Thursday, October 19, 2006
San Diego Drunk Driving - Off-Duty Officer Never Showed His Star to Star Charger Linebacker
October 19, 2006
The off-duty police officer who shot Chargers linebacker Steve Foley last month admitted yesterday he never showed a badge to Foley or his female companion after following them to a Poway neighborhood. Coronado Police Officer Aaron Mansker testified that he was not in uniform and was in his own car the morning of Sept. 3 when he saw Foley driving erratically on state Route 163.
Mansker said he followed Foley, who was driving a custom Oldsmobile Cutlass at up to 90 mph, and identified himself verbally when Foley stopped his car on several occasions while driving home.
The first time Mansker shouted from car to car, Foley drove off, he said. The second time, Foley got out of his car on Pomerado Road and approached Mansker, who said he had his handgun drawn and shouted, “Police officer! Stop!”
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Mansker said Foley looked at the weapon, said it looked like a BB gun, turned, walked back to his car and drove off.
Then, Mansker said, he again shouted who he was after Foley got out of his car near his home on Travertine Court.
“Throughout this whole incident you didn't show him your badge?” asked Ray Vecchio, the lawyer for Lisa Maree Gaut, the passenger in Foley's car that morning.
“I did not,” the officer said.
Mansker's testimony came during the second day of Gaut's preliminary hearing in San Diego Superior Court. After the hearing, Judge Frederick Maguire ordered Gaut to be tried on felony and misdemeanor charges including assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.
The judge warned Gaut, 25, to take the case seriously, saying he had noticed her “making faces” during the hearing. If convicted, Gaut could be sent to prison for up to five years.
Foley, 31, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving charges. He was recently released from a hospital and is recovering from wounds to a leg and hand.
Mansker, on administrative leave from the Coronado Police Department, has not been charged.
Prosecutors contend that at the end of the pursuit, Gaut got behind the wheel of Foley's Oldsmobile and tried to ram the officer, who said he was waiting for a uniformed police officer or sheriff's deputy to arrive.
Mansker shot at the Oldsmobile and at Foley – who again was walking toward the officer – hitting him at least three times. Mansker testified he feared for his life because he saw Foley reach into his waistband.
Foley was unarmed.
Vecchio denied the accusations against his client, telling the judge neither Gaut nor Foley knew that Mansker was a police officer rather than a carjacker.
Vecchio said state law prohibits motorists from evading a peace officer if the officer is in uniform and driving a marked vehicle with at least one visible red lamp and siren.
“How could you know a person is a police officer unless they identify themselves based on the requirements of the law?” Vecchio said.
Prosecutor James Koerber argued that Mansker's power as a police officer wasn't limited to the hours he was on duty or to the jurisdiction in which he was sworn to work.
“A police officer in the state of California is a police officer 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Koerber said.
Maguire acknowledged the defense's argument that a key element of the case is whether Gaut knew Mansker was a police officer, saying “you don't want cowboys stopping people.”
However, the judge said, the evidence presented during the hearing was enough for the case to go forward. Citing testimony, the judge said he heard Mansker demonstrate the commands he gave to Gaut and Foley.
“He's got a booming voice,” Maguire said. “And frankly, if anybody looks like a cop it's Mansker.”
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The off-duty police officer who shot Chargers linebacker Steve Foley last month admitted yesterday he never showed a badge to Foley or his female companion after following them to a Poway neighborhood. Coronado Police Officer Aaron Mansker testified that he was not in uniform and was in his own car the morning of Sept. 3 when he saw Foley driving erratically on state Route 163.
Mansker said he followed Foley, who was driving a custom Oldsmobile Cutlass at up to 90 mph, and identified himself verbally when Foley stopped his car on several occasions while driving home.
The first time Mansker shouted from car to car, Foley drove off, he said. The second time, Foley got out of his car on Pomerado Road and approached Mansker, who said he had his handgun drawn and shouted, “Police officer! Stop!”
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Mansker said Foley looked at the weapon, said it looked like a BB gun, turned, walked back to his car and drove off.
Then, Mansker said, he again shouted who he was after Foley got out of his car near his home on Travertine Court.
“Throughout this whole incident you didn't show him your badge?” asked Ray Vecchio, the lawyer for Lisa Maree Gaut, the passenger in Foley's car that morning.
“I did not,” the officer said.
Mansker's testimony came during the second day of Gaut's preliminary hearing in San Diego Superior Court. After the hearing, Judge Frederick Maguire ordered Gaut to be tried on felony and misdemeanor charges including assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.
The judge warned Gaut, 25, to take the case seriously, saying he had noticed her “making faces” during the hearing. If convicted, Gaut could be sent to prison for up to five years.
Foley, 31, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving charges. He was recently released from a hospital and is recovering from wounds to a leg and hand.
Mansker, on administrative leave from the Coronado Police Department, has not been charged.
Prosecutors contend that at the end of the pursuit, Gaut got behind the wheel of Foley's Oldsmobile and tried to ram the officer, who said he was waiting for a uniformed police officer or sheriff's deputy to arrive.
Mansker shot at the Oldsmobile and at Foley – who again was walking toward the officer – hitting him at least three times. Mansker testified he feared for his life because he saw Foley reach into his waistband.
Foley was unarmed.
Vecchio denied the accusations against his client, telling the judge neither Gaut nor Foley knew that Mansker was a police officer rather than a carjacker.
Vecchio said state law prohibits motorists from evading a peace officer if the officer is in uniform and driving a marked vehicle with at least one visible red lamp and siren.
“How could you know a person is a police officer unless they identify themselves based on the requirements of the law?” Vecchio said.
Prosecutor James Koerber argued that Mansker's power as a police officer wasn't limited to the hours he was on duty or to the jurisdiction in which he was sworn to work.
“A police officer in the state of California is a police officer 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Koerber said.
Maguire acknowledged the defense's argument that a key element of the case is whether Gaut knew Mansker was a police officer, saying “you don't want cowboys stopping people.”
However, the judge said, the evidence presented during the hearing was enough for the case to go forward. Citing testimony, the judge said he heard Mansker demonstrate the commands he gave to Gaut and Foley.
“He's got a booming voice,” Maguire said. “And frankly, if anybody looks like a cop it's Mansker.”
http://www.sandiegoduihelp.com
http://www.sandiegoduilawyer.com
http://www.1800thelawdui.com
http://wwww.sandiegodui.com/criminal
http://www.sandiegoduilawyer.com
http://www.sandiegoduihelp.com
http://www.sandiegodui.com
San Diego DUI Lawyer - San Diego Attorney Drunk Driving / San Diego DWI Lawyer can help you beat the charge: http://www.SanDiegoDUIhelp.com .
San Diego DUI Lawyer Rick Mueller, a San Diego Drunk Driving / DWI Defense Attorney handling San Diego California DUI & DMV cases, shows how a San Diego DUI Lawyer will help you. http://www.SanDiegoDUILawyer.com
San Diego DUI Lawyer - San Diego Attorney Drunk Driving / San Diego DWI Lawyer can help you beat the San Diego drunk driving charge: http://www.SanDiegoDUIhelp.com .
San Diego DUI Lawyer - San Diego Attorney Drunk Driving / San Diego DWI Lawyer can help you beat the charge: http://www.SanDiegoDUIlawyer.com .
# posted by SanDiegoDUI @ 1:09 PM 
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