Attorneys: Corrales Family Deserves Answers

Questions raised in San Diego police shooting that killed father of three

SAN DIEGO, July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for the family of Mizael Corrales, the 31-year-old Latin man shot and killed by a deputy with the San Diego Sheriff's Department, are raising serious questions about why the unarmed father of three was shot 13 times by Deputy Anthony Garcia while attempting to flee an Otay Mesa strip mall in February. Corrales is represented by renowned Civil Rights attorneys Bakari Sellers (Strom Law Firm), John Burris and DeWitt M. Lacy (Burris, Nisenbaum, Curry & Lacy LLP) and Jorge Montes (Montes & Associates).

"The fact is that Deputy Garcia fired 13 shots in four deliberate bursts into a fleeing vehicle at a crowded strip mall," Sellers said, confirming that Corrales' family is considering legal action. "If lives were at risk, why did none of the other deputies discharge their weapons? Why was Deputy Garcia the only officer shooting at a fleeing suspect? Why did he think Mr. Corrales had to die?"

Police videos of the incident show Deputy Garcia pausing between bursts as he fired 13 shots from his police-issued service weapon despite multiple officers and bystanders as the unarmed Corrales attempted to flee the scene. Luckily, none of the surrounding officers and bystanders were hit by the multiple rounds fired.

"Through some poor tactics and planning, Mr. Corrales wound up dead. The San Diego Sheriff's Department should be ashamed of Deputy Garcia's actions," Lacy said.

The vehicle Corrales was driving only moved forward after he was hit by Garcia's shots.

"There are two choices here," Burris said. "Either Deputy Garcia didn't think before he fired off in which case he acted recklessly and dangerously. Or he did think and decided that this unarmed father of three deserved to die in which case he's a murderer. It's just that simple."

The San Diego Sheriff's Department reported that two deputies were knocked to the ground as Corrales tried to flee. They were later treated for minor injuries. Corrales died from his wounds at the scene.

"Mizael Corrales wasn't some statistic," said Montes. "He was a husband, a father, a brother and a son and he was gunned down just three days before his daughter's fifth birthday."

"They deserve more than excuses. They deserve answers."

SOURCE Strom Law Firm, LLC