From KUSI in San Diego: A San Diego Charger was shot Sunday morning by an off duty police officer. It happened around 3:30 Sunday morning..when an off duty Coronado police officer started following a man who was driving erratically. Police say the driver is Chargers linebacker Steve Foley.Neighbors describe him as tough on the outside, but nice on the inside. From the few words I have exchanged with him, and from hearing him in interviews, he does seem like a level-headed guy. I don't want to go so far as saying he has a problem with alcohol, but people end up in treatment after repeated incidents like this, especially when they involve the police.
The officer identified himself several times as a police officer, but Foley would not pull over. Foley then drove to his own neighborhood in Poway where he got out of the car and his girlfriend got behind the wheel. Police say Foley came at the officer who fired a warning shot. The woman then drove the car at the officer. The officer fired into the car, then shot Foley. But police say Foley kept coming, and the off duty officer shot him several more times. Foley was taken to Sharp Hospital for surgery. The woman was taken into custody. No charges have been filed yet. Steve Foley was arrested back in April for battery on a police officer and public drunkenness.
KUSI has the video here. The news reporter doesn't confirm the player's identity, but it is indeed Steve Foley. Apparently he was shot three times, once in the stomach, once in the hand, and once in the leg. Foley is at Sharp Hospital where his injuries are not life threatening, although he lost a lot of blood.
UPDATE: The San Diego Union Tribune has a story up on their website about this incident:
The officer again identified himself, pulled out a gun, and ordered the suspect several times to stop, Brugos said.UPDATE # 2: Here's the AP story.
"However he continued to walk toward the officer, making the statement, 'That's a bb gun'," Brugos said.
STATEMENT FROM THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS ON LINEBACKER STEVE FOLEY:
"We have confirmed that linebacker Steve Foley was shot early this morning. We'll try to provide more information as it becomes available. Right now all of our thoughts are with Steve."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)
9-03-2006 @ 7:49PM
Magnum said...
This incident is very unfortunate and one that should not have happened. Without arguing who was at fault or not there are some questions I hope will be raised in the coming days like how does an off duty take it upon himself to travel almost 30 miles out of his jurisdiction without calling for backup or the very least local police support? I am not taking away from the fact that the person he was attempting to bring to justice might be in violation of local mv statutes for not pulling over but was it worth pullimg a gun and shooting a person? I think not. There is no justification for the shooting and when all of the facts come in I just hope justice won't be so blind as to overlook that the officer in question here went way beyond the call of duty to prove a point.
Did he run the plates and they came back scofflaw? Not likely. This officer needs a gun like Iran needs nuclear weapons. The real tragedy here is someone's life and career are on the line. To my understanding alcholism is an illness and people are treated for it. Ths would be the first I heard of shooting people for it. Again, what about backup and the local law enforcement. Why were they not called in?
There are protocols and procedures for doing things and if I were this person's supervisor I would not be patting him on the back and telling him what a good job he did regardless of what story he told about what took place at the scene. I would be interested in knowing why he drove so far without calling in backup and local jurisdictional support since he obviously thought something strange was going on.
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9-03-2006 @ 7:52PM
Anna said...
How did they let hime know that the police was a real police if he was an off duty policeman. I know this strange asking that question. I use to llive in San Diego also Escondido, So it seems funny that you shoot at the guy just because he wouldn't pull over if I understood the article correctly. It sounds kinda fishy sorry.
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9-03-2006 @ 7:53PM
Checkmoot said...
Why is an off duty Coronado cop trolling for trouble, nowhere near Coronado and way out of his jurisdiction ? I don't know the law in California, but in most places a city cop, even in uniform and on duty, has no authority in other cities.Pulling a gun on someone and saying you're a police officer, does not neccessarily mean you are. Hope Foley sues his ass off.
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9-03-2006 @ 7:58PM
Anna said...
I am not sure what I am suppose to donow I have entered my comment I just think it is kind fishy abt the howl thing really how did the guy really know that you were a policeman if you were a off duty cop yes you said something you let him know this. Thanks Anna
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9-03-2006 @ 8:01PM
Anna said...
Yes that is true I was reading this other persons comment why would a off duty cop be in that area that seems funny also we are suppose to protect the people yes but let make sure all is right when we are doing this job. Well that is all I have to say. Anna
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9-03-2006 @ 8:08PM
Rob Zepeda said...
Thats a great point people have brought up...'off duty police officer'...some off-duty cop is patrolin' at 3am and pulling people over?
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9-03-2006 @ 8:10PM
dl said...
The key phrase here is "off duty police officer". The off duty officer is solely resposible for this incident escalating to the point of a shooting. At what point did he call for an on duty police officer who would have been in a police cruiser, wearing a uniform, and would have been easily identified as a police officer rather than some one possibly impersonating one.
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9-03-2006 @ 8:37PM
big cheese said...
If that big brother was coming at you like he wanted to mess you up I think you would blast him too.
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9-03-2006 @ 8:38PM
t whitney said...
sure glad the chargers hadnt traded donnie edwards yet!! go chargers!! steelers suck!!!
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9-03-2006 @ 8:38PM
Bill Gardner said...
Cop must have been a Raider fan............
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9-03-2006 @ 8:38PM
larrry aldamas said...
THIS OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER HAS ALOT OF QUESTIONS TO ANSWER.THESE DAYS JUST BECAUSE YOU SAY YOUR A POLICE OFFICER YOU MAY NOT BE. USING USED OF FORCE IS YOUR LAST RESORT, WHY DID'NT HE CALL THE LOCAL AUTHORITY WHEN HE WAS OUT OF HIS JURISDICTION. THIS OFFICER MIGHT OF END FOLEYS PLAYING TIME IN TH NFL.
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9-03-2006 @ 8:38PM
Herb Price said...
just another case of little man with a gun why did he not call for a on duty cop thats what i want to know
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9-03-2006 @ 9:13PM
jimmy said...
geez i don;t know. when a cop tells you to stop and he has a gun you should stop. driving at the officer?
damn thats crazy. some of these pro athletes think they can do anything. this is not the first time this guy has been in trouble. just another case of disrespect. he is lucky he is alive. bb gun? foley is a jackass spook. lesson to be learned don;t drive a car at a cop.you can take these blacks out of the ghetto but can't take the ghetto out of the man. shes lucky she did not get it too. i would have blasted her too. dumb bitch.
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9-03-2006 @ 9:13PM
Keith Powell said...
Here is a thought! Instead of everyone jumping to conclusions, why not wait until all of the facts are revealed.
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9-03-2006 @ 9:13PM
therealjimmy said...
Jimmy, you sound like a cop! You must be from Philly. This incident is another perfect example of what happens when you give a badge, a gun and a license to kill to High School dropouts. I agree with the other posters regarding the "policeman" (he was off-duty, BTW)'s motives. Why not call for backup? Why not shoot him with mace rather than open up with a gun? Just watch, next time you see the story things will change: the cop will have had a partner with him, Foley had a knife, another cop saw the entire thing, etc. "The Thin Blue Line" is pretty damn thick.
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9-03-2006 @ 9:13PM
Claudia said...
Let's use our heads here. Have you ever been out driving and had the person in front of you or beside you weave all over the road? I have a couple of times and I followed that car while I tried to get it's plate and notify 911. I was no where near my home. I just recognized a dangerous situation. How did the officer notify Foley that he is a cop and wants him to stop? Was he in an unmarked unit or his own car?
Police officers are constantly on the alert for agression from people they are trying to question or arrest. What if he ran the plate (because the car was weaving)and got the record that Foley had been aggresive to police before this. If I was that officer I definitely would have called for backup, but maybe it all happened so fast. After all it is Foley that got out of the car and approached the officer's car. The officer shot once stricking Foley in a nonlethal spot. Right then should have ended the confrontation. But the girlfriend decides to drive her car at the officer. She is very lucky that the officer did not fire at her. By the way I do understand her fear. If this guy was out of uniform she was unsure if he was a police officer.
I am not defending the officer or being critical of Foley, but I think we should get all of the facts before we shout racial profiling, prejudice, crazy cop, etc. everyone is so fast to blame. Try to put yourself in the shoes of each of the participants and see what you think.
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9-03-2006 @ 9:13PM
chuk said...
an off duty police officer has no business pulling a driver off the road. his authority as a police officer starts while his on duty and stops when he is off duty. this police officer shuold be fired and jailed for the rest of his idiot life.
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9-03-2006 @ 9:28PM
Ryan said...
Got to agree, this cop is so concerned yet never called for uniformed backup? Some guy not even in a uniform follows you for 20 miles and then tells you to pull over? I'd have been freaked out too. I've heard too many incidents of guys pretending to be cops and then raping, robbing, killing people, and they had all the gear which could be bought at cop supply stores. Hell, even Elvis liked to play cop and pull people over to give them warnings. If I didn't have a weapon and he pulled a gun I'd probably done the same as the girlfriend. This one looks like a rogue who has a lot to answer for, and his story sounds fishy.
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9-03-2006 @ 9:32PM
Dianne said...
How come when its a big shot celebrity, the law does not pertain. He already beat up one cop while he was drunk, and this time his hot little girlfriend tried to run the "off duty cop down". I don't know who was at fault. . all I do know is that celebrity hot jocks think they can do whatever they want.
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9-03-2006 @ 9:37PM
Zack said...
This officer was by far, out of line. I dont care if he was off duty or not he could have easily reported it to the local authorities, but no. I think he wanted to get credit for something, just another case of someone abusing power, even when they dont have the right to use it. I hope he is dishonorably discharged from the force, if we had more cops like him more people would be dead for foolish things
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