D.A.’s Office Clears Officers, Deputies in Shootings of Suspects, 4 of Them Fatal

Six local law enforcement officers have been cleared in five separate police shootings, according to reviews released Thursday by the District Attorney’s Office.

The shootings date back to 2023 and happened in Escondido, Chula Vista, San Ysidro, La Mesa and Fallbrook.

Four of the shootings were fatal:

• Nov. 3, 2023 – Douglas Quinn, 48. Escondido police responded to a report of a man sleeping on a porch inside a mobile home park. Officers Michael Statti and Anthony Lay found that Quinn had a felony warrant out of Indiana and told him they were going to place him in handcuffs. He refused, reaching towards his waistband. Statti pointed his gun at Quinn and yelled, “Don’t you touch it,” according to the D.A.’s review, which states Quinn pulled his gun out and fired at least four shots. Statti and Lay returned fire. Quinn raised his gun and pointed it in Statti’s direction. Statti then fired more rounds.
• Feb. 4, 2023 – Perri Sammarco, 37. Chula Vista police responded to a Moss Street apartment for a report of homeless men yelling and banging on doors. They found Sammarco and another man, according to the D.A.’s review. Sammarco told an officer to back up, while the other man said Sammarco had a knife. The officers drew their weapons and told Sammarco to drop the knife, at which point he grabbed the other man and threatened to cut his throat. Officer Alfonso Perdomo, with a full view of Sammarco and the hostage, shot Sammarco in the head. The review concluded that an agitated Sammarco didn’t comply with officers’ commands.
• June 4, 2023 – Mauricio Sanchez Ramos, 19, in San Ysidro. San Diego police initially received a report of an armed man foaming at the mouth. At the San Ysidro trolley station, Sanchez Ramos was found sitting inside a trolley car. San Diego Police Officer Ruben Perez Berton Jr. and his partner yelled at the man to put his hands up, the D.A.’s review states, but he instead reached into his waistband and grabbed a handgun, which was later found to be a BB gun. Berton fired 10 rounds. The D.A.’s review noted that Sanchez Ramos pointed a “realistic looking weapon” at the officers.
• Aug. 6, 2023 – Jason Hampton, 41. La Mesa Police Officer Brian Heller drove to a University Avenue apartment complex and found Hampton, who had a felony warrant, standing next to a pickup truck. The D.A.’s Office says Hampton pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Heller, who took cover. Hampton took off running and Heller gave chase; during the foot pursuit, Hampton pointed his gun at Heller, who fired, striking Hampton in the neck. The review states that the suspect pulled the trigger on Heller multiple times, but his gun didn’t discharge.

In the other case, San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies shot and wounded a man reported to be suicidal on April 21, 2023 in Fallbrook. The man, 41, had a long rifle, according to the D.A.’s review. Deputy Corporal Evan McCormick and another deputy ordered him to show his hands, but he pointed the rifle towards them and yelled, “What are you going to do?”

McCormick then fired six rounds, striking the man. The D.A.’s review states that the deputy corporal “reasonably feared” the man, and believed he “presented an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.”