The shooting came after Covarrubias had learned of the investigation into his relationship and it became necessary to arrest him at once, police said.

They had discovered an 'inappropriate' and 'very explicit' relationship had been going on.
Still....did they have to handle it this way?
'We had no choice,' police chief Danny Macagni said in a news conference reported by KCOY-TV.

Investigators had evidence 'that demanded that we go out and take this officer off the street immediately', he said.
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more, with pictures, at Daily Mail link above
 
Hmmmm interesting fo sho!!

Thank you. And RIP Albert.
 
"Let's arrest him even though he knows it's coming and has a gun with him."
 
Very shady. Wonder what info they had? Has to be good or actually really bad.

The article names the dead officer then at the end says he has not been named. Lol.
 
Very shady. Wonder what info they had? Has to be good or actually really bad.

The article names the dead officer then at the end says he has not been named. Lol.
That's due to the Mail's funky tendency just to pile new news on top of old, without necessarily editing too much.
 
Arresting him on duty in public. Smart.
 
What sort of evidence could they have had that made them feel he had to be taken in then?
 
'The information that we had in hand demanded that we not let him leave that scene, get in a car, drive somewhere, it would put the public at risk.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...exual-relationship-girl-17.html#ixzz1l0nCBDSX


wow - I'm guessing the info was that he knew (because some dumba@@ tipped him off) and was making threats to go do something rash

and considering that he resisted & fired his gun, then he very likely would've done something else horrible had they not stopped him

think about the public outrage if he took any others down with him

I think the cops acted in the public's best interest except, of course for whoever it was that leaked the news to him
 
Family Of Officer Killed Speaks Out

Around 1:19 a.m. on Saturday, officers attempted to arrest him while he was on duty when gunfire was exchanged.

Santa Maria Police said the officer pulled out a gun and shot at them when they tried to arrest him.

One officer responded by shooting him once.
 
I am thinking there was a possible hit on the 17 yr old girl . . . IMHO only (and from my cousin who lives in Santa Maria)
 
Far too many questions arise from the info we have so far...

A fast-track investigation of just a few days into an allegation of sexual misconduct with a 17-yo, termed as "explicit" (what does that mean?), and they have to arrest the alleged offender while armed and on-duty?

The officer who fired the fatal shot was not part of the original arresting crew but arrived on-scene later.

What alternative actions could have been taken in the name of protecting the community? Were they providing protection for the alleged victim?

Further details needed before calling foul on this one; but so far, it stinks!

~jmo~

Just read krimekat's post above...If true, then the picture becomes somewhat clearer.
 
If indeed the 17-year-old was in danger, she could have been taken into protective custody.
 
More info revealed in this article (but many questions remain, imo):

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-santamaria-police-20120130,0,1750005.story

Santa Maria police detectives were made aware of allegations that the officer was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl, but the information was sketchy.

Detectives continued the investigation into Friday evening, while the officer began his shift at a DUI checkpoint at Broadway and McElhany Avenue, near a fast-food restaurant, a liquor store and a market.

"Information unfolded during the time that the officer was on duty and unfolded very rapidly. It was very explicit, very specific, that indicated that the officer was involved in not only an inappropriate sexual relationship, but a very explicit one, and it demanded immediate action," Macagni said.

By 1 a.m. Saturday, detectives had enough information to arrest the officer, who would have been booked on multiple felony counts.


I'm still struggling with the use of the word explicit, wondering if the plan of action was too hastily conceived and if so, why.

ETA:

In a briefing posted to the website of KCOY-TV, the police chief said developments in the probe of the officer forced police to take immediate action.

He said detectives believed that the officer knew he was under investigation, that witnesses were being intimidated, and that the public would be at risk if the officer was not arrested before he left his shift.

"The information that we had in hand demanded that we not let him leave that scene, get in a car, drive somewhere. It would put the public at risk if he did," Macagni said. "We just did not know what was going to happen. And we did not expect him to react the way he did."
 
I'm wondering if they sent his best friend as one of the arresting officers because they thought he'd be less likely to resist him. Maybe they thought that would keep the situation calm.

I have to say, though -if he pulled and fired a gun on his best friend, I think that illustrates the Police Chief's point that he was a risk and needed to be taken off the streets. He sounds pretty out of control to me.
 
I'm wondering if they sent his best friend as one of the arresting officers because they thought he'd be less likely to resist him. Maybe they thought that would keep the situation calm.

I have to say, though -if he pulled and fired a gun on his best friend, I think that illustrates the Police Chief's point that he was a risk and needed to be taken off the streets. He sounds pretty out of control to me.

I had exactly that same thought. :)

Did he fire at his best friend? I easily could have missed such an assertion in the articles I'd read earlier this evening...plus I was reading deeply into the Comments on each for more story. iirc, he shot his gun but I don't recall nor do we know the circumstances? Did the gun just go-off in the struggle or was he intentionally aiming at someone?
 
I'm wondering if this 17-year-old isn't the daughter of someone in the Department?
 
I had exactly that same thought. :)

Did he fire at his best friend? I easily could have missed such an assertion in the articles I'd read earlier this evening...plus I was reading deeply into the Comments on each for more story. iirc, he shot his gun but I don't recall nor do we know the circumstances? Did the gun just go-off in the struggle or was he intentionally aiming at someone?

Clearly another great mind! :p

Sorry, though - that was just my assumption, as it was his best friend who shot him. It could indeed have gone off in the struggle.

To be fair, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the story. Over here (UK), the age of consent is 16, so the thought of someone being shot over a relationship with a 17 year old is a bit bewildering to me. I'm sure that for such a dramatic response (needing to get him 'off the streets' immediately), there must have been aggravating factors. I really hope the girl is OK. This has got to be very traumatic for her.
 

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