DA Speaks On Off-Duty Officer Shooting Investigation

SAN DIEGO -- District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis warned Thursday against a rush to judgment regarding an officer-involved shooting last month that left a mother and her 8-year-old son wounded.

Rachel Silva and her son were shot by off-duty San Diego patrolman Franklin White on March 15 in the parking lot of a Lowe's home improvement store in Oceanside, in a possible road rage incident.

White, 28, who has been a San Diego police officer since October 2005, is on paid administrative leave. He has not spoken publicly about the events of that day.

Dumanis said she shared the public's desire to know more about what happened. "But until all those facts are in, we will not rush to judgment about the guilt or innocence of either party involved, and neither should the public," she said.

"Once the case is turned over to our office, an independent decision on whether or not to file criminal charges will be based on the evidence and the law, not public opinion," the county's top prosecutor said. "I acknowledge that it can be frustrating to wait for the investigative process to run its course."

Dumanis refused to address questions regarding the handling of the incident or subsequent, ongoing investigation by the Oceanside Police Department, saying her office has a legal and ethical duty not to release any information that could jeopardize a potential prosecution.

No arrests have been made in the case.

White, who was in a black Mercury sedan, fired five shots at Silva, who was in a Honda with her son, according to Oceanside police. Four of five shots pierced the Honda's windshield, and one shattered the front passenger window, police said.

Silva, 27, was wounded in two places in her right arm, and her son was wounded in his left leg.

The driver's side window on White's black Mercury sedan was shattered.

While claiming memory lapses, Rachel Silva has denied doing anything that would justify the officer shooting her and her son.

According to police, the mother and the officer, both Oceanside residents, got into a traffic dispute about 9 p.m., and one followed the other into a nearby parking lot in the 100 block of Old Grove Road.

A short time later, White shot the mother and son. What caused him to pull the trigger has not been disclosed. He had an attorney with him when interviewed by his superiors.

White's wife, a Carlsbad police dispatcher, was with him at the time of the shooting.

She and Rachel Silva both called 911 after shots were fired.

Police said Rachel Silva was driving on a suspended license and facing a drunken driving charge when the confrontation started. Police ordered her blood taken at the hospital.

She is not cooperating with police, saying she doesn't trust the Oceanside department to be fair. White, she has said, should have had to undergo a sobriety test, as she did.

Silva and her ex-husband Luis have filed claims against the city of San Diego. In both claims, which are the first steps toward the filing of a lawsuit, unspecified damages are sought.

Luis Silva, a Camp Pendleton Marine, was on deployment to Iraq at the time of the shooting, but has since returned to Oceanside.